The orderliness of Chayleigh was delightful8; it was not formal, not oppressive; it was eminently9 tasteful. Inside the house and outside it order reigned10, without tyrannising. The lawn was always swept with extreme nicety, and the flower-beds, though not pruned11 down to a tantalising precision, bore evident signs of artistic12 care.
The house stood almost in the centre of the small grounds, and long wide French windows in front, and bow windows in the rear, opened on smooth grassy13 terraces, which fell away by gentle inclines towards the flower-garden in front, and at the back towards a pleasaunce, with high prim14 alleys15, and bosquets which in the pride of summer were thickset with roses; and so, to some clumps16 of noble forest-trees, behind which, and hidden, was the neat wire-fence which bounded the small demesne17.
On this soft autumnal day, the three bow windows which opened on the terrace at the back of the house were open, and every now and then the white curtains faintly fluttered, and the leaves of the creepers which luxuriously18 festooned the window-frames gently rustled19. Far above the height of the central window, an aspiring20 passion-flower, rich in the stiff, majestic21, symbolical22 blossom, stretched its branches, until they wreathed the window just above the centre bow, and aided an impertinent rose to look into the room. They had looked in ever since the one had blossom and the other leaves, but they had seen nothing there that lived or moved.
The middle room, above the suite23 of drawing-rooms--whose rosewood furniture, whose Ambusson carpets, and whose sparkling girandoles formed the chief delight and pride of Mrs. Carteret's not particularly capacious heart--had not been used since Margaret Carteret had left her home to follow the fortunes of her lover.
That such was the case was not due to any sentiment on Mr. Carteret's part, or any spite on that of his wife. If the former had happened to want additional space for any of his drying or "curing" processes, he would have invaded his daughter's forsaken room without the slightest hesitation24, and, indeed, without recalling the circumstance of her former occupation, of his own accord; while it was quite safe from interference on the part of the latter for another and a different reason.
Mrs. Carteret's rooms were perfectly25 comfortable and sufficient, and she never had "staying company." She knew better. She was quite sufficiently26 hospitable27 without inflicting28 that trouble on herself, and she had no notion of it. Indeed, she never had any notion of doing anything which she did not thoroughly29 like, or of putting up with any kind of inconvenience for a moment if it were possible to free herself from it; and she had generally found it very possible. Life had rolled along wonderfully smoothly31, on the whole, for Mrs. Carteret. She possessed32 one advantage which does not always fall to the lot of supremely33 selfish and heartless people--she had an easy temper.
It is refreshing34 sometimes to observe how much utterly35 selfish people, whose sole object in life is to secure pleasure and to banish36 pain, suffer by the infliction37 upon themselves of their own temper. But Mrs. Carteret was bucklered against fate, even on that side. She took excellent and successful care that no one else should annoy her, and she never annoyed herself. It would have afforded a philosophic38 observer, indeed, some congenial occupation of mind to divine from what possible quarter, save that of severe bodily pain, discomfiture39 could reach Mrs. Carteret. She was very well off, perfectly healthy, wholly indifferent to every existing human being except herself and her cousin, had everything her own way as regarded both objects of affection, had got rid of her stepdaughter, and had a very comfortable settlement "in case anything should happen"--according to the queer formula adopted in speaking of the only absolute certainty in human events--to Mr. Carteret.
This seemingly-invulnerable person had no need of Margaret's room then, and when James Dugdale said to her,
"If you don't want that middle room over the drawing-room for any particular purpose, I should be glad to have the use of it for mounting my drawings, and so on; the light is very good," she said at once,
"O yes; you mean Margaret's room, do you not? I don't want it in the least. I will have it put to rights for you at once; it is full of all her trumpery40."
No third person listening to the two would ever have discerned that any matter of feeling, or even embarrassment41, had any connection with the subject under mention, still less that the "Margaret" in question had so lately left the home of her girlhood on a desperate quest, which the woman who spoke42 of her complacently43 believed to be desperate.
"Yes, I mean that room," said James Dugdale in a careless tone; "but pray don't have anything in it touched. I will see to all that myself; in fact, presuming on your permission, I have put a lot of my things in there, and the servants would play the deuce if they meddled44 with them. I may keep the key, Sibylla, I suppose?"
"Of course," replied Mrs. Carteret; and from that moment she never gave the matter a thought, and James Dugdale had the key of Margaret's room, and he did put some sketch45-books, some sheets of Bristol board, and other adjuncts of his favourite pursuit on a table, and thus formally constituted his possession and his pretext46. But he seldom unlocked the door; he rarely entered the apartment, even at first, and more and more rarely as time stole on, and all his worst fears and forebodings about Margaret Hungerford had been realised.
Sometimes, when all the house was quiet, on moonlight nights, his pale face and bent47 figure might have been seen, framed in the window, between the branches of the passion-flower which he had trained. There he would stand awhile, leaning against the woodwork and gazing into the sky, in whose vastness, whose distance, whose sameness over all the world, there is surely some vague comfort for the yearnings of absence, uncertainty48, even hopeless separation, or why is the relief of it so often, so uniformly sought?
Sometimes, but not often, he wrote in Margaret's room; one letter which he had written there had exerted a great influence upon her fate, how great he little knew. All the girl's little possessions were in the room, just as she had left them.
Tidy housemaids, with accurate ideas of the fitness of things, had come to and gone away from Chayleigh since the sole daughter of the house had taken her perilous49 way, according to her headstrong will, and had been disturbed, and even mutinous50, in their minds concerning the "middle room." But on the whole they had obeyed orders; and James Dugdale, who had long ceased to be the "tutor," and was supposed to be Mrs. Carteret's stepbrother by the servants of late date in the establishment, enjoyed undisturbed possession of the trumpery water-colour sketches51; the little desk with a sloping top, with "Souvenir" engraved52 in flourishes on a mother-o'-pearl heart inserted over the lock; the embroidery-frame, the bead-worked watch-pocket, and the little library which occupied two hanging shelves, and chiefly consisted of the "Beauties" of the poets, and a collection of "Friendship's Offerings" and "Forget-me-nots."
James Dugdale's thoughts were busy with Margaret Hungerford that sweet autumn day--more busy with her than usual, more full of apprehension53. The time that had elapsed had not deadened the feelings with which he regarded the wilful54 girl, who had scorned his interference, scoffed55 at and resented his advice, but been obliged to avail herself of his aid.
He knew that she had done so, but he knew nothing more. And as he roamed about the garden, and the terrace, and the pleasaunce, and rambled56 away to where the forest-trees stood stately, idly treading the fallen leaves under his listless feet, so lately in their green brightness far above his head, he sickened with longing57 to know more definitely the fate of the absent girl.
"She hated me then," he said with a sigh, as he turned once more towards the house; "and she is just the woman to hate me more because she has found out for herself that I was right."
He little knew how fully30, to how far greater an extent than he had discovered it, Margaret had learned the worthlessness of Godfrey Hungerford.
As he crossed the garden, a woman-servant came towards him, and asked him for the key of "the middle room." The request jarred upon him somehow, and he asked rather sharply what it was wanted for.
"We are getting the cleaning done, sir; master and missus is to be home on Saturday."
James Dugdale handed the key to the housemaid, and entered the drawing-room through the open window.
"I may as well write to Haldane," he muttered. "The Canadian mail leaves tomorrow."
When James Dugdale had written his letter, he went out again; but this time he took his way to the village, intending to post the packet, and then pursue his way to a "bit" in the vicinity from which he was making a water-colour drawing.
As he passed the inn which occupied the place of honour in the hilly little street, the coach which ran daily from a large town on the south coast to London was drawn58 up before the door, and the process of changing horses was being accomplished59 to the lively satisfaction of numerous bystanders, to whom this event, though of daily occurrence, never ceased to be exciting and interesting.
James Dugdale glanced carelessly at the clustering villagers and the idlers about the inn-door, of whom a few touched their hats or pulled their hair in his honour; observed casually60 that two female figures were standing61 in the floor-clothed passage, and that one of the ostlers was lifting a heavy trunk, of a seafaring exterior62, down from the luggage-laden top of the coach; and then passed on, and forgot all these ordinary occurrences. He took his way to the scene of his intended sketch, and was soon busily engaged with his work.
When the autumnal day was drawing to its close, and the growing keenness of the air began to make itself felt, quickly too, by his sensitive frame, James Dugdale turned his steps homewards, and, taking the lower road, without again passing through the village, he skirted the clumps of forest-trees, and entered the little demesne by a small gate which led into the pleasaunce.
He had almost reached the grassy terrace, when, glancing upwards63, as was his frequent custom,--it had been his habit in the time gone by, when Margaret's light figure and girlish face had often met the upturned glance,--he saw that the window was wide open, and some one was in the room; saw this with quick impatience64, which made him step back a little, so as to get a clearer view of the intruder, and to mutter, as he did so,
"Those confounded servants! What can they be doing there up to this time?"
But, as he murmured the words, James Dugdale started violently, and then stood in fixed65, motionless, incredulous amazement66. The window of the middle room was wide open, and against the woodwork, framed by the blossoms and foliage67 of the passion-flower, leaned a slight figure, in a heavy black dress.
The slender hands were clasped together, and showed white against the sombre garb68; the pale, clear-cut, severe young face, lighted by the last rays of the quickly-setting autumn sun, looked out upon the tranquil scene; but on every feature sat the deepest abstraction. The eyes were heedless of all near objects, fixed apparently70 upon the trees in the distance; they took no heed69 of the figure standing in rapt astonishment71 upon the terrace.
Not until James Dugdale uttered her name with a faltering72, with an almost frightened voice, as one might address a spirit, did the face in the window droop73, and the eyes search for the speaker. But then Margaret Hungerford leaned forward, and said, quite calmly,
"Yes, Mr. Dugdale, it is I."
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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7
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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8
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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10
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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11
pruned
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| v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分 | |
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12
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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13
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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15
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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aspiring
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| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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symbolical
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| a.象征性的 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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26
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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28
inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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29
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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32
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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33
supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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35
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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infliction
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| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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39
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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40
trumpery
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| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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41
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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42
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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44
meddled
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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46
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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47
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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48
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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49
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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50
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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51
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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52
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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53
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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54
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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55
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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57
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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61
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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62
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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63
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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64
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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65
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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66
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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67
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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68
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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69
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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70
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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71
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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72
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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