The review, for which all the drilling had been undertaken, went off without serious effect on the contesting parties. The only thing was, that Bourhope was so disturbed and so distracted in his mind that he could not attend to orders, and lost his character as a yeoman, and all chance of being future fugleman to his corps1. And this, although the Major had said, when the drills began, that there was not a finer man or more promising2 dragoon than Bourhope in the regiment3.
Chrissy's bright, tranquil4 satisfaction in contemplating5, from the box of Mrs. Spottiswoode's phaeton, the stand of county ladies, with their gorgeousness and grace, was decidedly impaired6. The review, with its tramping and halting, its squares and files, its shouting leaders, galloping7 aides-de-camp, flashing swords and waving plumes8, was certainly very fine. All the rest of Priorton said so and proved so, for they stood or sat for a whole day witnessing it, under a scorching9 sun, on foot, and in every description of vehicle from a corn-cart to a coroneted carriage. Yes, the review was very fine to the mass; but it was only a confused, hollow, agitating10 play to Chrissy as to Bourhope. Still she lost sight of the grand general rank and file, by concentrating her regard on one little scarlet11 dot. It was to her a play with its heart a-wanting, and yet the whirl and movement were welcome for a moment as substitutes for that heart.
The ball remained, and Bourhope was resolute12 it should [Page 295]settle the question for him. It was the commendable13 fashion at Priorton that no young lady should refuse to dance with an acquaintance without the excuse of a previous engagement, under the penalty of having to sit the rest of the night. Bourhope would get Chrissy to himself that night (balls were of some use, after all, he thought), and have an opportunity of hearing a terribly decisive word, and of getting a reason for that word too, should it prove unfavourable. In short, he would storm the fortress14, and beat down its faltering15 guard then or never.
Others besides Bourhope had determined16 on making the ball a theatre of explanations. Mrs. Spottiswoode was not pleased with the aspect of things as between Bourhope and Corrie. Their affair made no advance, and the ball was the conclusion of the yeomanry weeks. The yeomen were already to all intents and purposes disbanded, and about to return, like Cincinnatus, to their reaping-hooks. Corrie was evidently not contented17. She was listless and a little peevish18, unless when in the company of other yeomen than Bourhope—a rare thing with Corrie, who was really a very harmless girl. But she looked elegant in her ball dress, and had always a train of admirers on such occasions. And then, of course, many men needed the spur of jealousy19 to induce them to take the bold leap of matrimony. Chrissy, too, had her own fears and doubts about this ball. Bourhope hitherto had only pursued her, if he had pursued her, in rather a secret manner. She would now see how he would treat her on a public occasion. His conduct would then be marked and conspicuous20, and even Mrs. Spottiswoode's and Corrie's eyes [Page 296]would be opened to it. Then, again, he would have an opportunity of contrasting her personally with all the girls about Priorton. Chrissy gazed wistfully into the glass as she fastened her yellow scrimp old white frock, and sighed. But she did not look so much amiss as she supposed: she was young, slight, and full of subtle character. And with her scarlet coral beads21 twisted among her dark little turret22 curls and bows, there was piquancy23 and attraction in Chrissy. But her first purely24 disinterested25 and unbounded pleasure in the gaiety was grievously chequered, and it was to be feared the account she would carry home of her first ball to expectant Blackfaulds would be disappointing.
There were only two chaises in repair in Priorton, to convey the whole townspeople in rotation26 to the ball. It was thus unavoidable that some should be very early, as well as some very late. Mr. Spottiswoode, as Provost, was of course among the first after the Colonel and his lady, old country people, who stood arm-in-arm, bluff27 and bland28, under the evergreens29 over the door, and shook hands with everybody, great and small—a family of pretty girls meanwhile laughing behind them.
Mrs. Spottiswoode wore a splendid bunch of white feathers tipped with straw-colour in her blue gauze turban. Even Chrissy's dazed eyes noticed that, as well as the white ribbon in Provost Spottiswoode's bottle-green coat, which pointed30 him out an honorary steward31. But how handsome brown curly Bourhope looked in his red coat!
A strange thought came over Chrissy. She did not wish Corrie, in her white crape and French ribbons, and so tall [Page 297]and straight and fair, to be blighted32 in her beauty—no, not for a moment. But Chrissy was cruel enough to cherish a passing wish that, by some instantaneous transformation33, Bourhope might be pitted with smallpox34, or scarred with gunpowder35, or have premature36 age brought upon him as with the wave of a wand—the soul within being left unchanged, however.
Mrs. Spottiswoode, unlike Chrissy, was quite alive to the practical. She remarked everything with keen eyes, and determined now to be at the bottom of the business. She should either go in and win triumphantly37, or take a sudden tack38 and sail away with flying colours, as if she had never entertained the most distant intention of coming to close quarters, and thus give the impression that she never had any intention of promoting a match between Bourhope and Corrie.
Mrs. Spottiswoode thought Bourhope looked as if he were going to do something desperate. His first blunder had been to hand, or rather lift, Chrissy into the chaise instead of Corrie, at starting from their own door. He repeated the unaccountable blunder at the County Rooms, which compelled him to take Chrissy into the ball-room; and while Chrissy was still gazing in bewilderment and admiration39 at the evergreens and chalked floors, and talking, laughing couples, Mrs. Spottiswoode could scarcely believe her ears when she distinctly heard Bourhope ask Chrissy's hand for the first dance, saying that he would have engaged it before if he had got the opportunity.
Now Mrs. Spottiswoode had no doubt that Bourhope would solicit40 her sister Corrie for this dance, and therefore [Page 298]she had peremptorily41 forbidden Corrie to engage herself in any other quarter, even when Corrie had demurred42 at the certainty of the arrangement. It was very odd of Bourhope, unless he thought Chrissy would have no chance of any other partner, and wanted to spare a plain little girl's mortification43 at the very commencement of the evening. "That must be it," Mrs. Spottiswoode said to herself, and was consoled by Corrie's hand being immediately requested for the Colonel's nephew.
The Colonel's wife opened the ball with the most popular and oldest private for partner, and, of course, Chrissy and Bourhope stood below Corrie and the Colonel's nephew. But Bourhope and Chrissy did not mind Corrie's precedence, and were talking to each other quite intimately. Bourhope was forgetting the figure and bending across to Chrissy, though he was saying nothing particular, and speaking out quite loud. But he looked engrossed44 and excited. If it had been any other girl but Chrissy, Mrs. Spottiswoode would have called it a flirtation45, and more than a flirtation. Chrissy looked well in her shabby dress, almost pretty indeed, in the new atmosphere. Mrs. Spottiswoode was aggrieved46, disgusted in the first instance, but she would not just yet believe such an incredible contradiction to her well-laid scheme. Match-making involves so many parties, there are such wheels within wheels of calculation and resource. She glanced at Corrie, who was dancing very complacently47 with the Colonel's nephew, and exchanging passing words with yeomen who tried to get speech with her. In her white crape, and teeth as white, and her dimples, she was safe, heart-whole and prosperous[Page 299]—a beauty who might pick and choose a suitable husband, even though Bourhope, infatuated, threw himself away.
Mrs. Spottiswoode gave a sigh of relief. Failure now would only be comparative.
The dance being over, Bourhope sat down beside Chrissy. No, she turned her head the other way, and he rose up and strolled through the room. But he was soon back in his old place.
He wanted to dance with Chrissy again. She hesitated, grew nervous, and cast her eyes on Mrs. Spottiswoode. He went straight to their hostess, and said, "Mrs. Spottiswoode, you have no objection that I dance this dance again with Miss Chrissy Hunter?"
"None in the world, Bourhope," said Mrs. Spottiswoode, with a spasmodic smile, "why should I?"
"Why, indeed?" he returned, "or every dance? May I tell her so?"
"That is as she and you may agree. You are aware that would appear something serious," she said, trying to laugh.
"I will take the consequences," he significantly assured her, and went back and told Chrissy so, and then he drove her to her inmost citadel48, and beat her there.
Other eyes than Mrs. Spottiswoode's were attracted to the pair. Half-a-dozen matrons' heads went wagging significantly; girls whispered and tittered; gentlemen opened their eyes, shaped their mouths as if about to whistle, strolled up and took their observations of the pre-occupied, unconscious couple quite coolly, and then speculated and gossiped.
[Page 300]Mrs. Spottiswoode read these comments as well as what had gone before, and was ready with her magnanimity. It was this which constituted her a truly able tactician49. She shifted her tack before the shout of malicious50 exultation51 and ridicule52 could have been raised at her discomfiture53. By a dexterous54 sleight55 of hand, she shuffled56 her cards and altered her suit. In a moment Mrs. Spottiswoode was winking57 and nodding with the matrons interested in the news of the night. She arrested a good-humoured yeoman, and crossed the room on his arm, to express and receive congratulations. "You have found out the secret? Foolish fellow, Bourhope; he cannot conceal58 his feelings, though their display is premature. I must scold him for exposing himself and her. Poor dear! she is not accustomed to this sort of thing. But I am so delighted—so nice, isn't it? Such an excellent marriage for my cousin Chrissy—a good girl, a very clever girl—such a fortunate beginning for the Blackfaulds family. I often say the first marriage makes or mars a family of girls. It is so lucky that I invited Chrissy for the yeomanry weeks this summer. It is a great deal better than if it had been Corrie, because Corrie can wait," with a careless wave of her hand in the direction in which Corrie moved, deliberately59 followed by her train. "Corrie has too many admirers to make up her mind speedily, yet she takes it all very quietly. But this is so appropriate—Mr. Spottiswoode's cousin and my cousin—nobody could have planned it better."
She turned round, and heard a blunt booby of a farmer speaking out his mind. She at once took him up—"You would not have thought it? You [Page 301]cannot comprehend what has come over Bourhope, or what he sees in that thin, yellow mite60, Miss Hunter of Blackfaulds, even though she were as good as a saint, and as wise as the Queen of Sheba? Oh! come, Balquin, you do not allow sufficient latitude61 to goodness and cleverness. I tell you, Bourhope has neither eyes nor ears for anybody but that mite; he counts his colourless daisy far before the gayest painted face. He knows that we are remarking on them now, and he is holding his head as high as if he had sought and won a queen. He is right; she will prove a sensible, cheerful wife to him. Bourhope will have the cleverest, best wife in the county, for all your swaggering. And that is something, when a man comes to be old and has an old wife like me. Not old, Balquin? away with you. I wish the Provost heard you. Do you think to flatter me because I am in spirits about my cousin's match? No, it is not lost that a friend gets, Balquin."
The public of Priorton did not know whether most to admire Mrs. Spottiswoode's diplomacy62, or this rare instance of poetic63 justice.
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1
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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2
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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3
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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4
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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6
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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8
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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9
scorching
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| adj. 灼热的 | |
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10
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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11
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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12
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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13
commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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15
faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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16
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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18
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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21
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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22
turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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23
piquancy
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| n.辛辣，辣味，痛快 | |
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24
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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26
rotation
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| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
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27
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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28
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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30
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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31
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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32
blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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33
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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34
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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35
gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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36
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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37
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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38
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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39
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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40
solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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41
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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42
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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44
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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45
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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46
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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47
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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48
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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49
tactician
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| n. 战术家, 策士 | |
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50
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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51
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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52
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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53
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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54
dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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55
sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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56
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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57
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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58
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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59
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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60
mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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61
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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62
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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63
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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