No one noticed it save Vivian Deane. He saw no danger, nor did she, in their companionship. In the meantime, the shadow darkened and deepened. It was simply the old story in another form.
They were both young. She was gifted with the sweetest grace that ever a woman possessed1; he was[161] brave, courteous2, and noble, with the first throb3 of a mighty4 passion in his heart.
What usually happens in such cases? He fell desperately5 in love with Ida.
At first Arthur told himself it was pity for her loneliness that actuated him to be always at her side, to make time pass pleasantly for her. He realized, when it was too late, that pity had deepened into a mighty love. And he told himself, in his despair, as the truth forced itself upon him, that he loved her.
The truth came to him like a great shock. He went to Eugene Mallard, and told him he must go away at once. It would have been better if he had told him why; but he did not.
"I will not listen to such a thing!" cried Eugene. "You have promised to stay until the shooting season, and I will hold you to your word."
In vain he pleaded. But Eugene was obdurate6.
"There is no good reason for your hurrying away," said Eugene.
"Then you want me to stay, no matter what happens?" replied his friend, quickly.
"Yes," replied Eugene Mallard; and he thought of Arthur's words for many a day afterward7.
Arthur Hollis tried to reason with himself, saying that it was better to go. But he was like the moth8, who felt insensibly attracted toward the flame, drawing nearer and nearer, until, like the moth, he would perish in it.
After his conversation with Eugene, he proceeded to shut his eyes to the danger.
He was a free-lance. No woman's face had ever touched his heart before, and he was frightened at the intensity9 of the love that thrilled his heart for beautiful Ida Mallard.
He would sun himself in her presence for one brief fortnight longer, and then go away. Surely it was not much in a life-time. He would not deprive himself of the one glimpse of sunshine that had drifted into his life.
[162]
Every day found them together.
Although Ida did not realize what was in his heart, yet she felt intuitively that there was a great change in Arthur Hollis since he had been beneath that roof.
Although he lingered with his feet on the edge of a precipice10, yet he stood face to face with the truth—he loved at last with all the passionate11 strength of his heart and nature.
He said to himself that if marriages were made in heaven, she was the one woman intended for him; she was the only woman in this world that he could ever love.
If she had only been free, he would have given her his life, his love—all that he had on earth to give.
To make the situation all the more pitiful, he knew that she was a wife in name only to the man whose name she bore; that she was as far removed from him as though she dwelt in an opposite part of the world from him.
She was so young, so unhappy, he pitied her with all his heart. He was perplexed12, agitated13.
How he enjoyed the rambles14, the rides with her! The sweetest moment of his life was when he could steal upon her unawares.
He saw no danger, and in the meantime the shadow darkened and deepened. Vivian Deane watched them with exultant15 eyes.
"It will end in an elopement," she told herself, triumphantly16. "Their hearts are drifting nearer and nearer together, and the end is not far off."
Every day seemed to make Ida more cold and careless, and to leave an added sternness upon the face of Eugene Mallard, and a harshness in his voice.
His marriage had been a bitter regret. It was an effort now to even keep up appearances. He had sealed his misery17. There were times when he wished fiercely, miserably18, that he could sever19 that most unhappy bond and set her free.
Not all the wealth and luxury and the army of obsequious[163] servants could make the grand old mansion20 a home in its true sense.
The young wife plunged21 into a ceaseless round of frivolity22 with a reckless abandon quite foreign to her nature.
She accepted every invitation that came to her, and gave in return a series of entertainments of so extravagant23 and magnificent a character that the people around opened their eyes in astonishment24, and whispered it was well that Eugene Mallard's pocket was a deep one.
But before long they found something else to comment upon. Wherever Ida went, whether she went abroad or entertained at home, at dinner, ball, assembly, there, always closely in her train, might be seen the handsome Arthur Hollis.
Gossip began to circulate, slight and vague at first, but it soon became plainly hinted that Eugene Mallard's beautiful young wife was flirting25 with Arthur Hollis—flirting defiantly26, desperately, recklessly. People wondered in indignant astonishment if her husband was blind or mad.
Almost everybody was discussing the piquant27 scandal. Even those who had been her guests found something to say, declaring that they had noticed it from the first, adding this or that detail as the occasion prompted.
They wondered why some one did not drop a hint to the husband. Unsuspicious by nature, and disregarding the formal calls of society whenever he could possibly do so, he very seldom accompanied his wife on the rounds of gayety on which she had embarked28. For weeks neither significant words nor glances came to him.
But he did hear of it at last, and then the blow struck him with terrible effect. It was only a few sentences spoken by a couple of ladies, and pointed29 with a venom30 which only a woman's tongue can give, coupling the name of his wife with that of Arthur Hollis.
But the import of their words was unmistakable, and the shock seemed momentarily to stop the young man's[164] breath. The two scandal-mongers lingered over their gossip with keen delight, not knowing that they were overheard. It was at a garden-party given by Ida. Eugene Mallard had gone into the grounds to enjoy a cigar in a favorite little retreat which few of the guests had as yet discovered. He did not care for the dancing on the lawn, and could not be induced to join the dancers.
Hidden by a group of laurel-bushes, Eugene's quick ear caught the words of two young girls walking slowly down the path.
"Have you seen our hostess, young Mrs. Mallard?" asked one of the other. "I have been searching for her everywhere."
"Look for handsome Arthur Hollis," returned her companion. "You will surely find her with him."
The rest of the sentence was uttered in a whisper, but Eugene Mallard heard every word of it.
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1
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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4
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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obdurate
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| adj.固执的，顽固的 | |
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7
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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8
moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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9
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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10
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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11
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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12
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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14
rambles
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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15
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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16
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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19
sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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20
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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21
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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frivolity
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| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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25
flirting
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
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26
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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28
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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29
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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