Her ladyship was reposing12 in her low reading-chair, with a volume of Tyndall on the book-stand before her, when the door was opened softly and Lesbia came gliding13 in, and seated herself without a word on the hassock at her grandmother’s feet. Lady Maulevrier passed her hand caressingly14 over the girl’s soft brown hair, without looking up from her book.
‘You are a late visitor,’ she said; ‘why did you not come to me after breakfast?’
‘It was such a lovely morning, we went straight from the breakfast table to the garden; I did not think you wanted me.’
‘I did not want you; but I am always glad to see my pet. What were you doing in the garden all the morning? I did not hear you playing tennis.’
Lady Maulevrier had already interrogated15 the German governess upon this very subject, but she had her own reasons for wishing to hear Lesbia’s account.
‘No, it was too warm for tennis. Fr?ulein and I sat and worked, and Mr. Hammond read to us.’
‘What did he read?’
‘Heine’s ballads16. He reads German beautifully.
‘Indeed! I daresay he was at school in Germany. There are cheap schools there to which middle-class people send their boys.’
This was like a thrust from a rusty17 knife.
‘Mr. Hammond was at Oxford,’ Lesbia said, reproachfully; and then, after a longish pause, she clasped her hands upon the arm of Lady Maulevrier’s chair, and said, in a pleading voice, ‘Grandmother, Mr. Hammond has asked me to marry him.’
‘Indeed! Only that? And pray, did he tell you what are his means of maintaining Lord Maulevrier’s sister in the position to which her birth entitles her?’ inquired the dowager, with crushing calmness.
‘He is not rich; indeed, I believe, he is poor; but he is brave and clever, and he is full of confidence in his power to conquer fortune.’
‘No doubt; that is your true adventurer’s style. He confides18 implicitly19 in his own talents, and in somebody else’s banker. Mr. Hammond would make a tremendous figure in the world, I daresay, and while he was making it your brother would have to keep him. Well, my dear Lesbia, I hope you gave this gentleman the answer his insolence20 deserved; or that you did better, and referred him to me. I should be glad to give him my opinion of his conduct — a person admitted to this house as your brother’s hanger-on — tolerated only on your brother’s account; such a person, nameless, penniless, friendless (except for Maulevrier’s too facile patronage), to dare to lift his eyes to my granddaughter! It is ineffable21 insolence!’
Lesbia crouched22 by her grandmother’s chair, her face hidden from Lady Maulevrier’s falcon23 eye. Every word uttered by her ladyship stung like the knotted cords of a knout. She knew not whether to be most ashamed of her lover or of herself — of her lover for his obscure position, his hopeless poverty; of herself for her folly24 in loving such a man. And she did love him, and would fain have pleaded his cause, had she not been cowed by the authority that had ruled her all her life.
‘Lesbia, if I thought you had been silly enough, degraded enough, to give this young man encouragement, to have justified25 his audacity26 of to-day by any act or word of yours, I should despise, I should detest27 you,’ said Lady Maulevrier, sternly. ‘What could be more contemptible28, more hateful in a girl reared as you have been than to give encouragement to the first comer — to listen greedily to the first adventurer who had the insolence to make love to you, to be eager to throw yourself into the arms of the first man who asked you. That my granddaughter, a girl reared and taught and watched and guarded by me, should have no more dignity, no more modesty29, or womanly feeling, than a barmaid at an inn!’
Lesbia began to cry.
‘I don’t see why a barmaid, should not be a good woman, or why it should be a crime to fall in love,’ she said, in a voice broken by sobs30. ‘You need not speak to me so unkindly. I am not going to marry Mr. Hammond.’
‘Oh, you are not? that is very good of you. I am deeply grateful for such an assurance.’
‘But I like him better than anyone I ever saw in my life before.’
‘You have seen to many people. You have had such a wide area for choice.’
‘No; I know I have been kept like a nun31 in a convent: but I don’t think when I go into the world I shall ever see anyone I should like better than Mr. Hammond.’
‘Wait till you have seen the world before you make up your mind about that. And now, Lesbia, leave off talking and thinking like a child; look me in the face and listen to me, for I am going to speak seriously; and with me, when I am in earnest, what is said once is said for ever.’
Lady Maulevrier grasped her granddaughter’s arm with long slender fingers which held it as tightly as the grasp of a vice32. She drew the girl’s slim figure round till they were face to face, looking into each other’s eyes, the dowager’s eagle countenance33 lit up with impassioned feeling, severe, awful as the face of one of the fatal sisters, the avengers of blood, the harbingers of doom34.
‘Lesbia, I think I have been good to you, and kind to you,’ she said.
‘You have been all that is kind and dear,’ faltered35 Lesbia.
‘Then give me measure for measure. My life has been a hard one, child; hard and lonely, and loveless and joyless. My son, to whom I devoted36 myself in the vigour37 of youth and in the prime of life, never loved me, never repaid me for my love. He spent his days far away from me, when his presence would have gladdened my difficult life. He died in a strange land. Of his three children, you are the one I took into my heart. I did my duty to the others; I lavished38 my love upon you. Do not give me cursing instead of blessing39. Do not give me a stone instead of bread. I have built every hope of happiness or pleasure in this world upon you and your obedience40. Obey me, be true to me, and I will make you a queen, and I will sit in the shadow of your throne. I will toil41 for you, and be wise for you. You shall have only to shine, and dazzle, and enjoy the glory of life. My beautiful darling, for pity’s sake do not give yourself over to folly.’
‘Did not you marry for love, grandmother?’
‘No, Lesbia. Lord Maulevrier and I got on very well together, but ours was no love-match.’
‘Does nobody in our rank ever marry for love? are all marriages a mere42 exchange and barter43?’
‘No, there are love-matches now and then, which often turn out badly. But, my darling, I am not asking you to marry for rank or for money. I am only asking you to wait till you find your mate among the noblest in the land. He may be the handsomest and most accomplished44 of men, a man born to win women’s hearts; and you may love him as fervently45 as ever a village girl loved her first lover. I am not going to sacrifice you, or to barter you, dearest. I mean to marry you to the best and noblest young man of his day. You shall never be asked to stoop to the unworthy, not even if worthlessness wore strawberry leaves in his cap, and owned the greatest estate in the land.’
‘And if — instead of waiting-for this King Arthur of yours — I were to do as Iseult did — as Guinevere did — choose for myself ——’
‘Iseult and Guinevere were wantons. I wonder that you can name them in comparison with yourself.’
‘If I were to marry a good and honourable46 man who has his place to make in the world, would you never forgive me?’
‘You mean Mr. Hammond? You may just as well speak plainly,’ said Lady Maulevrier, freezingly. ‘If you were capable of such idiocy47 as that, Lesbia, I would pluck you out of my heart like a foul48 weed. I would never look upon you, or hear your name spoken, or think of you again as long as I lived. My life would not last very long after that blow. Old age cannot bear such shocks. Oh, Lesbia, I have been father and mother to you; do not bring my grey hairs in sorrow to the grave.’
Lesbia gave a deep sigh, and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Yes, the very idea of such a marriage was foolishness. Just now, in the pine wood, carried away by the force of her lover’s passion, by her own softer feelings, it had seemed to her as if she could count the world well lost for his sake; but now, at Lady Maulevrier’s feet, she became again true to her training, and the world was too much to lose.
‘What can I do, grandmother?’ she asked, submissively, despairingly. ‘He loves me, and I love him. How can I tell him that he and I can never be anything to each other in this world?’
‘Refer him to me. I will give him his answer.’
‘No, no; that will not do. I have promised to answer him myself. He has gone for a walk on the hills, and will come back at four o’clock for my answer.’
‘Sit down at that table, and write as I dictate49.’
‘But a letter will be so formal.’
‘It is the only way in which you can answer him. When he comes back from his walk you will have left Fellside. I shall send you off to St. Bees with Fr?ulein. You must never look upon that man’s face again.’
Lesbia brushed away a few more tears, and obeyed. She had been too well trained to attempt resistance. Defiance50 was out of the question.
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1
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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canine
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| adj.犬的，犬科的 | |
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inane
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| adj.空虚的，愚蠢的，空洞的 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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7
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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8
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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wittiest
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| 机智的，言辞巧妙的，情趣横生的( witty的最高级 ) | |
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reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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13
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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15
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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16
ballads
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| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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confides
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的第三人称单数 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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falcon
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| n.隼，猎鹰 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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27
detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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28
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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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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33
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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35
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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36
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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lavished
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| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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40
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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41
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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42
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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43
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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44
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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45
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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47
idiocy
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| n.愚蠢 | |
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48
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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49
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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50
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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