CHAPTER XXIII NEXT DAY

After the sad ivints of the disthressful day I wint to sleep wid a hevvy hart, but sorrer a bit of paceful sleep did I get. I drimt that Minnie do be cuming to tak my place wid the Wolley family. By desateful words and ackshons she have worked upon the feelings of Miss Claire and now its me the family do be blaming for the thrubbles. I do be weeping fit to make a hart of stone ake and telling Miss Claire its me thats been a true and loving girl, a foolish victim of the sinful Minnie. But in me dream Miss Claire refoosed to look at me at all at all, and its wirrah, wirrah, I be crying in me sleep. Thin I herd¹ somewan whispering at me eer.
“Delia! Delia!”
I set up wildly in me bed, and there I seen Miss Claire in the moonlite.
“Its I, Claire—don’t be fritened, Delia” ses she.
“My God! Miss” ses I “ye do be after scaring a body. Whats the thrubble darlint” for shes neeling by me bed crying fit to brake her hart.
After a bit she looked up and ses:
“Theyve been watching me all avening. They’ll niver let me be alone wid you agin. You see papa ses your to blame, and James ses that if you hadn’t incoraged us to yuse your kitchen and——”
I set up and shuk me fist.
“Ef Mr. James” ses I “has anny crittersickem to be after making on a poor loan hardworking girl he’d better spake to me.”
“Oh Delia” ses she “plase don’t get excited. Lissen. I’m not to be house-kaper anny longer. I don’t know how Harry⁴ and I will see aich other, and Oh Delia,” ses she, saizing me by the shouwlder, “Did you heer him say that he—he loved me?”
“That I did darlint” ses I, “so don’t you be after wurrying, for all the avil minded brothers in the warld, all the cross eyed, hard harted, black sowled, crool fathers and mothers cant⁵ coom betune a pare of swateharts whin troo love is after stipping in.”
“Yes” ses she airnestly “but do you relly think he ment it?”
“Ment it! Its ashamed I am of you Miss Claire. Is it misdouting the woord of Mr. Dudley, you be, and he as foine a yung chap as iver stepped alive?”
The teers dryed up like magick, and she smiled as swately as a aingel. “Yes” ses she “he did mean it, and all will cum rite³, for love” ses she “will shurely foind a way.”
“That it will” ses I.
Well, thin she wint to bed, and I belave slipt sowndly, for her cheeks were pink as roses in the marning, and her eyes brite and luvly.
She ses “Good marning everybody” in a brave gay toan whin she cam to the brikfust table, wid the intyre family setting there and waiting in agunny for her to apeer, all suffering wid the thort of her broken hart.
Mr. John lifts oop his paper, and I seen him frowning like to brake his face behind it—hes that ankshiss to keep back a teer. Auld⁶ Mr. Wolley blew his nose like it was a throompet. Mr. James swollers his coffee red hot, and Mrs. Wolley tuk to crying to hersilf. Miss Claire guv a kiss to little Willy and wan² to her father. Then she et her brikfust, beeming on everybody.
After brikfust Mrs. Wolley cam into the kitchen and guv me the orders for the day. I herd Mr. Wolley’s ortermobile and looking from me winder seen him go by wid Miss Claire setting by his side, and Mr. John and James in the tonno. Mr. Billy wint out to his sand pile and Mrs. Wolley left me in peese.
It was baking day and I had jest set me bred into the pans for the fynal raysing and had opened the oven dure to see how me spunge cake was doing, whin I herd a bit of muvement at me back. I turned aboot, and let out a turrible yell, for there was me frind from the Dudley’s. He do be standing⁷ in me kitchin bauld and brazen⁸ as if he belonged there, and theres a larf in his eye and on his bauld mouth too.
Now if theres wan thing bad for spoonge cake it do be a sudden bang or noyse. Its bownd to mak the finest cake fall down. Silinse is the rool wid all good cooks whin the cakes in the ooven. I throo wan look at me sponge cake and shure enuff the preshus stuff had fallen flat. Thin I rose and faced aboot on the impident yung spalpeen standing there.
“Its plane to see” ses I me hands on me hips⁹ “whare you hale frum. Its ashamed I am to acnolege you a coontryman of me own, and its lissons in foine manners ye mite¹⁰ be after taking” ses I “from the foine cortsheeis yung gintleman wid hoom ye have the dayly honour of assoshyating.”
“Is it the frog ater ye’re maning, Delia deer?” ses he.
“Me name” ses I “Is Miss O’malley, and its no time I’m after having for the loike of you.” Wid that I picked up me chopping bowl and wint to wark upon the hash, a sartin loonch dispised by Mr. James whos after wanting stake wid every meel.
Mr. Mulvaney guv a larfing look at the dure lately intercated by me, then he walked over to it carelessly and shut it closed. Wid that I almost chopped me thoomb off in me rage. He cum over to the table and set upon it wid his foot a swinging. Then he leaned tord me and wispered.
“Delia darlint” ses he “what wud ye be after giving me for a love letter.”
I sthopped me chopping, and guv him wan look of contimpt and scorn.
“Larry Mulvaney” ses I “if ye’re wanting to no the throo value of the artucle you minshun I’ll tell you. Its a clout¹¹ over the eer I’d be giving you for reword” ses I and I chopped feercely.
“But suppose” ses he, leening a bit neerer “that the litter was not for you.”
At that I stopped me chopping.
“If its Minnie ye’re swate on——” but here he interrupted and took the paper from his coat and tossed it up in the air.
“Its for Miss Wolley” ses he, “and its from Mr. Harry himself.”
I guv such a joomp me chopping boal wint over, wid all me prishus hash on the flure, and that the last morsil of meet in the house for loonch.
“My God, Mr. Mulvaney!” ses I, “do you mean it?”
He’s very lofty now, and rising oop ses hortily:
“I’d like to see Miss Wolley if you plaze, Miss O’Malley” ses he wid emfasis.
“Shes out” ses I. He moved tord the dure, me aafter him, and I cort him by his slave.
 
“‘But suppose,’ ses he, leening a bit nearer, ‘that the litter was not for you?’”
“Guv it to me Larry!” I begged, “Its niver a chance the family will guv you to hand it to the puir child and shure if ye’ll jest hand it to me I’ll slip it into her hand widout a sole in the house gessing the trooth.”
But Mr. Mulvaney put the letter into his brist pocket. Then he crossed his arms, and stares at me.
“Delia” ses he, “tell me the thruth. Are you sweet on the Frinchman?”
“Thats me personal affare, Mr. Moolvaney” ses I.
“Becorse if ye are” ses he “its only fare to let ye know hes meerly after ye-re hard airned savings¹². The Frinch are slick, but its a true hart ye’re needing to leen upon.”
“Larry Mulvaney” ses I “will you or will you not be after handing me the letter for Miss Claire?”
“On wan condition” ses he.
“Spake it” ses I.
“Guv me a kiss, darlint” ses he.
“I’ll be dummed first” ses I wid indigation.
“Be dummed then” ses he, “but lissen swatehart. Mr. Dudley do be sinding Mr. Harry aff to Yurope to-morrow marning airly. Its the long distunse cure the auld gintleman do be after expicting for the lad. Now Mr. Harry has rote¹³ a litter of ixplanashuns to Miss Claire appoynting an intervew. So Delia darlint its oop to you. Shall Miss Claire have the litter or shall she not?”
“My God Mr. Mulvaney” ses I “do you mean to say ye’d be holding back the litter from the puir yung thing?”
“Oonless” ses he, “you guv me a kiss.”
“Tak it then” ses I “and be dummed to you.”
Wid that he guv a joomp, saysed me about the waste and kissed me smack¹⁴ on the lips, and me riddy to sink into the airth for shame, for shure its the first time a lad do be giving me a kiss. He slipped the letter into me hand. Wid that I cam to me sinses and struck out wid me free hand. But Larry guv a larf at the smack I’m giving him and ses he:
“Delia darlint thats nothing but a love smack. Goodbye mavourneen, it’ll be manny a day befure ye’ll forgit the kissing I’ve given you.”
Whin he was gone I looked about me kitchin, hardly knowing what I was seeing, wid the ixcipshun of the hash on the flure. Prisintly I herd the family coming home and I sneeked upstares hoping to get the chance of seeing Miss Claire alone. The family was on the porch, and I herd Mr. James reeding aloud from a litter in his hand:
“Deer Miss Wolley” he red, “me sun sales for Yurope per S. S. Germanya to-morrow morning at 7, and is accumpanied by Miss Una Robbins and her father.”
Thin followed a few more wards¹⁵ in which the auld scallywag congrachulated the puir yung crachure upon her iscape from a young fellow whos intinshuns were not seerius since he was all the time ingaged to another girl and he begged to remane hers fathefully S. Judd Dudley.
I left the family looking at aich other in silince and wint oop thray stips at a time to the child’s room. I nocked saftly.
“Miss Claire!” I called.
I herd her sobbing¹⁶ inside and I called agin, “Miss Claire darlint!”
At that she called:
“Go away Delia! Go away!”
“Miss Claire!” I called wid me mouth to the keyhole “for the love of God open the dure.” After a moment I herd the key turn and thin she opened it joost a crack or two. I throost in me hand and shuvved the letter in at the dure. I herd her guv a little moofled scrame and thin she was sylint. I stole away down stares and cryed in peece in me dish towel. Shure I’d be giving the bauld lad a hoondred kisses more, ef he were to ask me again for thim joost now.

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

3 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

6 auld   

adj.老的，旧的

参考例句：

• Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?怎能忘记旧日朋友，心中能不怀念？
• The party ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Sync.宴会以《友谊地久天长》的歌声而告终。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

9 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

11 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

12 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

13 rote   

n.死记硬背，生搬硬套

参考例句：

• Learning by rote is discouraged in this school.这所学校不鼓励死记硬背的学习方式。
• He recited the poem by rote.他强记背诵了这首诗。

14 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

15 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

16 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。