CHAPTER VI. THE STEP-MOTHER.

 "Jasper!" exclaimed his father, in surprise, but showing pleasure, nevertheless, at his son's unexpected presence.

 

The boy went straight up to his father, passing within two feet of his father's wife, but without even looking at her.

 

"Father!" he burst forth¹, impulsively², "is it true?"

 

"Is what true?" asked his father, embarrassed, for he guessed what Jasper meant.

 

"Are you married—to her?" pointing to Mrs. Kent, who looked indignant at the reference.

 

"Yes, Jasper," answered his father, nervously³. "Shake hands with your—with Mrs. Kent."

 

He was about to say "your mother," but something in his memory, perhaps something in his son's face, led him to change the expression.

 

Jasper did not apparently⁴ heed⁵ the suggestion. Instead, he said, reproachfully:

 

"Why was it, father, that you left me in ignorance of your intention?"

 

"She thought it best," said his father, in an apologetic tone.

 

Mrs. Kent spoke⁶ for the first time.

 

"Yes, Jasper, we thought it would only interrupt your studies."

 

Jasper could not help a slight sneer⁷, as he answered:

 

"You were very considerate, madam; but it seems to me that such an important event in my father's life would justify⁸ an interruption."

 

Mrs. Kent repressed her real feelings of anger and vexation, and answered mildly, and with an affectation of good humor:

 

"I don't know but you are right, Jasper, and we were wrong. At any rate, since you have come it is a pity you were not here earlier, so that you could have been present at the ceremony. It was quite private, as your father can tell you."

 

"Yes, Jasper, there were no invitations issued," said his father.

 

"I wish that I had come earlier," said Jasper, slowly.

 

"At any rate, now that you are here," said Mrs. Kent, with well-feigned cordiality, for it was politic⁹ to keep on good terms with Jasper, since he was his father's favorite, "you will stay a day or two."

 

"You forget, madam, the interruption to my studies," said Jasper.

 

"I should like to wring¹⁰ the boy's neck," thought Mrs. Kent, her eyes contracting slightly, but she answered, amiably¹¹: "I am afraid I have thought too much of that already. Let me make amends¹² by welcoming you, and asking you to stay as long as you can."

 

Mr. Kent nodded approvingly at these words of his wife.

 

"I ought not to complain," said Jasper, "since you treated me no worse than you did your own son."

 

"Nicholas has betrayed my secret!" thought Mrs. Kent, turning pale.

 

"What are you talking about, Jasper?" demanded Mr. Kent, surprised. "My wife has no son."

 

"Jasper means my nephew," explained Mrs. Kent, recovering her assurance.

 

"He said you were his mother," said Jasper.

 

"Yes," said Mrs. Kent, with admirable composure, "the poor boy has always looked upon me as a mother, though such is not our relationship. Indeed, I may say, orphan¹³ as he is, I have been a mother to him."

 

"And it is very much to your credit, my dear," said Mr. Kent, kindly¹⁴. "We must have him here on a visit. As Jasper's schoolmate, and your nephew, he shall be doubly welcome."

 

"You are very kind, Mr. Kent," said his wife, in a tone which might well be mistaken for that of grateful emotion. "It will, indeed, be a treat to my poor Nicholas to come here, even for a day."

 

"He must spend his next vacation here, eh, Jasper? It will be pleasant for you to have a boy of your own age here."

 

"Do as you like, father," said Jasper, who didn't care to say how distasteful the proposition was to him, or to explain the nature of the relations between Nicholas and himself.

 

Mrs. Kent looked at him sharply as he spoke, and understood better how he felt. But, as he did not openly object, she was satisfied. It was what she had wished to bring about, and she felt pleased that the proposal had come from Mr. Kent, and that Jasper had not spoken against it.

 

"I will go and order your room to be made ready for you, Jasper," she said. "You had better write to Dr. Benton that you will stay with us a day or two."

 

So saying, she left the room, and Jasper was left alone with his father.

 

"Don't you like this marriage, Jasper?" asked his father, anxiously, seeing that his son looked sober.

 

"No, father," answered Jasper, frankly¹⁵. "I have not yet got over the shock of the first news."

 

"You think I ought to have told you about it."

 

"You are not accustomed to keep secrets from me, father."

 

"I did it for the best, Jasper; I wanted to tell you, but she—Mrs. Kent—thought it best not."

 

"I am afraid, father," said Jasper, sadly, "it will not be the only time that she is destined¹⁶ to come between us."

 

"No, Jasper," answered his father, with more energy than was usual with him, "that shall not be. I am sure she would not wish it, and I know I wouldn't permit it. I hope, my dear boy, that you will become reconciled to the new state of things."

 

"One thing would reconcile me to it," said Jasper.

 

"What is it?"

 

"To be assured that it would promote your happiness."

 

"I feel sure that it will," said Mr. Kent, but he did not speak very confidently.

 

"If it be so, it is all I ask. But tell me, father, did you marry for love?"

 

Mr. Kent hesitated.

 

"I am too old for that, Jasper," he answered, pleasantly. "The fact is, I need a nurse and Miss Thorne needed a home; and, in fact, without pretending to any sentimental¹⁷ reason, we concluded that it would be the best thing under the circumstances."

 

"Was she very much surprised when you made the proposal, father?" asked Jasper, significantly.

 

"No, I can't say she was," answered his father, embarrassed.

 

"It is as I thought," Jasper said to himself; "she inveigled¹⁸ my father into the marriage."

 

He said aloud:

 

"Well, father, I heartily¹⁹ hope it will be for your happiness; and now let us talk about something else. Shall I tell you about the school?"

 

"Yes, Jasper."

 

So Jasper gossiped about school matters in a way that interested his father, and the two forgot for a time that a new tie had been formed that might possibly make a difference between them.

 

Meanwhile Mrs. Kent, instead of giving directions about Jasper's room, opened her writing-desk and wrote a hurried note to Nicholas. In this she said:

 

"Remember, Nicholas, you are to pass for my nephew. Why were you so imprudent as to tell Jasper I was your mother? I have explained that you regard me as a mother, though really my nephew. You must give the same explanation. Jasper is at home now, not very well pleased to find that he has a step-mother. But it is done, and he will find it can't be undone²¹. Be prudent²⁰, follow my directions implicitly²², and you will find it to your account.

 

"Your devoted²³ aunt,

 

"Matilda Thorne Kent.

 

"P.S.—I have told Mr. Kent about you, and he authorizes²⁴ me to invite you here to spend the next vacation."

 

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 impulsively   

adv.冲动地

参考例句：

• She leant forward and kissed him impulsively. 她倾身向前，感情冲动地吻了他。
• Every good, true, vigorous feeling I had gathered came impulsively round him. 我的一切良好、真诚而又强烈的感情都紧紧围绕着他涌现出来。

3 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

6 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

8 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

9 politic   

adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政

参考例句：

• He was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage.他很聪明，不会与这么重要的人争吵。
• The politic man tried not to offend people.那个精明的人尽量不得罪人。

10 wring   

n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭

参考例句：

• My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。
• I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。

11 amiably   

adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地

参考例句：

• She grinned amiably at us. 她咧着嘴向我们亲切地微笑。
• Atheists and theists live together peacefully and amiably in this country. 无神论者和有神论者在该国和睦相处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

13 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

14 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

15 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

16 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

17 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

18 inveigled   

v.诱骗，引诱( inveigle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He inveigled them into buying a new car. 他诱惑他们买了一辆新汽车。 来自辞典例句
• The salesman inveigled the girl into buying the ring. 店员（以甜言）诱使女孩买下戒指。 来自辞典例句

19 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

20 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

21 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

22 implicitly   

adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地

参考例句：

• Many verbs and many words of other kinds are implicitly causal. 许多动词和许多其他类词都蕴涵着因果关系。
• I can trust Mr. Somerville implicitly, I suppose? 我想，我可以毫无保留地信任萨莫维尔先生吧？

23 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

24 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。