“You wouldn’t believe me, dear, how bored I was the whole time you were away, how I longed for you, Natalie Semyonovna. But you probably never gave us a thought.”
“Oh, how can you say anything like that. I was thinking of you every minute, every second. If I hadn’t been obliged to finish the cure, I should have returned long ago. No matter how beautiful it may be away from home, still the only place to live is among those that are near and dear to you.”
These were only the preliminary soundings. They lasted with variations for a quarter of an hour. First Mrs. Shaldin narrated3 a few incidents of the trip, then Mrs. Zarubkin gave a report of some of the chief happenings in the life of the regiment. When the conversation was in full swing, and the samovar was singing on the table, and the pancakes were spreading their appetising odour, the captain’s wife suddenly cried:
“I wonder what the fashions are abroad now. I say, you must have feasted your eyes on them!”
Mrs. Shaldin simply replied with a scornful gesture.
“Other people may like them, but I don’t care for them one bit. I am glad we here don’t get to see them until a year later. You know, Tatyana Grigoryevna, you sometimes see the ugliest styles.”
“Really?” asked the captain’s wife eagerly, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. The great moment of complete revelation seemed to have arrived.
“Perfectly hideous4, I tell you. Just imagine, you know how nice the plain skirts were. Then why change them? But no, to be in style now, the skirts have to be draped. Why? It is just a sign of complete lack of imagination. And in Lyons they got out a new kind of silk—but that is still a French secret.”
“Why a secret? The silk is certainly being worn already?”
“Yes, one does see it being worn already, but when it was first manufactured, the greatest secret was made of it. They were afraid the Germans would imitate. You understand?”
“Oh, but what is the latest style?”
“I really can’t explain it to you. All I know is, it is something awful.”
“She can’t explain! That means she doesn’t want to explain. Oh, the cunning one. What a sly look she has in her eyes.” So thought the captain’s wife. From the very beginning of the conversation, the two warm friends, it need scarcely be said, were mutually distrustful. Each had the conviction that everything the other said was to be taken in the very opposite sense. They were of about the same age, Mrs. Shaldin possibly one or two years younger than Mrs. Zarubkin. Mrs. Zarubkin was rather plump, and had heavy light hair. Her appearance was blooming. Mrs. Shaldin was slim, though well proportioned. She was a brunette with a pale complexion5 and large dark eyes. They were two types of beauty very likely to divide the gentlemen of the regiment into two camps of admirers. But women are never content with halves. Mrs. Zarubkin wanted to see all the officers of the regiment at her feet, and so did Mrs. Shaldin. It naturally led to great rivalry6 between the two women, of which they were both conscious, though they always had the friendliest smiles for each other.
Mrs. Shaldin tried to give a different turn to the conversation.
“Do you think the ball will be interesting this year?”
“Why should it be interesting?” rejoined the captain’s wife scornfully. “Always the same people, the same old humdrum7 jog-trot.”
“I really can’t tell you. So far as I am concerned, I have scarcely looked at what he made for me.”
“Hm, how’s that? Didn’t you order your dress from Moscow again?”
“No, it really does not pay. I am sick of the bother of it all. Why all that trouble? For whom? Our officers don’t care a bit how one dresses. They haven’t the least taste.”
“Hm, there’s something back of that,” thought Mrs. Shaldin.
The captain’s wife continued with apparent indifference9:
“I can guess what a gorgeous dress you had made abroad. Certainly in the latest fashion?”
“I?” Mrs. Shaldin laughed innocently. “How could I get the time during my cure to think of a dress? As a matter of fact, I completely forgot the ball, thought of it at the last moment, and bought the first piece of goods I laid my hands on.”
“Pink?”
“Oh, no. How can you say pink!”
“Light blue, then?”
“You can’t call it exactly light blue. It is a very undefined sort of colour. I really wouldn’t know what to call it.”
“But it certainly must have some sort of a shade?”
“You may believe me or not if you choose, but really I don’t know. It’s a very indefinite shade.”
“Is it Sura silk?”
“No, I can’t bear Sura. It doesn’t keep the folds well.”
“I suppose it is crêpe de Chine?”
“Heavens, no! Crêpe de Chine is much too expensive for me.”
“Then what can it be?”
“Oh, wait a minute, what is the name of that goods? You know there are so many funny new names now. They don’t make any sense.”
“Then show me your dress, dearest. Do please show me your dress.”
Mrs. Shaldin seemed to be highly embarrassed.
“I am so sorry I can’t. It is way down at the bottom of the trunk. There is the trunk. You see yourself I couldn’t unpack10 it now.”
The trunk, close to the wall, was covered with oil cloth and tied tight with heavy cords. The captain’s wife devoured11 it with her eyes. She would have liked to see through and through it. She had nothing to say in reply, because it certainly was impossible to ask her friend, tired out from her recent journey, to begin to unpack right away and take out all her things just to show her her new dress. Yet she could not tear her eyes away from the trunk. There was a magic in it that held her enthralled12. Had she been alone she would have begun to unpack it herself, nor even have asked the help of a servant to undo13 the knots. Now there was nothing left for her but to turn her eyes sorrowfully away from the fascinating object and take up another topic of conversation to which she would be utterly14 indifferent. But she couldn’t think of anything else to talk about. Mrs. Shaldin must have prepared herself beforehand. She must have suspected something. So now Mrs. Zarubkin pinned her last hope to Abramka’s inventiveness. She glanced at the clock.
“Dear me,” she exclaimed, as if surprised at the lateness of the hour. “I must be going. I don’t want to disturb you any longer either, dearest. You must be very tired. I hope you rest well.”
She shook hands with Mrs. Shaldin, kissed her and left.
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收听单词发音
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1
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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2
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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3
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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5
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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6
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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7
humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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8
besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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9
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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10
unpack
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| vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货 | |
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11
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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12
enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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13
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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14
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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