In about an hour afterwards, Rachel Lake arrived in the carriage which had been despatched for her with Dorcas’s note.
She was a good deal muffled1 up, and looked very pale, and asked whether Miss Brandon was in her room, whither she glided2 rapidly up stairs. It was a sort of boudoir or dressing-room, with a few pretty old portraits and miniatures, and a number of Louis Quatorze looking-glasses hung round, and such pretty quaint3 cabriole gilt4 and pale green furniture.
Dorcas met her at the door, and they kissed silently.
‘How is he, Dorcas?’
‘Very ill, dear, I’m afraid — sit down, darling.’
Rachel was relieved, for in her panic she almost feared to ask if he were living.
‘Is there immediate5 danger?’
‘The doctor says not, but he is very much alarmed for to-morrow.’
‘Oh! Dorcas, darling, he’ll die; I know it. Oh! merciful Heaven! how tremendous.’
‘You will not be so frightened in a little time. You have only just heard it, Rachel dearest, and you are startled. I was so myself.’
‘I’d like to see him, Dorcas.’
‘Sit here a little and rest, dear. The doctor will make his visit immediately, and then we can ask him. He’s a good-natured little creature — poor old Buddle — and I am certain if it can safely be, he won’t prevent it.’
‘Where is he, darling — where is Stanley?’
So Dorcas described as well as she could.
‘Oh, poor Stanley. Oh, Stanley — poor Stanley,’ gasped6 Rachel, with white lips. ‘You have no idea, Dorcas — no one can — how terrific it is. Oh, poor Stanley — poor Stanley.’
‘Drink this water, darling; you must not be so excited.’
‘Dorcas, say what the doctor may, see him I must.’
‘There is time to think of that, darling.’
‘Has he spoken to anyone?’
‘Very little, I believe. He whispers a few words now and then — that is all.’
‘Nothing to Chelford — nothing particular, I mean?’
‘No — nothing — at least that I have heard of.’
‘Did he wish to see no one?’
‘No one, dear.’
‘Not poor William Wylder?’
‘No, dear. I don’t suppose he cares more for a clergyman than for any other man; none of his family ever did, when they came to lie on a bed of sickness, or of death either.’
‘No, no,’ said Rachel, wildly; ‘I did not mean to pray. I was not thinking of that; but William Wylder was different; and he did not mention me either?’
Dorcas shook her head.
‘I knew it,’ continued Rachel, with a kind of shudder7. ‘And tell me, Dorcas, does he know that he is in danger — such imminent8 danger?’
‘That I cannot say, Rachel, dear. I don’t believe doctors like to tell their patients so.’
There was a silence of some minutes, and Rachel, clasping her hands in an agony, said —
‘Oh, yes — he’s gone — he’s certainly gone; and I remain alone under that dreadful burden.’
‘Please, Miss Brandon, the doctor’s down stairs with Captain Lake,’ said the maid, opening the door.
‘Is Lord Chelford with him?’
‘Yes, Miss, please.’
‘Then tell him I will be so obliged if he will come here for a moment, when the doctor is gone; and ask the doctor now, from me, how he thinks Captain Lake.’
In a little while the maid returned. Captain Lake was not so low, and rather better than this morning, the doctor said; and Rachel raised her eyes, and whispered an agitated9 thanksgiving. ‘Was Lord Chelford coming?’
‘His lordship had left the room when she returned, and Mr. Larcom said he was with Lawyer Larkin in the library.’
‘Mr. Larkin can wait. Tell Lord Chelford I wish very much to see him here.’
So away went the maid again. A message in that great house was a journey; and there was a little space before they heard a knock at the door of Dorcas’s pretty room, and Lord Chelford, duly invited, came in.
Lord Chelford was surprised to see Rachel, and held her hand, while he congratulated her on the more favourable10 opinion of the physician this afternoon; and then he gave them, as fully11 and exactly as he could, all the lights emitted by Dr. Buddle, and endeavoured to give his narrative12 as cheerful and confident an air as he could. Then, at length, he recollected13 that Mr. Larkin was waiting in the study.
‘I quite forgot Mr. Larkin,’ said he; ‘I left him in the library, and I am so very glad we have had a pleasanter report upon poor Lake this evening; and I am sure we shall all feel more comfortable on seeing Sir Francis Seddley. He is such an admirable surgeon; and I feel sure he’ll strike out something for our poor patient. I’ve known him hit upon such original expedients14, and make such wonderful successes.’
So with a kind smile he left the room.
Then there was a long pause.
‘Does he really think that Stanley will recover?’ said Rachel.
‘I don’t know; I suppose he hopes it. I don’t know, Rachel, what to think of anyone or anything. What wild beasts they are. How “swift to shed blood,” as poor William Wylder said last Sunday. Have you any idea what they quarrelled about?’
‘None in the world. It was that odious15 Sir Harry16 Bracton — was not it?’
‘Why so odious, Rachel? How can you tell which was in the wrong? I only know he seems to be a better marksman than your poor brother.’
Rachel looked at her with something of haughty17 and surprised displeasure, but said nothing.
‘You look at me, Radie, as if I were a monster — or monstress, I should say — whereas I am only a Brandon. Don’t you remember how our great ancestor, who fought for the House of York, changed suddenly to Lancaster, and how Sir Richard left the King and took part with Cromwell, not for any particular advantage, I believe, or for any particular reason even, but for wickedness and wounded pride, perhaps.’
‘I don’t quite see your meaning, Dorcas. I can’t understand how your pride has been hurt; but if Stanley had any, I can well imagine what torture it must have endured; wretched, wicked, punished fool!’
‘You suspect what they fought about, Radie!’
Rachel made no answer.
‘You do, Radie, and why do you dissemble with me?’
‘I don’t dissemble; I don’t care to speak; but if you will have me say so, I do suspect — I think it must have originated in jealousy18 of you.’
‘You look, Radie, as if you thought I had managed it — whereas I really did not care.’
‘I do not understand you, Dorcas; but you appear to me very cruel, and you smile, as I say so.’
‘I smile, because I sometimes think so myself.’
With a fixed19 and wrathful stare Rachel returned the enigmatical gaze of her beautiful cousin.
‘If Stanley dies, Dorcas, Sir Harry Bracton shall hear of it. I’ll lose my life, but he shall pay the forfeit20 of his crime.’
So saying, Rachel left the room, and gliding21 through passages, and down stairs, she knocked at Stanley’s door. The old woman opened it.
‘Ah, Dorothy! I’m so glad to see you here!’ and she put a present in her hard, crumpled22 hand.
So, noiselessly, Rachel Lake, without more parley23, stepped into the room, and closed the door. She was alone with Stanley With a beating heart, and a kind of chill stealing over her, by her brother’s bed.
The room was not so dark that she could not see distinctly enough.
There lay her brother, such as he was — still her brother, on the bleak24, neutral ground between life and death. His features, peaked and earthy, and that look, so new and peculiar25, which does not savour of life upon them. He did not move, but his strange eyes gazed cold and earnest from their deep sockets26 upon her face in awful silence. Perhaps he thought he saw a phantom27.
‘Are you better, dear?’ whispered Rachel.
His lips stirred and his throat, but he did not speak until a second effort brought utterance28, and he murmured,
‘Is that you, Radie?’
‘Yes, dear. Are you better?’
‘No. I’m shot. I shall die to-night. Is it night yet?’
‘Don’t despair, Stanley, dear. The great London doctor, Sir Francis Seddley, will be with you early in the morning, and Chelford has great confidence in him. I’m sure he will relieve you.’
‘This is Brandon?’ murmured Lake.
‘Yes, dear.’
She thought he was going to say more, but he remained silent, and she recollected that he ought not to speak, and also that she had that to say which must be said.
Sharp, dark, and strange lay that familiar face upon the white pillow. The faintest indication of something like a peevish29 sneer30; it might be only the lines of pain and fatigue31; still it had that unpleasant character remaining fixed on its features.
‘Oh, Stanley! you say you think you are dying. Won’t you send for William Wylder and Chelford, and tell all you know of Mark?’
She saw he was about to say something, and she leaned her head near his lips, and she heard him whisper —
‘It won’t serve Mark.’
‘I’m thinking of you, Stanley — I’m thinking of you.’
To which he said either ‘Yes’ or ‘So.’ She could not distinguish.
‘I view it now quite differently. You said, you know, in the park, you would tell Chelford; and I resisted, I believe, but I don’t now. I had rather you did. Yes, Stanley, I conjure32 you to tell it all.’
The cold lips, with a livid halo round them, murmured, ‘Thank you.’
It was a sneer, very shocking just then, perhaps; but unquestionably a sneer.
‘Poor Stanley!’ she murmured, with a kind of agony, looking down upon that changed face. ‘One word more, Stanley. Remember, it’s I, the only one on earth who stands near you in kindred, your sister, Stanley, who implores33 of you to take this step before it is too late; at least, to consider.’
He said something. She thought it was ‘I’ll think;’ and then he closed his eyes. It was the only motion she had observed, his face lay just as it had done on the pillow. He had not stirred all the time she was there; and now that his eyelids34 closed, it seemed to say, our interview is over — the curtain has dropped; and so understanding it, with that one awful look that may be the last, she glided from the bed-side, told old Dorothy that he seemed disposed to sleep, and left the room.
There is something awful always in the spectacle of such a sick-bed as that beside which Rachel had just stood. But not quite so dreadful is the sight as are the imaginings and the despair of absence. So reassuring35 is the familiar spectacle of life, even in its subsidence, so long as bodily torture and mental aberration36 are absent.
In the meanwhile, on his return to the library, Lord Chelford found his dowager mother in high chat with the attorney, whom she afterwards pronounced ‘a very gentlemanlike man for his line of life.’
The conversation, indeed, was chiefly that of Lady Chelford, the exemplary attorney contributing, for the most part, a polite acquiescence37, and those reflections which most appositely pointed38 the moral of her ladyship’s tale, which concerned altogether the vagaries39 of Mark Wylder — a subject which piqued40 her curiosity and irritated her passions.
It was a great day for Jos. Larkin; for by the time Lord Chelford returned the old lady had asked him to stay for dinner, which he did, notwithstanding his morning dress, to his great inward satisfaction, because he could henceforward mention, ‘the other day, when I dined at Brandon,’ or ‘old Lady Chelford assured me, when last I dined at Brandon;’ and he could more intimately speak of ‘our friends at Brandon,’ and ‘the Brandon people,’ and, in short, this dinner was very serviceable to the excellent attorney.
It was not very amusing this interchange of thought and feeling between Larkin and the dowager, upon a theme already so well ventilated as Mark Wylder’s absconding41, and therefore I let it pass.
After dinner, when the dowager’s place knew her no more, Lord Chelford resumed his talk with Larkin.
‘I am quite confirmed in the view I took at first,’ he said. ‘Wylder has no claim upon me. There are others on whom much more naturally the care of his money would devolve, and I think that my undertaking42 the office he proposes, under his present strange circumstances, might appear like an acquiescence in the extraordinary course he has taken, and a sanction generally of his conduct, which I certainly can’t approve. So, Mr. Larkin, I have quite made up my mind. I have no business to undertake this trust, simple as it is.’
‘I have only, my lord, to bow to your lordship’s decision; at the same time I cannot but feel, my lord, how peculiar and painful is the position in which it places me. There are rents to be received by me, and sums handed over, to a considerable — I may say, indeed, a very large amount: and my friend Lake — Captain Lake — now, unhappily, in so very precarious43 a state, appears to dislike the office, also, and to anticipate annoyance44, in the event of his consenting to act. Altogether, your lordship will perceive that the situation is one of considerable, indeed very great embarrassment45, as respects me. There is, however, one satisfactory circumstance disclosed in his last letter. His return, he says, cannot be delayed beyond a very few months, perhaps weeks; and he states, in his own rough way, that he will then explain the motives47 of his conduct to the entire satisfaction of all those who are cognizant of the measures which he has adopted — no more claret, thanks — no more — a delicious wine — and he adds, it will then be quite understood that he has acted neither from caprice, nor from any motive46 other than self-preservation. I assure you, my lord, that is the identical phrase he employs — self-preservation. I all along suspected, or, rather, I mean, supposed, that Mr. Wylder had been placed in this matter under coercion48 — a — a threat.’
‘A little more wine?’ asked Lord Chelford, after another interval49.
‘No — no more, I thank you. Your lordship’s very good, and the wine, I may say, excellent — delicious claret; indeed, quite so — ninety shillings a dozen, I should venture to say, and hardly to be had at that figure; but it grows late, I rather think, and the trustees of our little Wesleyan chapel50 — we’ve got a little into debt in that quarter, I am sorry to say — and I promised to advise with them this evening at nine o’clock. They have called me to counsel more than once, poor fellows; and so, with your lordship’s permission, I’ll withdraw.’
Lord Chelford walked with him to the steps. It was a beautiful night — very little moon, but that and the stars wonderfully clear and bright, and all things looking so soft and airy.
‘Try one of these,’ said the peer, presenting his cigar case.
Larkin, with a glow of satisfaction, took one of these noble cigars, and rolled it in his fingers, and smelt51 it.
‘Fragrant52 — wonderfully fragrant!’ he observed, meekly53, with a connoisseur’s shake of the head.
The night was altogether so charming that Lord Chelford was tempted54. So he took his cap, and lighted his cigar, too, and strolled a little way with the attorney.
He walked under the solemn trees — the same under whose airy groyning Wylder and Lake had walked away together on that noteworthy night on which Mark had last turned his back upon the grand old gables and twisted chimneys of Brandon Hall.
This way was rather a round, it must be confessed, to the Lodge55 — Jos, Larkin’s peaceful retreat. But a stroll with a lord was worth more than that sacrifice, and every incident which helped to make a colourable case of confidential56 relations at Brandon — a point in which the good attorney had been rather weak hitherto — was justly prized by that virtuous57 man.
If the trustees, Smith the pork-butcher, old Captain Snoggles, the Town Clerk, and the rest, had to wait some twenty minutes in the drawing-room at the Lodge, so much the better. An apology was, perhaps, the best and most modest shape into which he could throw the advertisement of his dinner at Brandon — his confidential talk with the proud old dowager, and his after-dinner ramble58 with that rising young peer, Lord Chelford. It would lead him gracefully59 into detail, and altogether the idea, the situation, the scene and prospect60, were so soothing61 and charming, that the good attorney felt a silent exaltation as he listened to Lord Chelford’s two or three delighted sentences upon the illimitable wonders and mysteries glimmering62 in the heavens above them.
The cigar was delicious, the air balmy and pleasant, his digestion63 happy, the society unexceptionably aristocratic — a step had just been gained, and his consideration in the town and the country round improved, by the occurrences of the evening, and his whole system, in consequence, in a state so serene64, sweet and satisfactory, that I really believe there was genuine moisture in his pink, dove-like eyes, as he lifted them to the heavens, and murmured, ‘Beautiful, beautiful!’ And he mistook his sensations for a holy rapture65 and silent worship.
Cigars, like other pleasures, are transitory. Lord Chelford threw away his stump66, tendered his case again to Mr. Larkin, and then took his leave, walking slowly homewards.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
quaint
|
|
| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
gilt
|
|
| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
imminent
|
|
| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
favourable
|
|
| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
recollected
|
|
| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
expedients
|
|
| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
odious
|
|
| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
harry
|
|
| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
haughty
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
forfeit
|
|
| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
parley
|
|
| n.谈判 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
sockets
|
|
| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
phantom
|
|
| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
peevish
|
|
| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
sneer
|
|
| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
conjure
|
|
| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
implores
|
|
| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
aberration
|
|
| n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
acquiescence
|
|
| n.默许；顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
vagaries
|
|
| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
piqued
|
|
| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
absconding
|
|
| v.（尤指逃避逮捕）潜逃，逃跑( abscond的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
undertaking
|
|
| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
precarious
|
|
| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
annoyance
|
|
| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
motives
|
|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
coercion
|
|
| n.强制，高压统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
smelt
|
|
| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
meekly
|
|
| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
lodge
|
|
| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
confidential
|
|
| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
virtuous
|
|
| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
ramble
|
|
| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
gracefully
|
|
| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
soothing
|
|
| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
glimmering
|
|
| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
digestion
|
|
| n.消化，吸收 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
serene
|
|
| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
rapture
|
|
| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
stump
|
|
| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |