Patricia sat in the great maple-grove1 that stands behind Matocton, and pondered over a note from her husband, who was in Lichfield superintending the appearance of the July number of the Lichfield Historical Association's Quarterly Magazine. Mr. Charteris lay at her feet, glancing rapidly over a lengthy2 letter, which was from his wife, in Richmond.
The morning mail was just in, and Patricia had despatched Charteris for her letters, on the plea that the woods were too beautiful to leave, and that Matocton, in the unsettled state which marks the end of the week in a house-party, was intolerable.
She, undoubtedly3, was partial to the grove, having spent the last ten mornings there. Mr. Charteris had overrated her modest literary abilities so far as to ask her advice in certain details of his new book, which was to appear in the autumn, and they had found a vernal solitude5, besides being extremely picturesque6, to be conducive7 to the forming of really matured opinions. Moreover, she was assured that none of the members of the house-party would misunderstand her motives8; people were so much less censorious in the country; there was something in the pastoral purity of Nature, seen face to face, which brought out one's noblest instincts, and put an end to all horrid9 gossip and scandal-mongering.
Didn't Mrs. Barry-Smith think so? And what was her real opinion of that rumor10 about the Hardresses, and was the woman as bad as people said she was? Thus had Patricia spoken in the privacy of her chamber11, at that hour when ladies do up their hair for the night, and discourse12 of mysteries. It is at this time they are said to babble13 out their hearts to one another; and so, beyond doubt, this must have been the real state of the case.
As Patricia admitted, she had given up bridge and taken to literature only during the past year. She might more honestly have said within the last two weeks. In any event, she now conversed15 of authors with a fitful persistence16 like that of an ill-regulated machine. Her comments were delightfully17 frank and original, as she had an unusually good memory. Of two books she was apt to prefer the one with the wider margin19, and she was becoming sufficiently20 familiar with a number of poets to quote them inaccurately21.
We have all seen John Charteris's portraits, and most of us have read his books—or at least, the volume entitled In Old Lichfield, which caused the Lichfield Courier-Herald to apostrophize its author as a "Child of Genius! whose ardent22 soul has sounded the mysteries of life, whose inner vision sweeps over ever widening fields of thought, and whose chiseled23 phrases continue patriotically24 to perpetuate25 the beauty of Lichfield's past." But for present purposes it is sufficient to say that this jewelsmith of words was slight and dark and hook-nosed, and that his hair was thin, and that he was not ill-favored. It may be of interest to his admirers—a growing cult—to add that his reason for wearing a mustache in a period of clean-shaven faces was that, without it, his mouth was not pleasant to look upon.
"Heigho!" Patricia said, at length, with a little laugh; "it is very strange that both of our encumbrances26 should arrive on the same day!"
"It is unfortunate," Mr. Charteris admitted, lazily; "but the blessed state of matrimony is liable to these mishaps27. Let us be thankful that my wife's whim28 to visit her aunt has given us, at least, two perfect, golden weeks. Husbands are like bad pennies; and wives resemble the cat whose adventures have been commemorated29 by one of our really popular poets. They always come back."
Patricia communed with herself, and to Charteris seemed, as she sat in the chequered sunlight, far more desirable than a married woman has any right to be.
"I wish—" she began, slowly. "Oh, but, you know, it was positively30 criminal negligence31 not to have included a dozen fairies among my sponsors."
"I too have desiderated this sensible precaution," said Charteris, and laughed his utter comprehension. "But, after all," he said, and snapped his fingers gaily32, "we still have twenty-four hours, Patricia! Let us forget the crudities of life, and say foolish things to each other. For I am pastorally inclined this morning, Patricia; I wish to lie at your feet and pipe amorous33 ditties upon an oaten reed. Have you such an article about you, Patricia?"
He drew a key-ring from his pocket, and pondered over it.
"Or would you prefer that I whistle into the opening of this door-key, to the effect that we must gather our rose-buds while we may, for Time is still a-flying, fa-la, and that a drear old age, not to mention our spouses34, will soon descend35 upon us, fa-la-di-leero? A door-key is not Arcadian, Patricia, but it makes a very creditable noise."
"Don't be foolish, mon ami!" she protested, with an indulgent smile.
"I am unhappy."
"Unhappy that I have chanced to fall in love with you, Patricia? It is an accident which might befall any really intelligent person."
"I have done wrong to let you talk to me as you have done of late.
Mr. Charteris meditated38. Somewhere in a neighboring thicket39 a bird trilled out his song—a contented40, half-hushed song that called his mate to witness how infinitely41 blest above all other birds was he. Mr. Charteris heard him to the end, and languidly made as to applaud; then Mr. Charteris raised his eyebrows42.
"I—Rudolph doesn't bother about me nowadays sufficiently to—notice anything."
Mr. Charteris smiled. "Of my wife, Patricia?"
"Good gracious, no! I have not the least doubt you will explain matters satisfactorily to your wife, for I have always heard that practise makes perfect."
Mr. Charteris laughed—a low and very musical laugh.
"Of me, then, Patricia?"
"I—I think it is rather of myself I am afraid. Oh, I hate you when you smile like that! You have evil eyes, Jack! Stop it! Quit hounding me with your illicit44 fascinations45." The hand she had raised in threatening fashion fell back into her lap, and she shrugged her shoulders once more. "My nerves are somewhat upset by the approaching prospect46 of connubial47 felicity, I suppose. Really, though, mon ami, your conceit48 is appalling49."
"When you are quite through your histrionic efforts," he suggested, apologetically, "I will proceed with my amorous pipings. Really, Patricia, one might fancy you the heroine of a society drama, working up the sympathies of the audience before taking to evil ways. Surely, you are not about to leave your dear, good, patient husband, Patricia? Heroines only do that on dark and stormy nights, and in an opera toilette; wearing her best gown seems always to affect a heroine in that way."
Mr. Charteris, at this point, dropped the key-ring, and drew nearer to her; his voice sank to a pleading cadence51.
"We are in Arcadia, Patricia; virtue52 and vice4 are contraband53 in this charming country, and must be left at the frontier. Let us be adorably foolish and happy, my lady, and forget for a little the evil days that approach. Can you not fancy this to be Arcadia, Patricia?—it requires the merest trifle of imagination. Listen very carefully, and you will hear the hoofs54 of fauns rustling55 among the fallen leaves; they are watching us, Patricia, from behind every tree-bole. They think you a dryad—the queen of all the dryads, with the most glorious eyes and hair and the most tempting56 lips in all the forest. After a little, shaggy, big-thewed ventripotent Pan will grow jealous, and ravish you away from me, as he stole Syrinx from her lover. You are very beautiful, Patricia; you are quite incredibly beautiful. I adore you, Patricia. Would you mind if I held your hand? It is a foolish thing to do, but it is preëminently Arcadian."
She heard him with downcast eyes; and her cheeks flushed a pink color that was agreeable to contemplation.
"Do—do you really care for me, Jack?" she asked, softly; then cried, "No, no, you needn't answer—because, of course, you worship me madly, unboundedly, distractedly. They all do, but you do it more convincingly. You have been taking lessons at night-school, I dare say, at all sorts of murky57 institutions. And, Jack, really, cross my heart, I always stopped the others when they talked this way. I tried to stop you, too. You know I did?"
She raised her lashes58, a trifle uncertainly, and withdrew her hand from his, a trifle slowly. "It is wrong—all horribly wrong. I wonder at myself, I can't understand how in the world I can be such a fool about you. I must not be alone with you again. I must tell my husband—everything," she concluded, and manifestly not meaning a word of what she said.
"By all means," assented59 Mr. Charteris, readily. "Let's tell my wife, too. It will make things so very interesting."
"Rudolph would be terribly unhappy," she reflected.
"He would probably never smile again," said Mr. Charteris. "And my wife—oh, it would upset Anne, quite frightfully! It is our altruistic60, nay61, our bounden duty to save them from such misery62."
"The obvious course," said he, after reflection, "is to shake off the bonds of matrimony, without further delay. So let's elope, Patricia."
"I make it a rule," said she, "never to elope on Fridays. Besides, now I think of it, there is, Rudolph—Ah, Rudolph doesn't care a button's worth about me, I know. The funny part is that he doesn't know it. He has simply assumed he is devoted65 to me, because all respectable people are devoted to their wives. I can assure you, mon ami, he would be a veritable Othello, if there were any scandal, and would infinitely prefer the bolster66 to the divorce-court. He would have us followed and torn apart by wild policemen."
Mr. Charteris meditated for a moment.
"Rudolph, as you are perfectly67 aware, would simply deplore68 the terribly lax modern notions in regard to marriage and talk to newspaper reporters about this much—" he measured it between thumb and forefinger69 —"concerning the beauty and chivalry70 of the South. He would do nothing more. I question if Rudolph Musgrave would ever in any circumstances be capable of decisive action."
"Ah, don't make fun of Rudolph!" she cried, quickly. "Rudolph can't help it if he is conscientious71 and in consequence rather depressing to live with. And for all that he so often plays the jackass-fool about women, like Grandma Pendomer, he is a man, Jack—a well-meaning, clean and dunderheaded man! You aren't; you are puny72 and frivolous73, and you sneer74 too much, and you are making a fool of me, and—and that's why I like you, I suppose. Oh, I wish I were good! I have always tried to be good, and there doesn't seem to be a hatpin in the world that makes a halo sit comfortably. Now, Jack, you know I've tried to be good! I've never let you kiss me, and I've never let you hold my hand—until to-day— and—and——"
Patricia paused, and laughed.
"But we were talking of Rudolph," she said, with a touch of weariness. "Rudolph has all the virtues75 that a woman most admires until she attempts to live in the same house with them."
"I thank you," said Mr. Charteris, "for the high opinion you entertain of my moral character." He bestowed76 a reproachful sigh upon her, and continued: "At any rate, Rudolph Musgrave has been an unusually lucky man—the luckiest that I know of."
Patricia had risen as if to go. She turned her big purple eyes on him for a moment.
"You—you think so?" she queried, hesitatingly.
Afterward77 she spread out her hands in a helpless gesture, and laughed for no apparent reason, and sat down again.
"Why?" said Patricia.
Patricia told him very frankly78 that she considered him to be talking nonsense, but she seemed quite willing to listen.
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1
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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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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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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13
babble
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| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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inaccurately
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| 不精密地，不准确地 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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chiseled
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| adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
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patriotically
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| 爱国地；忧国地 | |
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perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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encumbrances
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| n.负担( encumbrance的名词复数 )；累赘；妨碍；阻碍 | |
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mishaps
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| n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 ) | |
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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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29
commemorated
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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spouses
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| n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 ) | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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38
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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41
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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42
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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43
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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illicit
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| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
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45
fascinations
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| n.魅力( fascination的名词复数 )；有魅力的东西；迷恋；陶醉 | |
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46
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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47
connubial
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| adj.婚姻的，夫妇的 | |
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48
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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49
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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50
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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51
cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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52
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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53
contraband
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| n.违禁品，走私品 | |
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54
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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55
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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56
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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57
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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58
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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59
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
altruistic
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| adj.无私的，为他人着想的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flippancy
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| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
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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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66
bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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69
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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70
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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71
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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74
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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75
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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76
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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