Frances finding at last, and most unexpectedly, a free hour, and scarce knowing what to do with it, wandered aimlessly about the house. It was so much her custom to be abroad with her father and watching the sunset over the mountain tops, that now, when he was kept by an old friend, she could not content herself. She would have her walk alone.
[Pg 59]
The pageantry of the autumn days was veiled. The wind was whistling about the chimney-tops and bending the half bared branches of maple12 and oak; far away the soft gray clouds closed about the high mountain crests13, shutting the vision in narrow horizons. Many of the students were loitering about corridor or cottage as she sped away from all along the road winding14 to the mountain top crowned by the observatory15. Here, beyond the immediate16 environments of the many buildings, a short road across the fields led to the football grounds, where the high fence and higher stand of seats loomed17 weather-beaten, deserted18; there, on the other side of the wide highway, rolled the golf links over the hillside, the winds moaning above them fitfully and rustling19 the dead vines on fence and roadside, and the scarlet20 fronds21 of sumac, and whirling the dead leaves about her feet and tossing the oak-branches overhead.
She was at the edge of the wood which ran to the mountain top. A double arch of oaks met overhead. Beyond these, where[Pg 60] the grove22 was cleared for a space, was the resting place of the University's dead. Her father went often through the gates, but it always smote23 her like a blow, the sight of those grass-grown swells24 and gleaming marbles and white sweet roses; and in the midst the great shaft25, with many names about its base of those who, when there was need, had marched from the bright dreams of their college life to the grim deeds of war—had marched, many of them, to rest in some obscure corner of their state or of others, but to be remembered each one in that list of those who had dared and done and paid the one and everlasting26 price of their beliefs.
Where the path under the arching oaks ended, and in sight of the white palings and clustering shafts27, Frances paused. Just here she and her father had stood on many an afternoon while the sun, crimsoning28 the sky above the mountains, hung scarlet banners over the valley dipping sheer between them and the Ragged30 Mountains, dyeing in crimson29 and purple and clear green the heavens, against which were sharply silhouetted31 the[Pg 61] crests, red and rocky, or clothed to the top with the verdure of the pine or showing the gorgeous hues33 of autumn. Now the heavens shut them in closely, even the far brilliant forest showed cold against their dull leaden grays; on the other hand, beyond the links where the land rolled and dipped and climbed again upward, showed the chimney-tops of houses, the smoke-wreaths close about them telling of warmth and cheer. It was the day and hour for fireside comfort. Frances turned homeward.
So loud had been the moaning of the wind in leaf and tree that she had heard no other sound. Now as she turned she saw a smart buggy driving rapidly towards her, almost abreast34 of her.
The top was thrown back. A girl whom she had known as one knows some neighbors all the years of her life was in it. Her slim figure showed exquisitely35 against the linings36 of the carriage, her rich furs framed a face delicate and spirited as a miniature, her wide hat and long black plumes37 brought out every shifting hue32 of her golden hair and[Pg 62] rosy38 cheeks. She was known in Richmond and New York as a beauty; she was known in Charlottesville as a "students' belle39." A man like her attendant was a godsend to her, already wearied, as she was, of too easily pleasing. She leaned toward him impressively. It was Lawson. His face was ruddy and his eyes alight. His bays were trotting40 gloriously. The girl he was driving was more than interesting, she was daring. He looked deep into her eyes. The girl's bow to some one startled him. He turned to give Frances an astonished glance as she came around the slight curve into sight. But Frances had seen the picture and its atmosphere. It was not love, and that she did not know, but it wore its guise41 charmingly.
Frances heard the moaning of the winds across the links and it held a deeper note, a note of desolation, fading glories, and swift-coming night.
The library looked doubly cheerful when she was within doors. The coals in the grate were glowing red, the heavy curtains of the windows were partly drawn42 showing[Pg 63] but a breadth of white lace between and through its film a glimpse of the darkening quadrangle. There was a savory43 smell of coffee kitchenward, as Susan came in.
"Yo' pa done sont a message," she said, "he done 'phoned up he gwine stay to de hotel for suppah." Susan had been induced to overcome her deadly fear of the telephone more by her shame at seeing "Marse Robert and Miss Frances" exposed at any time to a danger she dared not touch than by any other feeling, and had learned the mastery of the machine. "Yuh'll hab to hab yo' suppah by yo'sef. I'se fryin' yuh some ham now."
Frances pulled her chair closer to the fire. "All right, Susan."
Susan lingered. There was a look on Frances' face she did not like to see. "Yuh ain't lonesome, honey?"
The sunshine of the girl's nature flashed at once to the surface. "Not a bit! This fire is just glorious; it's cold out-of-doors, cold as Christmas, and the coffee smells delicious, and the ham—hurry up! I'm so[Pg 64] hungry, I'll be back in the kitchen if you don't!"
Susan, satisfied, hurried off.
Frances loosened her jacket and slipped the hat-pins out of her hat and put the hat on her knee; the firelight shone on the brown velvet44 of it and on her trim brown gown, and her slender foot stretched out towards the hearth45, and lighted up the warm tints47 of her scarlet waist and the rose of her cheeks reddened by wind and fireshine.
A litter of papers and magazines was on the table behind her and an electric globe overhead, but the firelight and her thoughts were best company. There was a sting back there in her memory somehow she was vaguely48 conscious of and resentful of; she was feeling for it with senses unused to such searching, and by and by, being unsuccessful, she wandered to other thoughts, which was the surest cure for the sting, had she but known it. She slipped her arms from her jacket and that slid to the floor, her attitude relaxed more and more, she was half [Pg 65]dreaming when the sharp ringing of the bell and Susan's footsteps echoing along the polished floor of the hall brought her suddenly to her feet. Before she was quite wide awake a visitor stood in the library.
"I saw you had an idle moment," he began in a tone of intense amusement.
Frances looked at him uncomprehendingly.
Lawson pointed49 mischievously50 to the half drawn curtain. Frances walked swiftly to it and sent the rings clashing along the pole.
"Good!" he cried, "if I may stay."
"Shut out the wind, shut out the weather," his heart was saying to him; he had forgotten the rest of it, but he knew the last word was perilously51 dear sometimes—"together."
"Together!" It was the first time he had ever really felt the significance of the word with her. Even if there were none others near she had made him feel as if there were a crowd always. Now, the dusky firelit room, the startled look on her face, the half-hesitancy of her speech, he would not miss[Pg 66] a tithe52 of. He stooped and picked up her gloves and hat-pins, and as he handed them to her his hand shook a trifle, awkwardly, and he pricked53 her.
"Oh dear!" she cried, pathetically as a child, "it's bleeding!"
"Let me see!" There was a round red drop of blood at the finger's tip. "I would not have hurt you for worlds! How stupid! Let me—there!" He was wrapping her hand in his handkerchief and stanching54 the slight flow at the dainty pink point of her fingers, and blessing55 the pin, even if it did hurt. How small her hand had seemed, how white, how warm; he unwrapped the swathings and held it palm upwards56, looking solicitously57 and wondering inanely58 which finger was hurt. The pink palm was unlined as a child's. Lawson eyed it swiftly; he had some idea of palmistry.
"Shall I read your future?" he asked gayly after one quick glance at the marriage cross on the soft flesh under her forefinger59.
[Pg 67]
"Why, can you?" cried Frances, flushing a little at the question and a little that he should still be holding her hand.
"Oh yes, here—"
"Suppah is raidy!" Susan, coming quietly to the door to beckon60 her mistress and ask advice about the serving of the meal, had come upon the tableau61. She broke it up.
Lawson moved toward the door and Frances stood, uncertainty62 on her face. "You have just come—" she began.
"I didn't think it was so late."
"You drove too long!" she flashed.
"Oh no, not long after I saw you!" he was quick to retort. "What were you doing without your father?"
"He met an old friend—"
"Is he still away?"
"Yes, he's going to stay."
Lawson put his hand on the door-knob. He saw he must go, but Susan, impatient at even this delay and so furious at what her eyes had seen that she scarce heeded63 what she was doing clanged out the supper bell and then poked64 her turbaned head through[Pg 68] the portière. "Ef yuh don't come on, eberyting will be col'!" she declared.
Frances, angered through and through at the old woman's interference, tilted65 her chin high. "Come out and have supper with me, Mr. Lawson," she said, "it's lonesome by myself!"
"Fo' Gawd!" muttered Susan, knowing she had overreached herself and brought about worse than she had tried to avert66, "fo' Gawd!"
"Susan, put a plate for Mr. Lawson!"
Susan, plate in hand, came slowly to the table where they waited. "I ain't gwine put it at de foot, Gawd knows," she told herself, "I'se gwine put it at de side, de lef' side too, an' I hopes to de Lawd he'll burn hisself agains' de coffee-pot; it's good and hot, I knows!"
Lawson was duly satisfied where he was; he could watch her hands, shaky a little at first, hovering67 over the queer-shaped silver pot of coffee and the low wide cream-jug and open sugar-bowl, and he listened delightedly to her questions as to his tastes; he could[Pg 69] enjoy too, seeing the example of his hostess, the good food Susan had unwittingly prepared him.
There was no criticism now of house or table. The great high-ceilinged room with its heavy furniture of dark mahogany, its dusky corners, and its single light shining above his hostess' head and lighting68 every tint46 of her loveliness, seemed the perfection of home atmosphere.
When they went into the hall and heard the rain beating on the corridor roof, and Frances opened the outer door for one instant to glance out on the storm-swept quadrangle, the gleaming lights pricking69 the darkness here and there, and to speak uneasily of her father, before she closed the door upon the storm and came back to her seat by the library fire, he felt all the happiness he had dreamed of that other evening which had turned out so differently.
The difference was to affect other things, also, for as he rose to go he said laughingly, "You know I am asked to go on the eleven?"
"No!" Football was the only one of the[Pg 70] University sports for which Frances had any enthusiasm.
"Yes, Marsden's hurt is more serious than they thought; they want me to take his place, for the time at least."
"Yes," assented70 Frances as he paused.
"I used to play at home on the old college team."
"You will accept?"
"I think so; it means hard training and," with a short laugh, "abstemious71 living, but I think I will."
"I am glad!" cried Frances impulsively72. At the warmth of her friendliness74 the young man's eyes spoke75 a warmer language yet. The girl's glances fell.
Lawson made an impulsive73 step forward, drew a long hard breath, his hands clenched76, though he did not know it; then, "Good night!" he said quietly, "and thank you for a very pleasant evening."
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1
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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2
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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5
flirtatious
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| adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的 | |
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6
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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7
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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9
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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10
slumbered
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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11
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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12
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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13
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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14
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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15
observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
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16
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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17
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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18
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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19
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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20
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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21
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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22
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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23
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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24
swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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25
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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26
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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27
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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28
crimsoning
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| 变为深红色（crimson的现在分词形式） | |
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29
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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30
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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31
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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32
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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33
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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34
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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35
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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36
linings
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| n.衬里( lining的名词复数 )；里子；衬料；组织 | |
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37
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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38
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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39
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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40
trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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41
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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42
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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43
savory
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| adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的 | |
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44
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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45
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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46
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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47
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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48
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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49
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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50
mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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51
perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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52
tithe
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| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
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53
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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54
stanching
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| v.使（伤口）止血( stanch的现在分词 )；止（血）；使不漏；使不流失 | |
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55
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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56
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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57
solicitously
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| adv.热心地，热切地 | |
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58
inanely
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59
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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60
beckon
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| v.(以点头或打手势)向...示意，召唤 | |
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61
tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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62
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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63
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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65
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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66
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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67
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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68
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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69
pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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70
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
abstemious
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| adj.有节制的，节俭的 | |
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72
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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73
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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74
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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75
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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76
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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