At last she spoke2.
"You received my note, Mr. Adelstone?"
"I am here," he said, with a slight smile.
She bit her lip, her pride revolting at his presence, at his very tone.
"I sent for you," she said, after a pause, and in the coldest tone, "because I have some information which I thought would interest you."
"Your ladyship is very good," he said.
"And because," she went on, scorning to accept his thanks, "I thought you might be of service."
He inclined his head. He would not meet her half way—would not help her. Let her tell him why she had sent for him, and he would throw himself into the case, not till then.
"The last time that we met you said words which I am not likely to have forgotten."
"I have not forgotten them," he said, "and I am prepared to stand by them."
"You profess3 to be willing—to be eager to prevent a certain occurrence?"
"If you mean the marriage of Lord Leycester and Stel—Miss Etheridge, I am more than willing; I am determined4 to prevent it!"
"You speak with great confidence," she said.
"I am always confident, Lady Lenore," he said. "It is by confidence that great things are achieved; this is only a small one."
"And yet it may be beyond your power to achieve," she said, scornfully.
"I think not," he retorted, quietly and gravely.
"Be that as it may," she said, "I have come here this evening to place in your hands a piece of information respecting the girl in whom you profess to take an interest."
The blood came to his pale face, and his eyes gleamed with sudden resentment5.
"By 'the girl,' do you refer to Miss Stella Etheridge?" he said, quietly. "If so, permit me to remind your ladyship that she is a lady!"
Lady Lenore made a gesture of haughty6 indifference7.
"Call her what you please," she said, coldly, insolently8. "I did refer to her."
"And to the man in whom you take an interest?" he said, with an insolence10 that matched her own.
The dark red flamed in her face, and she looked at him.
"That is a side of the question which we will not enter upon, if you please, Mr. Adelstone," she said.
"I am to understand, then," he said, with quiet scorn, "that[182] you came here this evening by your own appointment to do me a service. Is that so?"
He had roused her at last.
"Understand, think what you will," she said, in a low, strange voice; "let there be no parley11 between us. I wanted to see you and sent for you, and you are here, let that suffice. You wish to prevent the marriage of Lord Leycester and the lady whom we saw him with at this spot. You speak confidently of your power to do so; you will have a speedy opportunity of testing that power, for Lord Leycester intends marrying her to-morrow, or at latest the next day."
He did not start, neither did he turn pale, but he looked at her calmly, fixedly12; she knew that her shaft13 had told home, and she stood and watched and enjoyed.
"How do you know this?" he asked, quietly, in a very low voice.
She paused. It was a bitter humiliation14 to have to admit to this man, whom she regarded as the dust under her feet, that she, the Lady Lenore, had stooped so low as to steal and read a letter addressed to another person, and that person her rival—but it had to be admitted.
"I know it because he wrote and made arrangements for her flight and their clandestine15 meeting."
"How do you know it?" he asked, and his voice was dry and harsh.
She paused a moment.
"Because I saw the letter," she said, eying him defiantly16.
He smiled—even in his agony and fury he smiled at her humiliation.
"You have indeed done much in my service," he said, with a sneer17.
"Yours!" came fiercely to her lips; then she made a gesture of contempt, as if he were beneath her resentment.
"You saw the letter," he said. "What were the arrangements? When and where was she to meet him? Curse him!" he ground out between his teeth.
"She is to go to London by the eleven o'clock train to-morrow, and he will meet her and take her to 24 Bruton Street," she said, curtly18.
He choked back the oath that came to his lips.
"Meet him, and alone!" he muttered, the sweat breaking out on his forehead, his lips writhing19.
"No, not alone; a boy, her cousin, is to accompany them."
"Ah!" he said, and a malignant20 smile curled his lips; "I can scotch21 that small snake; but him—Lord Leycester!" and his hands clinched22.
He took a turn in the narrow path, and then came back to her.
"And afterward23?" he asked. "What is to follow?"
She shook her head with contemptuous indifference, and leant against the wooden rail, looking down at the bubbling, seething24 water.
"I do not know. I imagine, as the boy accompanies her, that he will get a special license25, and—marry her. But, perhaps"—and[183] she glanced round at his white face with a malicious26 smile—"perhaps the boy is a mere27 blind, and Lord Leycester will dispose of him."
"And then?"
"Then," she said, slowly. "Well, Lord Leycester's character is tolerably well known; in all probability he will not find it necessary to make the girl—I beg your pardon! the young lady—the future Countess of Wyndward."
She had gone too far. As the cruel, fearful words left her lips in all their biting, merciless scorn and contempt, he sprang upon her and seized her by the arm.
Her feet slipped, and she turned and clung to him, half her body hanging over the white foaming28 water.
For a moment they stood there, his gleaming eyes threatening death into hers, then, with a sudden long breath as if he had mastered his murderous impulse, he stepped backward, and drew her with him into safety.
"Take care!" he said, wiping the perspiration29 from his white forehead with a trembling hand. "Your ladyship nearly went too far! You forget that I love this girl, as you call her, though she is an angel of light and a star of nobility beside you, who stoop to open letters and utter slander30! Take care!"
She eyed him with a cruel scorn in her eyes and on her lips, that were white and shamed.
"You would murder me," she said.
He laughed a low, dry laugh.
"I would murder anyone who spoke of her as you spoke," he said, with quiet intensity31. "So be warned, my lady. For the future, teach your proud temper respect when it touches her name. Besides"—and he made a gesture as of contempt—"it was a foolish lie. You know that he intended nothing of the kind; you know that she is too pure even for his dastardly heart to compass her destruction. I imagine it is that which makes you hate her so. Is it not? No matter. Now that you are warned, and that you have learnt that I, Jasper Adelstone, am no mere slave to dance or writhe32 at your pleasure, we will return to the purport33 of the meeting. Will you not sit down?" and he pointed34 to the weir35 stage.
She was trembling from sheer physical weakness, combined with impotent rage and fury, but she would rather have died than obey him.
"Go on," she said. "What have you to say?"
"This," he returned. "That this marriage must be prevented, and that Miss Etheridge's good name must be preserved and protected. I can prevent this marriage even now, at the last hour. I will do so, on the condition that you give me your promise that you will never while life lasts speak of this. I have not much fear that you will do so; even you will hesitate before you proclaim to a third person your capability36 of opening another person's letters!"
"I promise," she said, coldly. "And how will you prevent this? You do not know the man against whom you intend to[184] pit yourself. Beware of him! Lord Leycester is a man who will not be trifled with."
"Thanks" he retorted. "You are very kind to warn me, especially as you would very much like to see me at Lord Leycester's feet. But I need no warning. I deal with her, not with him. How, is my affair."
She rose.
"I will go," she said, coldly.
"Stay," he said; "you have got your part to do!"
She eyed him with haughty surprise.
"I?"
He nodded.
"Let me think for a moment," and he took a turn on the path, then he came back and stood beside her.
"This is your part," he said, in low, distinct tones, "and remember that the stake you are playing for is as great and greater than mine. I am playing for love, you are playing for love, and for wealth, and rank, and influence, all that makes life worth living for, for such as you."
"You are insolent9!"
"No, I am simply candid37. Between us two there can be no further by-play or concealment38. If she obeys this command of his, and—" and he groaned—"I fear she will obey it! they will start by the eleven o'clock train, and he will await them at the London terminus. They must start by that train but they must not reach the terminus."
She started, and eyed him in the dusk.
He smiled sardonically39.
"No, I do not take extreme measures until they are absolutely necessary, Lady Lenore. It is an easy matter to prevent them reaching the terminus, a very easy one—it is only a matter of a forged note."
Her lips moved.
"A forged note?"
He nodded.
"Yes; having bidden her take a decided40 course, he must write and alter his instructions. Do you not understand?"
She was silent, watching him.
"A note must come from him—it will be better to write to the boy, because he is not familiar with Lord Leycester's hand-writing—telling them to get out at the station before London, at Vauxhall. They are to get out and go to the entrance, where they will find a brougham, which will take them to him. You understand?"
"I understand," she said. "But the note—who is to forge—write it?"
He smiled at her with malignant triumph.
"You."
"I?"
He smiled again.
"Yes, you. Who so well able to do it? You are an adept41 at manipulating correspondence, remember, my lady!"
She winced42, and her eyes blazed under their lowered lids.
[185]
"You know his hand-writing, you can easily obtain access to his writing materials; the paper and envelope will bear the Wyndward crest43. The note can be delivered by a servant from the Hall."
She was silent, overwhelmed by the power of his cunning, and a reluctant admiration44 of his resource and ready ingenuity45 took possession of her. As he had said, he was no slave—no puppet to be worked at will.
"You see," he said, after allowing a moment for his scheme to sink into her brain, "the note will be delivered almost at the last moment, at the carriage door, as the train starts. You will do it?"
She turned away with a last effort.
"I will not!"
"Good," he said. "Then I will find some other means. Stella Etheridge shall never be Lord Leycester's wife; but neither shall a certain Lady Lenore Beauchamp."
She turned upon him with a scornful smile.
"To-morrow, when he stands balked46 and discomfited47, filled with impotent rage, and sees me carry her off before his eyes, I will give him something to console him. This little note to wit, and a full account of your share in this conspiracy48 which robs him of his prey49."
"You will not dare!" she breathed, her head erect50, her eyes blazing.
"Dare!" and he laughed. "What is there to dare? Come, my lady! It is not my fault if you remain in ignorance of the nature of the man you are dealing51 with. Work with me and I will serve you, desert me—for it would be desertion—and I will thwart52 you. Which is it to be? You will write and send the note!"
She moved her hand.
"What else?"
A gleam of triumph shot from his small eyes. He thought for a moment.
"Only this" he said, "and it is your welfare that I am now thinking of. When Lord Leycester returns from his fruitless errand, he will be in a fit state for consolation53. You can give it to him. I have greatly over-rated the ingenuity and tact54 of Lady Lenore Beauchamp if that tact and ingenuity does not enable her to bring Lord Leycester Wyndward to her feet before the month has passed."
Pale and humiliated55, but still meeting his sneering56 contemptuous gaze with steadfast57 eyes, she inclined her head.
"Is that all?"
"That is all," he said. "I can rely on you. Yes, I think—I am sure I can. After all, our interests are mutual58!"
She gathered her shawl round her, and moved toward the path.
He raised his hat.
"When next we meet, Lady Lenore, it will be as strangers who have nothing in common. The past will have been wiped out[186] from both our minds and our lives. I shall be the chosen husband of Stella Etheridge and you will be the Lady Trevor and future Countess of Wyndward. I never prophesy59 in vain, my lady; I never prophesied60 more confidently than I do now. Good-night."
She did not return his greeting—scarcely looked at him, but glided61 quietly into the darkness.
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收听单词发音
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1
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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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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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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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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11
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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clandestine
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| adj.秘密的，暗中从事的 | |
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16
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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17
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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21
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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22
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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32
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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weir
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| n.堰堤，拦河坝 | |
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36
capability
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| n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
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candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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sardonically
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| adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地 | |
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40
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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41
adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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42
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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44
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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45
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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46
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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47
discomfited
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| v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
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48
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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49
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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50
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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51
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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52
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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53
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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54
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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55
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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56
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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57
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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58
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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59
prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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60
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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