These gushing2 sentiments were uttered by Lady Davyntry, and addressed to her brother, Mr. Fitzwilliam Meriton Baldwin, while they were at breakfast together, on the morning after Lady Davyntry's note had been received at Chayleigh.
Lady Davyntry was given to gushing. She was a harmless, emotional kind of woman, who had led a perfectly3 discreet4 and comfortable life, and had never known a sorrow until the death of her husband.
Lady Davyntry was a very pretty woman--as pretty at her present age, thirty-five, as she had been at any time since she had turned the corner of extreme youth. Her mild, lambent blue eyes were as bright as they had ever been, and her fair, rather thick skin had lost neither its purity nor its polish.
She had been rich, well cared for, and happy all her life; she had never had any occasion to exert herself; the "sorrows of others" had cast but light and fleeting5 "shadows over" her; and her sentimentalism, and the romance which had not been much developed in the course of her prosperous uneventful life, were quite ready for any demands that might be made upon them by an event of so much local interest as the return of Mr. Carteret's daughter, whose marriage was generally understood to have been very unfortunate.
She was interested in the occurrence for more than the sufficient reason that she had liked and pitied Margaret in her neglected girlhood. Perhaps the strongest sentiment of dislike which had ever been called forth6 in the amiable7 nature of Lady Davyntry had been excited by, and towards, Mrs. Carteret.
The two women were entirely8 antagonistic9 to each other; and Lady Davyntry felt a thrill of gratification on hearing of Margaret's return, in which a conviction that that event had taken place without Mrs. Carteret's sanction, and would not be to her taste, had a decided10 share.
She had favoured her brother--to whom she was very much attached, and who was so much younger than she that he did not inspire her with any of the salutary reserve which induces sisters to disguise their favourite weaknesses from brothers--with a full and free statement of her feelings on this point, and he had not strongly combated her antipathy11 to Mrs. Carteret. The truth was, he shared it.
Mr. Baldwin had risen from the breakfast-table, and was standing12, newspaper in hand, by a large window which commanded an extensive view, including the precise angle of the little demesne13 of Chayleigh in which the rear of the house and the window of Margaret's room, with its frame of passion-flowers, could be seen--not distinctly, but clearly enough to induce the eyes of any one gazing forth upon the scene to rest upon it mechanically.
His sister rose also, as she repeated her assurance that Margaret was "a darling," and joined him.
"Look," she said; "you have sharp eyes, I know. There is some one leaning out of the centre window. I see a figure, don't you?"
"Yes," said Mr. Baldwin; "I see a figure, all in black,--there's a flutter of something white. Who is it?"
"I'm sure it's Margaret," said Lady Davyntry, "and the white thing must be the strings14 of her widow's cap, poor child. How horrid15 it will be to see her sweet, pretty little face in it! Ah, dear! to think that she and I should meet under such similar circumstances!" and Lady Davyntry sighed, and a tear made its appearance in each of her calm blue eyes.
"Similar circumstances!" repeated her brother, in some surprise. "Ah, yes! you are both widows, to be sure; but the similarity stops there; if what Dugdale said, or rather implied, be true,--as of course it is,--you and Mrs. Hungerford wear your rue16 with a difference."
"We do, indeed," said Lady Davyntry. "Give me that field-glass, Fitz. I must make out whether that really is Margaret." And then she added, as she adjusted the glass to her sight, "And I pity her for that too. I cannot fancy any lot more pitiable than being forbidden by one's reason to feel grief. Yes," she went on, after a minute, "it is Margaret. I can see her figure quite plainly now. Look, look, Fitz!" and she held out the glass to him. But Mr. Baldwin did not take it from her hand; he smiled, and said:
"No, no, Nelly, I could not take the liberty of peeping surreptitiously at Mrs. Hungerford. You forget you are renewing your acquaintance with her; mine has to be made."
"That's just like your punctilio," said his sister. "I declare I feel the strongest impulse to nod to her, this glass brings her so near; and you are a goose for your pains. However, when you do see her, I prophesy17 you will agree with me that she is a darling, a delightful18 girl."
"Well, but," said Mr. Baldwin, who was amused by his sister's enthusiasm, "you forget how long it is since you have seen this paragon19, and that she is not a girl at all, but an unhappy and ill-treated wife, who has lately had the good fortune to become a widow."
"That's true," said Lady Davyntry; "but I'll not believe that any change could interfere20 with Margaret's being a darling. At all events, I am going to see for myself this very day."
"So soon?" asked Mr. Baldwin, in a surprised tone.
"So soon! why not? You don't suppose Margaret has any tender confidences with Mrs. Carteret which must not be broken in upon, and, as for her father, I am sure he is as much accustomed to her being there, since yesterday, as if she were one of those horrid specimens21 en permanence."
Mr. Baldwin laughed. "I don't suppose the meeting has been very demonstrative," he said, "considering the parties to it whom I do know, and Dugdale's account of the party whom I do not. According to the little he said, Mrs. Hungerford's firmness and reserve are wonderful--more wonderful than pleasing, I should consider them."
"Never mind Mr. Dugdale, Fitz," replied his sister. "He never liked Margaret either I believe: I know she quarrelled with him at the time of her love-affair. It is very likely he does not like her coming home; she may make things unpleasant for him now, you know, which she could not when quite a girl. Don't you mind him. Take my word for it, the young widow is a darling."
"Take care, Nelly; that is rather a dangerous thing to insist upon so strongly, except that you know I have a prejudice against widows--always excepting you, he added, as she raised a warning finger.
"Nonsense," said Lady Davyntry; and then she left the room, and her brother resumed his newspaper; but, as he folded it and prepared to read the leading articles leisurely22, he thought, "I wonder if she is really nice. Certainly Dugdale did not convey to me any impression that he did not like her, or that her coming was contrary to his convenience,--rather the opposite, I think. This must be a fancy of Nelly's."
"Am I right? Did I say too much of Margaret, you incredulous Fitz?" asked Lady Davyntry of her brother, when the gates of Chayleigh had closed upon them at the termination of an unusually protracted23 visit, during which Mrs. Carteret had endured the mortification24 of seeing Lady Davyntry in a character of affectionate neighbourliness, which had never been evoked25 by all her own strenuous26 and unrelaxed efforts.
"Did you ever see a nicer creature?" persisted the impulsive27 Nelly, "and though of course she's changed, I assure you I never thought her so handsome when she was quite a girl; and her quiet manner--so dignified28 and ladylike--not cold though: you didn't think it cold, did you, Fitz?"
"Not cold to you, certainly," replied Mr. Baldwin, who was glad to escape, by answering this one, from the more direct question his sister had put to him at first.
"No, no," she went on; "quite cordial; and I told her how I looked at her with the glass this morning, and how you were quite too proper and precise to follow my example; and she blushed quite red for a moment--her pale face looked so pretty--and just glanced at you for an instant: it was when Mr. Carteret was bothering you about the articulations of something--and I'm sure she thought you very nice and gentlemanly, and----"
"What I thought of Mrs. Hungerford is more to your present purpose, Nelly," said her brother, in an embarrassed voice. "I quite agree with you in thinking her very charming, but she looks as if she had gone through a great deal."
"Yes; doesn't she, poor dear?" said Lady Davyntry, who simply did not possess the power to comprehend even the outlines of Margaret's life; "but now that she is at home, it will be all right; I shall have her with me as much as possible, and she will soon forget all her troubles."
Mr. Baldwin did not reply. There was something in Mrs. Hungerford's face which forbade him to believe that Davyntry and its mistress would prove a panacea29 for whatever was the source of that expression. It was not grief, as grief is felt for the dead who have been worthily30 loved and are fitly mourned.
It was an utter forlornness, combined with suppressed energy. It was the expression of one who had been utterly31 deceived and disappointed, and was now crushed by the sense of bankruptcy32 and defeat in life. The quiet manner which had been so satisfactory to the shallow perceptions of Lady Davyntry did not impress her brother in the same way.
"That is a woman," he thought, "who has gone perilously33 near to the confines of despair."
When he had seen Lady Davyntry into the house, Mr. Baldwin turned away from the door, and went a long ramble34 through the fields. His wanderings did not take him out of Chayleigh; and once he stood still, looking towards the window where Margaret's figure had been dimly seen by him that morning, and thought,
"What does this woman mean to me? Not a mere35 passing interest in my life! What does this woman mean?"
"I suppose you don't see much change in Lady Davyntry?" Mrs. Carteret said to Margaret, after the visitors had departed. "She is as nice-looking, in a common way, and as full of herself as usual."
"Lady Davyntry was always very kind to me," replied Margaret gravely. "In that she is certainly unchanged."
"O yes, she's kind enough, in her empty way," said Mrs. Carteret; "but for my part I don't care about those violent intimacies36. I never would be led into them--they are quite in her way. If I would have responded, there would have been perpetual running back and forward between Davyntry and Chayleigh; but that sort of thing does not suit me--I consider it vulgar and insincere."
Margaret did not exactly know, but she suspected, quite correctly, that her stepmother was endeavouring to disguise a considerable amount of pique37 under this depreciation38 of undue39 intimacy40. She therefore made no reply, and Mrs. Carteret continued:
"I daresay she will be taking you up violently, for a while, until she tires of you. The fuss she makes with her brother is quite absurd. He is a nice-looking young man, and nothing more. Don't you think so, Margaret?"
"He is nice-looking, certainly," said Margaret; "but I have seen too little of him to pronounce any further."
"He has the great attraction of being very rich," said Mrs. Carteret, in a sharp tone; Margaret's cautious and reasonable reply irritated her. "If he dies without heirs, his sister will have all the Scotch41 property; it is worth fifteen thousand a-year, and entailed42 on heirs general. It is a wonder some manoeuvring mother has not made a prize of him long ago. He's rather a soft party, I should say."
"Should you?" said Margaret. "Mr. Baldwin looks firm as well as gentle, I think--not the sort of man to be married by anybody without his own unqualified consent."
"Of course he's a great catch," said Mrs. Carteret, "and I understand he is terribly afraid of ladies. He thinks every woman who looks at him is in love with himself or his acres."
"Indeed," said Margaret--and there was a tone of polite incredulity in her voice--"I should not have taken Mr. Baldwin to be a vulgar-minded man."
"I daresay not," returned Mrs. Carteret; "he is rather prepossessing than otherwise to strangers; but then, you know, Margaret, your judgment43 of men has been rather rash than infallible hitherto. Dear me! I had no notion it was so late--time to dress for dinner!"
Mrs. Carteret rose, laid aside her everlasting44 fancy-work, and left the room. Margaret rose also, but lingered for a few moments. As she stood with her hands pressed upon her temples, and her pale face drawn45 into a look of pain, she thought:
"I wonder, if James Dugdale had heard that speech, would he think I could possibly stay here."
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1
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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2
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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3
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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4
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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5
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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6
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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7
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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8
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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9
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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10
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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11
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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12
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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13
demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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14
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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15
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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16
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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17
prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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18
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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19
paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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20
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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21
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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22
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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23
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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24
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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25
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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26
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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27
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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28
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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29
panacea
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| n.万灵药；治百病的灵药 | |
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30
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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31
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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32
bankruptcy
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| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
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33
perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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34
ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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35
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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36
intimacies
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| 亲密( intimacy的名词复数 )； 密切； 亲昵的言行； 性行为 | |
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37
pique
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| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
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38
depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 | |
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39
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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40
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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41
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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42
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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43
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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44
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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45
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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