Chapter 6

 "Heydey!" said the Grand Duke; "it seems, that the legal representative of our good Baroness¹, also, is imperative²."

 

"Your Highness!" cried the Baroness, and she, too, dropped her burden.

 

"Every one," said the Grand Duke, "appears to question my identity." And meantime de Châteauroux turned from the one to the other in bewilderment.

 

"This," said the Grand Duke, after a pause, "is painful. This is unworthy of you, de Châteauroux."

 

"Your Highness—!" cried the Count.

 

"Again?" said the Grand Duke, pettishly³.

 

The Baroness applied⁴ her handkerchief to her eyes, and plaintively⁵ said,

"You do not understand, your Highness—"

 

"I am afraid," said the Grand Duke, "that I understand only too clearly."

 

"—and I confess I was here to meet Monsieur de Châteauroux—"

 

"Oh, oh!" cried the latter.

 

"Precisely," observed the Grand Duke, "to compare portmanteaux; and you had selected the interior of yonder carriage, no doubt, as an appropriate locality."

 

"And I admit to your Highness—"

 

"His Highness already knowing," the Grand Duke interpolated.

 

"—that we were about to elope."

 

"I can assure you—" de Châteauroux began.

 

"Nay⁶, I will take the lady's word for it," said the Grand Duke—"though it grieves me."

 

"We knew you—would never give your consent," murmured the Baroness, "and without your consent I can not marry—"

 

"Undoubtedly," said the Grand Duke, "I would never have given my consent to such fiddle-faddle."

 

"And we love each other."

 

"Fiddle-de-dee!" said his Highness.

 

But de Châteauroux passed one hand over his brow. "This," he said, "is some horrible mistake—"

 

"It is," assented⁷ the Grand Duke, "a mistake—and one of your making."

 

"—For I certainly did not expect the Baroness—"

 

"To make a clean breast of it so readily?" his Highness asked. "Ah, but she is a lady of unusual candor⁸."

 

"Indeed, your Highness—" began de Châteauroux.

 

"Nay, Philippe," the Baroness entreated⁹, "confess to his Highness, as I have done."

 

"Oh, but—!" said de Châteauroux.

 

"I must beseech¹⁰ you to be silent," said the Grand Duke; "you have already brought scandal to our Court. Do not, I pray you, add profanity to the catalogue of your offences. Why, I protest," he continued, "even the Grand Duchess has heard of this imbroglio¹¹."

 

Indeed, the Grand Duchess, hurrying from a pleached walkway, was already within a few feet of the trio, and appeared no little surprised to find in this place her husband.

 

"I would not be surprised," said the Grand Duke, raising his eyes toward heaven, "if by this time it were all over the palace."

1 baroness   

n.男爵夫人，女男爵

参考例句：

• I'm sure the Baroness will be able to make things fine for you.我相信男爵夫人能够把家里的事替你安排妥当的。
• The baroness,who had signed,returned the pen to the notary.男爵夫人这时已签过字，把笔交回给律师。

2 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

3 pettishly   

参考例句：

• \"Oh, no,'she said, almost pettishly, \"I just don't feel very good.\" “哦，不是，\"她说，几乎想发火了，\"我只是觉得不大好受。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Then he tossed the marble away pettishly, and stood cogitating. 于是他一气之下扔掉那个弹子，站在那儿沉思。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 plaintively   

adv.悲哀地，哀怨地

参考例句：

• The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

7 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

8 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

9 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

10 beseech   

v.祈求，恳求

参考例句：

• I beseech you to do this before it is too late.我恳求你做做这件事吧，趁现在还来得及。
• I beseech your favor.我恳求您帮忙。

11 imbroglio   

n.纷乱，纠葛，纷扰，一团糟

参考例句：

• The imbroglio led to the resignation of several managers.这场纠纷导致了多名经理辞职。
• I had seen something of this imbroglio at first hand.我曾经亲眼看到过这种乱七八糟的东西。