CHAPTER XXVII DESDICHADO

It was a brilliant June morning rather more than a year after the events mentioned in the last chapter.
The air was full of the song of birds and the hum of bees, and of another sound to which Sydney Lisle was listening, as she stood upon the steps of the Castle, shading eyes that danced joyfully¹ from the dazzling sunshine, and listening to the pealing³ of the bells.
They were plain enough from Lislehurst Church across the Park, but she could distinguish, mingling⁴ with these, the more distant peal² from Loam⁵, and even, she thought, Marston’s little tinkling⁶ duet from its two cracked bells, which were being pulled with a goodwill⁷ that went far to atone⁸ for their lack of music.
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The glory of “leafy June,” that queen of months, was upon the tall trees of the Park, among which presently the girl went wandering. How wonderful a world it was to-day! She felt as though she wanted to drink in the beauty around her.
The sunshine came flickering⁹ through the trees, making a chequer of light and shade upon the grassy¹⁰ path before her; in front the softly dappled deer were feeding peacefully, undisturbed by her approach.
“Pang—pang—pang—pang—pang—pang—pang—pang!” went the bells, and Sydney smiled in sympathy with that wonderful abandonment of joy which only bells can give.
The girl made a charming picture as she stood there on the soft grass, with the mighty¹¹ trees she loved so well towering in their grandeur¹² overhead, and the sunshine flickering through the leaves upon her white gown and sweet face.
She was good to look upon indeed in her dainty gown, with a great bunch of yellow roses at her belt, and that flush upon her cheek and sun of gladness in her eyes. She might have stood for an embodiment of the sweet young summer which was making the world good to dwell in.
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So at least thought a young man, who, catching¹³ through the trees a glimpse of her white dress, had left the road and cut across the Park toward her. As he came near his eyes were fixed¹⁴ upon her earnest face, raised to the glory of sight and sound above. She did not hear his footsteps till he was quite close to her; then she sprang to meet him with a low cry of delight.
“Oh, Hugh! have you heard?”
“Yes, I heard at Donisbro’ and came straight.”
Something new in his voice brought a sudden flush to the delicately tinted¹⁵ face. Her eyes fell before his eager ones.
“Come into the gardens,” she said, turning, and the two went wandering together in a strange silence over the cool turf of the bowling¹⁶ green where King Charles I. had once played at his favourite game with a loyal Lisle of old, a Sydney too.
The balmy, fragrant¹⁷ air was filled with the clang of bells; beyond the Park they were beginning to cut hay in the long meadows sloping upwards¹⁸ towards the grey-green downs. A great bush, covered with the little yellow roses Sydney wore, smiled up at the two who stood before it.
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“Pang—pang-pang-pang—pang—pang-pang-pang!” went the bells.
“They ring with goodwill,” Hugh said, with a smile.
“They are very glad,” said Sydney, “and oh, Hugh, I wonder whether anybody on the whole estate is more glad than I am!”
And then Hugh turned and caught her hands and said, with an odd break in his voice, “Syd, are you really?”
She looked straight up at him, and he knew that she had spoken truth.
“If you are, what must I be!” he cried. “My darling, you don’t know, you can’t know what this means to me!”
His voice broke suddenly.
“Tell me,” she said. But I think she understood without telling.
Later, as the two sat together on the grassy bank bordering the bowling green, the girl said, “Do you know, I think we ought to be grateful to St. Quentin for taking me away from home and all of you. It was very, very hard to give up my brother Hugh, but this is better!”
“It is,” Hugh said, with absolute conviction.
“Pang—pang-pang-pang—pang-pang-pang-pang!” went the bells, tripping one another up
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 in their haste to clang out the glad tidings of the birth of an heir male to the great St. Quentin title and estates.
But Sydney had come, in those few quiet minutes in the garden, into a far greater heritage than that of which the little heir’s birth had deprived her!
A tall figure with brown hair touched with grey about the temples was coming down the path towards the bowling green. Sydney sprang to her feet and went to meet him, Hugh following her closely.
Lord St. Quentin too was listening to the bells, with a smile upon the face that had nearly lost its cynical¹⁹ expression. “But I feel almost as if the little beggar were doing you an injury, Sydney,” he said, laying his hand upon the girl’s slight shoulder as she joined him.
“You are not to say that!” she cried. “Do you think there is any one more glad and happy than I am to-day? Oh, St. Quentin, if you only knew how glad I am to be disinherited!”
He looked down at her glowing face, then turned from hers to Hugh’s. The light of comprehension dawned in his eyes.
“Upon my word!” he exclaimed as sternly
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 as he could. “What mischief²⁰ have you two been doing now?”
“Well,” Sydney said audaciously, looking up into his face, that she had grown so fond of, “you see, you forbade me to look upon Hugh as a brother any longer—and—and I always try to obey you.”
“When I heard at Donisbro’ this morning that she was safely out of the succession, I couldn’t wait,” Hugh said. “There was just time to catch the next train, and I caught it!”
The corners of St. Quentin’s mouth twitched²¹, and after one or two attempts to look serious, he gave it up and laughed outright²².
“You are a nice pair!” he said. “If it weren’t for the fact that Katharine is sure to be upon the side of true love, and that you, Sydney, always insist upon your own way, I’d play the stern guardian²³, and send Master Hugh to the right-about!”
“But of course you are not going to do anything so absolutely horrid,” Sydney said with confidence. “You’re going to take him in to see the baby.”
“It’s all the baby’s fault,” grumbled²⁴ its father, when Hugh had been presented to the red-faced, crumpled²⁵, kicking object who was Lord Lisle. “I believe I bear him a grudge²⁶.
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 You would have made a first-rate landlord, Sydney!”
“I never should have made a marchioness,” she declared with much decision. “Ask Lady Frederica. And oh, Quin, don’t be cross, but be glad that I haven’t got to try!”

1 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

2 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

3 pealing   

v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The bell began pealing. 钟声开始鸣响了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The church bells are pealing the message of Christmas joy. 教堂的钟声洪亮地传颂着圣诞快乐的信息。 来自辞典例句

4 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

5 loam   

n.沃土

参考例句：

• Plant the seeds in good loam.把种子种在好的壤土里。
• One occupies relatively dry sandy loam soils.一个则占据较干旱的沙壤土。

6 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

7 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

8 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

9 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

10 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

11 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

12 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

13 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

14 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

15 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

16 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

17 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

18 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

19 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

20 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

21 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

23 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

24 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

25 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

26 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。