[pg 130]
piano and over her home mail, which, until lately, she had rather neglected. And she did not complain of the increasing heat, nor of the compulsory9 imprisonment10 indoors during the long days. She had plenty of resources within herself, and her high spirits never flagged. Any idea of going to the hills apparently11 had not occurred to her, and Coventry, whose theory was that as long as she kept her health a wife's place was with her husband, prudently12 did not suggest it. Not that he would have actually distrusted her away from him, but his peace of mind must have suffered acutely, knowing that she was making friendships and joining in amusements that he could not supervise; for undoubtedly13 Trixie would enjoy herself without reflection wherever she might be, and then there was always the fear of people talking, which held a kind of nightmare niche14 in his imagination.
It was just at this peaceful period that an invitation came for him to join the camp of a well-known sportsman on a tiger-shooting expedition, an opportunity that no man, however uxorious15 a husband--and especially a man like Coventry, with whom sport had always been a passion--could easily resist without regret. And yet he hesitated. He could not honestly feel that he did not want to go, and yet he could have wished that Markham had not remembered him, had not thought of
[pg 131]
giving him this tempting16 chance, or that the letter had miscarried on the way and never reached him.
When he opened the letter he and Trixie were seated at their early breakfast in the veranda17, attended by a greedy and devoted18 gathering19 of pets. Two well-disciplined fox terriers watched in quivering impatience20 for scraps21 of toast, obediently oblivious22 of a pair of Persian kittens that clawed and mewed and sprang in unmannerly fashion; a noisy green parrot in a dome-shaped cage; a monkey that jumped and jabbered23 on the back of the memsahib's chair; a tame squirrel that darted24 to and fro with bead-like eyes and feathery tail, even a greater trial to the dogs than the Persian kittens. Trixie worshipped animals and children; indeed, she had one day scandalised the general's wife by declaring, most immodestly as that lady considered, that she intended to have twenty babies, but, meanwhile, she could content herself with dogs and cats and monkeys.
Coventry threw the letter across the table to his wife; he half hoped she would read it with dismay, and show reluctance25 that he should accept the invitation. This, he felt, would give him just the excuse he wanted to refuse it, would put a definite obstacle in the way of acceptance instead of his being left at the mercy of conflicting inclinations26.
[pg 132]
He watched her read the letter, but her expression did not cloud; on the contrary, it brightened.
"Oh, George!" she cried, looking up at him with shining eyes, "how lovely for you, and how I wish I could come too! I'd give anything to ride an elephant all day, and see tigers charge, and hear them roar, and then wear a necklace of their claws!"
"Markham won't have women on his shoots. He says it degrades the sport to the level of garden party games!" said Coventry.
"Oh, what a pig he must be!"
"Anyway, it would be far too rough for you, and the heat would be awful in tents. I'm not at all sure that I like the idea of it myself."
"You surely can't mean that you are dreaming of refusing?" cried Trixie, in amazed reproach. "Of course, you must go. He asks you to wire, so you must answer at once. Shall I get a telegraph form?"
"I'm not particularly keen on going," he said, with affected28 carelessness.
"I don't believe it! I am sure you are aching to wire and say you are coming. If you are pretending that you don't want to go because you think I shall be lonely, you can put that out of your head at once. I shan't miss you a bit."
She in her turn was acting29 the hypocrite. In
[pg 133]
reality her heart had sunk a little as she read the letter. She knew she should miss George very much, that she would feel lonely, dull, and rather helpless without him, and she suddenly recognised that she leaned on him mentally a good deal more than she had been aware of hitherto. Also that his interest in and sympathy with all her little schemes and undertakings30 had meant much to her. Secretly she had been surprised at her own acceptance of the daily monotony and lack of excitements, and wondered vaguely31 why she was not bored; and now the knowledge came to her with almost startling effect that it was because of George's constant presence. She looked at him with new attention--he was in uniform, for he had just returned from early parade--and a little glow of pride in his appearance kindled32 in her heart. Certainly she had a very handsome husband, and, moreover, he was kind and good and faithful, even if his ideas of propriety33 were somewhat tedious and old-maidish, and he was inclined to be jealous and over-particular. After all, he knew the world; his experience had been long and wide, and he had no great reason to trust either men or women. Trixie seldom thought of the first Mrs. Coventry. The old story had not troubled her; hardly had she regarded it as real. The whole of George's past life was more or less unreal to her, for the reason,
[pg 134]
perhaps, that he had never spoken of more than casual happenings, or small reminiscences connected with his mother, now dead, and his sister, who had taken up missionary34 work in the slums of London.
In addition, Trixie was a person who contemplated35 the present and the immediate36 future to the exclusion37 of retrospection, partly because she was so young and had all her life before her, and again because it was her nature. She neither looked back nor far forward. Yet now a glimmering38 of what her husband might have suffered in the past disturbed her self-engrossment, and caused her to feel inadequate39 and humble40, possessed41 with a helpless regret that drove her to an unselfish desire to conceal42 her own feelings over this question of his absence. Her apparent anxiety that he should accept Mr. Markham's invitation was construed43 by Coventry to mean that she was more or less unaffected by the prospect44 of his absence, and, half hurt and half resentful, he said a little captiously45:
"Well, if you want to get rid of me, of course I'll go."
"You know very well you are dying to go," answered Trixie, with good humour; "and it will do you good. All these years at home you've only been able to shoot pheasants and rabbits
[pg 135]
and little birds; and what are they compared with tigers?"
"It's much more difficult to shoot a snipe than a tiger," argued Coventry perversely46.
"All the better. You'll be able to bring me back several dozen skins, and heaps of claws, and plenty of those funny little bones that make into brooches and are supposed to bring such good luck."
"How did you know about the bones?" he asked, rather to delay the making of a decision at the moment than because he wished to hear.
"Mother has one--not that it ever brought her any luck, poor dear, unless it was getting me married; and I suppose Gommie, at any rate, would call that good luck! Guy Greaves told me about the bones, too, and he's going to give me one when he shoots his first tiger. He was to have come back yesterday, wasn't he? Was he on parade this morning?"
"Yes," said Coventry.
The sudden mention at this juncture47 of young Greaves made Coventry's heart contract with a spasm48 of jealous apprehension49.
"I hope," he said, with injudicious haste, "that, if I do go on this shoot, you won't let that boy hang round the bungalow50 and follow you about all over the place while I am away."
[pg 136]
Trixie flushed. "So that is why you hesitated about going?" she asked him ominously51. "Perhaps you would like me to say 'Not at home' to visitors and refuse every invitation while you are not here?"
"Trixie, don't be foolish!" He regretted having voiced his feelings. It had put him in a false position. Now he must either accept the invitation, or refuse it and remain under the suspicion that he would not leave his wife because he feared he could not trust her to behave becomingly. "Of course, I know you would not do anything really wrong, but you are so careless about appearances, and people don't take circumstances into consideration. Why should they? They wouldn't know or remember that you have known Greaves nearly all your life. They would only say that he was in love with you, and that you were encouraging him. You can't be too careful in India, where we all know each other, and live, so to speak, on the house-tops."
"Then you wouldn't mind how much I went about with Guy so long as nobody was any the wiser?"
"Yes, of course I should; but I naturally should not put the same construction on it that people would who did not know you."
"Perhaps you had better not go, then," said
[pg 137]
Trixie sweetly; and she began to play with the monkey and pet the kittens, and throw scraps to the dogs. Then she rose, flourishing a bunch of keys. "I must go and fight with the cook," she announced. "His bill for charcoal52 is preposterous53. The other women tell me we use four times what we ought--or pay for it, at any rate--and, of course, that won't do, will it, George?"
He ignored the appeal, and with ostentatious indifference54 she strolled into the house, jingling55 her keys. The dogs followed her, and Coventry sat in moody56 perplexity, remorseful57, heavy hearted. The kittens began to clamber all over the table, the monkey helped himself from the sugar-basin, and the parrot rent the air with jealous abuse in Hindustani. Oblivious to it all, Coventry lit a cigarette and stared out at the dry compound. He was reflecting that he ought not to have married again at his age and with his temperament--or that at least he should have chosen a sedate58 and serious spinster, if not some gentle widow, who would have caused him no anxiety, no heart disturbance59, as did Trixie--one whom he could have left without a qualm for any call of pleasure or of duty. And Trixie was to be pitied. She might have been far happier with a young husband as gay and heedless, and as irresponsible, as herself. They would have gained their experiences, have
[pg 138]
"worried through" together, come out none the worse for ups and downs and disagreements, having the same outlook on life, and with youth and tastes in common. He wondered if she repented60 her marriage, if he bored her, if perchance she really preferred the company, say, of young Greaves, to his own? The thought tortured him. He felt he could not go away and leave her. He would only be miserable61, unable to enjoy himself, thinking of her all the time, picturing her riding, driving, laughing with that idiotic62 boy, while the station smiled and whispered, amused, yet commiserating63 the absent husband.
Markham's letter had fallen from the table and lay open at his feet. He picked it up and read it through again, and the call of the jungle stirred his blood with unwelcome temptation. It was such years since he had heard the whisper of an Indian forest and the hot, dry crackle of tall grass, since he had swayed on the back of an elephant, alert and ready for the sight of a great striped beast, and known the fierce excitement of "sitting up" over a "kill," waiting breathless, motionless, for the first faint sound of a stealthy tread.
Trixie came back. She slapped the kittens and scolded the monkey, and then looked over George's shoulder.
"Well," she said cheerfully, "have you made
[pg 139]
up your mind? If you're going, you ought to overhaul64 your guns and rifles without any delay. You'd have to start in a day or two. You see, he says the 15th at the latest." She pointed65 with a pink, tapering66 finger to a paragraph in the letter.
He moved restlessly. "I must think it over," he said, with some irritation67.
"All right. But you can't keep Mr. Markham waiting indefinitely for your answer. There are hundreds of men who would give their eyes and ears and noses for the invitation. I only wish I could dress up as a man, and stick on a moustache, and go instead of you."
Anger seized him, engendered68 by his mingled69 feelings of reluctance and desire to take advantage of the chance.
"Hang!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet. "I'll go, and take the consequences."
"What consequences?" asked Trixie. "George, you weren't really serious when you talked about Guy Greaves just now? You don't really think you couldn't leave me for a fortnight in case I should get into mischief70, and do something that would make you and me seem ridiculous?"
"You don't understand," he argued hotly.
"Then will you explain?"
"I have tried to, but you can't see my point of view. It isn't that I don't trust you, Trixie;
[pg 140]
I know you don't mean any harm; but if you make yourself conspicuous71 with other men you can't expect people not to talk and think the worst, and I can't bear that you should be a subject for scandal."
"But why should you imagine I am going to give anybody cause to talk directly your back is turned? I should do nothing while you are away that I wouldn't do while you are here."
"That's just it!" he said, with some excitement. "If you ride and drive all over the place with young Greaves, and let him come and sit here for hours, as you did before he went on leave, there is bound to be gossip."
"But you know that there's nothing in it," she argued plaintively72. "You have said so. Isn't that enough?"
Then her heart smote73 her. She knew she was teasing him, making it more difficult for him to go away with a light heart to enjoy the shoot; and while she considered his attitude absurd, she made up her mind she would humour his scruples74 and sink her own opinion in favour of the circumstances. Poor dear old George! He was such a prude, so dog-in-the-mangerish, so prone75 to make a silly fuss about nothing. Yet, if it really worried him to think that she and Guy might lead people to imagine they were lovers, she would give in to
[pg 141]
him and promise anything he liked. She wanted him to have some pleasure; she was conscious that her notions of enjoyment76 were not his, and she felt it would be more than "beastly"--to use her own term--not to help him now to get off on this tiger shoot with a mind at ease.
She came round the table and perched herself on his knee, winding77 a soft arm about his neck.
"Will it make you happy, old George, if I promise not to go out with Guy while you are away, and not to let him come here when I am alone?"
He pressed her to him in fond compunction, overwhelmed with tender feeling for her, recognising gladly the generous impulse that had prompted her concession78.
"Darling, I don't ask you to promise anything. I only want you to remember that you are a married woman, and to guard your name and reputation as something sacred. You have only to think a little, and not expect other people to be as charitable and unsuspicious of evil as you are yourself."
She kissed him lightly on the forehead. "I will think and remember the whole time," she reassured79 him. "You needn't feel one bit afraid. I shall have heaps to do without bothering about men. I'm going to hem27 dozens of dusters, and the Padre's wife has promised to teach me no end
[pg 142]
of cooking, so I shall keep her to her word. You'll be back before I can turn round."
"How can I leave you?" he said, with passionate80 reluctance.
She laid on the breakfast-table a piece of paper she had brought from the bungalow.
"Here's a telegraph form," she announced cheerily, "and my fountain-pen. I'm going to write out the wire for you. What shall I say?" She shifted her position and began to trace the words: "'Accept with many thanks starting soon as possible.' How's that?"
"Well," he said grudgingly81, "I suppose I'd better go."
"You are going," Trixie told him; "and when you are there you will bless your wife for making you go." She referred to Markham's letter and added the address. Then she rose and summoned with a call a lurking82 orderly, and gave him the form, with some money hitherto secreted83 in the palm of her hand. "Take that to the post office," she commanded him in halting Hindustani.
In silence they watched the man leave the compound with alert, important progress, and Coventry gave a sigh of resignation.
"You young bully84!" he said in mock reproach.
"You old idiot!" she retorted, laughing, and bustled85 back to grapple with her housekeeping.
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1
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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2
distractions
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| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
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digestions
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| n.消化能力( digestion的名词复数 )；消化，领悟 | |
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4
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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5
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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7
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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9
compulsory
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| n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的 | |
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10
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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11
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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12
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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13
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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14
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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15
uxorious
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| adj.宠爱妻子的 | |
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tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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19
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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23
jabbered
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的过去式和过去分词 )；急促兴奋地说话 | |
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24
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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25
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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28
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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30
undertakings
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| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
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31
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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32
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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34
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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40
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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42
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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43
construed
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| v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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45
captiously
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perversely
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| adv. 倔强地 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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48
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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49
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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50
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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51
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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52
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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53
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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54
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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55
jingling
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| 叮当声 | |
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56
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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57
remorseful
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| adj.悔恨的 | |
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58
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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59
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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60
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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62
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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63
commiserating
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| v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的现在分词 ) | |
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64
overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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65
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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67
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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70
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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71
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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72
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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73
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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74
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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76
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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77
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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78
concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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79
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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80
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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81
grudgingly
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82
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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83
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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84
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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85
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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