Victor Carrington’s first move was to present himself before Madame Durski on the following day, at the hour at which she habitually6 received visitors. He took up the confidential7 conversation which they had had on the last occasion of their meeting, as if it had not been dropped in the interval8, and came at once to the subject of Douglas Dale. This plan answered admirably; Paulina was naturally full of the subject, and the ice of formalism had been sufficiently9 broken between her and Victor Carrington, to enable her to refer to the interview which had taken place between herself and Douglas Dale without any impropriety. When she had done so, Carrington began to play his part. He assured Paulina of his warm interest in her, of the influence which he possessed10 over Sir Reginald Eversleigh, and the fears which he entertained of some treacherous11 proceeding12 on Reginald’s part which might place her in a most unpleasant position.
“Reginald has no real love for you,” said Carrington; “he would not hesitate to sacrifice you to the meanest of his interests, but his vanity and his temper are such that it is impossible to calculate upon what sort of folly13 he may be guilty.”
Paulina Durski was a thorough woman; and, therefore, having utterly14 discarded Reginald from her heart, having learned to substitute utter contempt for love, she was not averse15 to receiving any information, to learning any opinion, which tended to justify16 her change of feeling.
“What harm can he do me with Douglas?” asked Paulina, in alarm.
“Who can tell that, Madame Durski?” replied Carrington. “But this is not to the purpose. I don’t pretend to be wholly disinterested17 in this matter. I tell you plainly I am not so; it is very important to me that Sir Reginald should marry a woman of fortune, and should not marry you.”
“He never had any intention of marrying me,” said Paulina, hastily and bitterly.
“No, I don’t believe he had; but he would have liked very well to have compromised you in the eyes of society, so that no other man would have married you, to have bragged18 of relations existing between you which never did exist, and to have effectually ruined your fortunes in any other direction than the gaming-table. Now this I am determined19 he shall not do, and as I have more power over him than any one else, it lies with me to prevent it. What that power springs from, or how I have hitherto exercised it, you need not inquire, Madame Durski; I only wish you to believe that I exercise it in this instance for your good, for your protection.”
Paulina murmured some vague words of acknowledgment. He continued —
“If Reginald Eversleigh knows I am here, constantly cognizant of the state of affairs, and prepared to act for your advantage, he will not dare to come here and compromise you by his violent and unreasonable20 jealousy21; he will be forced — it is needless to explain how — to keep his envy and rage to himself, and to suppress the enmity with which he regards Douglas Dale. Let me tell you, Madame Durski, Reginald’s enmity is no trifling22 rock ahead in life, and your engaged lover has that rock to dread23.”
Paulina turned very pale.
“Save him from it, Mr. Carrington,” she said, appealingly. “Save him from it, and let me have a little happiness in this weary world, if such a thing there be.”
“I will, Madame Durski,” replied Victor. “You have already done as I have counselled you, and you have no reason to regret the result.”
The soft, dreamy smile of happy love stole over Paulina’s face as she listened to him.
“Let me be here with you as much as possible, and you will have no reason to fear Reginald. He is capable of anything, but he is afraid of me, and if he knows that I am determined to advance the marriage of yourself and Douglas Dale, he will not venture to oppose it openly. But there is one condition which I must append to my frequent presence here”— he spoke24 as though he were conferring the greatest favour on her —“Mr. Dale must not know me as Victor Carrington.”
With an expression in which there was something of the suspicious quickness which Miss Brewer had manifested when Carrington made a similar statement to her, Paulina asked him why.
Then Victor told her his version of the story of Honoria Eversleigh, the “unfortunate woman,” whom Douglas Dale’s unhappy and misguided uncle had raised to such undoubted rank and fortune, and the wild and absurd accusations25 the wretched woman had made against him.
“Mr. Dale never saw me,” said Victor, “and I know not whether he was thoroughly26 aware of the absurdity27, the insanity28 of this woman’s accusations. At all events, I don’t wish to recall any unpleasantness to his mind, and therefore I venture to propose that I should visit here, and be introduced to him as Mr. Carton. The fraud is a very harmless one; what do you say, Madame Durski?”
Paulina had her full share of the feminine love of mystery and intrigue29, and she consented at once. “What can the name matter,” she thought, “if it is really necessary for this man to be here?”
“And there is another consideration which we must take into account,” said Victor; “it is this. Mr. Dale may not like to find any man established here, in the degree of intimacy30 to which (in your interests) I aspire31; and therefore I propose, with your leave, to pass as a relation of Miss Brewer’s — say, her cousin. This will thoroughly account for my intimacy here. What do you say, Madame Durski?”
“As you please,” said Paulina, carelessly. “I am sure you are right, Mr. Carrington — Carton, I mean, and I am sure you mean kindly32 and well by me. But how odd it will seem to Charlotte and me, lonely creatures, waifs and derelicts as we have been so long, to have any one with whom we can claim even a pretended kinship!”
She spoke with a mingled33 bitterness and levity34 which have been painful to any man of right feelings, but which was pleasant to Victor Carrington, because it showed him how helpless and ignorant she was, how her mind had been warped35, how ready a tool he had found in her. When the interview between them came to an end, it had been arranged that Mr. Dale was to be introduced on the following day at Hilton House to Miss Brewer’s cousin, Mr. Carton.
The introduction took place. A very short time, well employed in close observation, sufficed to assure Victor that Douglas Dale was as much in love as any man need be to be certain of committing any number of follies36, and that Paulina was a changed woman under the influence of the same soul-subduing sentiment which, though not so strong in her case, was assuming strength and intensity37 as each day taught her more and more of her lover’s moral and intellectual excellence38. Douglas Dale was much pleased with Mr. Carton; and that gentleman did all in his power to render himself agreeable, and so far succeeded that, before the close of the evening, he had made a considerable advance towards establishing a very pleasant intimacy with Sir Reginald Eversleigh’s cousin.
Victor Carrington, always an observant man, had peculiarly the air of being on the watch that day during dinner. He noticed everything that Paulina ate and drank, and he took equal note of Miss Brewer’s and Douglas Dale’s choice of meats and wines. Miss Brewer drank no wine, Paulina very little, and Douglas Dale exclusively claret. When the dinner had reached its conclusion, a stand of liqueurs was placed upon the table, one of the few art-treasures left to the impoverished39 adventuress, rare and fragile Venetian flacons, and tiny goblets41 of opal and ruby42 glass. These glasses were the especial admiration43 of Douglas Dale, and Paulina filled the ruby goblet40 with cura?oa. She touched the edge of the glass playfully with her lips as she handed it to her lover; but Victor observed that she did not taste the liqueur.
“You do not affect cura?oa, madame?” he asked, carelessly.
“No; I never take that, or indeed, any other liqueur.”
“And yet you drink scarcely any wine?”
“No,” replied Paulina, indifferently; “I take very little wine.”
“Indeed!”
There was the faintest possible significance in Carrington’s tone as he said this. He had watched Madame Durski closely during dinner, and he had noted44 an excitement in her manner, a nervous vivacity45, such as are generally inspired by something stronger than water. And yet this woman had taken little else than water during the dinner. And it was to be observed that the almost febrile gaiety which distinguished46 her manner this evening had been as apparent when she first entered the drawing~room as it was now. This was a physiological47 or psychological enigma48, extremely interesting to Mr. Carrington. He was not slow to find a solution that was, in his opinion, sufficiently satisfactory. “That woman takes opium49 in some form or other,” he said to himself.
Miss Brewer did not touch the liqueur in question, and her cousin took Maraschino. After a very short interval, Douglas Dale and his new friend rose to join the ladies. They crossed the hall together, but as they reached the drawing-room door, Mr. Carrington discovered that he had dropped a letter in the dining-room, and returned to find it, first opening the drawing-room door that Dale might pass through it.
All was undisturbed in the dining-room; the table was just as they had left it. Victor approached the table, took up the carafon containing cura?oa, and, holding it up to the light with one hand, poured the contents of a small phial into it with the other. He watched the one liquid mingling50 with the other until no further traces of the operation were visible; and then setting the carafon softly down where he had found it, went smiling across the hall and joined the ladies.
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1
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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3
brewer
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| n. 啤酒制造者 | |
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imputing
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的现在分词 ) | |
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fickleness
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| n.易变；无常；浮躁；变化无常 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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7
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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9
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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14
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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16
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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17
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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18
bragged
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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21
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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24
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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25
accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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26
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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29
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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30
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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31
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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32
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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33
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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34
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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35
warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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36
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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37
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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38
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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39
impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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40
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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41
goblets
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| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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42
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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43
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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44
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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45
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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46
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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47
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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48
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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49
opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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50
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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