I poured out her glass of sherry, put the plate of biscuits within her reach, and drew my chair nearer, that I might be sure of hearing what she said. Sarah took no notice of my movements; she rubbed diligently2 one of her forefingers3, the joints5 of which were a little enlarged, and never so much as glanced at me.
“Did you ever know anything about this cousin Richard of ours, Sarah?” said I.
She did not answer just for a moment, but kept on rubbing her forefinger4; when that was finished she answered, “I knew a good deal about him once. I would have married him if they had let me, in the old times.”
I was so thunderstruck by this unexpected frankness that I scarcely knew what to say. At last I stumbled out somehow{10}—“You would have married him!” with a kind of inexpressible amazement6; and she saying it so calmly too!
“Yes,” said Sarah, rubbing her middle finger thoughtfully, “he was young, and fresh-looking, and good-tempered. I dare say I could have liked him if they had let me; it is quite true.”
“And would they not let you?” cried I, in my eagerness, thinking that perhaps Sarah was going to confide7 in me at last.
“No,” she said, pursing up her lips. She seemed to echo the “no” after, in the little nod she gave her head, but she said nothing more.
“And Sarah, tell me, please, if you don’t mind, was it because of his means?” cried I; “was he not rich enough?”
“You don’t know anything about these affairs, Milly,” said Sarah, a little scornfully. “I don’t mind in the least. He was exactly such a man as would have taken your fancy. When I saw him, five years after, I was glad enough they did not let me; though it might have saved a deal of trouble too,” she said to herself in a kind of sigh.
I don’t know how I managed to hear those last words. I am sure she did not think I heard them. You may suppose I grew more curious with every word she spoke8.
“And where was it you met him five years after; was it abroad?” said I, with a little flutter in my voice.
I cannot think she was very sharp in her hearing. She gave a little glance up at me, noticing that I paused before the last word; and then seeing me look a little frightened and conscious, she drew herself up all at once, and stopped rubbing her fingers.
“Do you mean to cross-question me, Milly?” she cried, giving a stamp with her foot. “Do you mean to rummage9 into my affairs and find me out by your questions? You are very much mistaken, I can tell you. I am just as willing as any one that Richard Mortimer should be found out. In making your new heir you shall have no opposition10 from me.”
“Why, bless us all, Sarah!” said I, “it was your own idea.”
“Very well,” she said, with a little confused heat of manner; “why do you imply that I have any objection? One would suppose, to hear you, that you were trying to find out some secrets of mine.”
“I never knew you had any secrets to find out,” said I, sharply. I knew quite well I was aggravating11 her, but one must take one’s own part.{11}
She did not make any answer. She got up on her feet, and drew her muslin shawl round her. There was a little nervous tremble about her head and hands; she often had it, but I marked it more than ever to-night. I thought at first she was going away without her sherry, but she thought better of that. However, she went a few steps behind the screen to put her basket aside, a thing she never did; and I think I can see her now, as I saw her in the big mirror, drawing the fingers of one hand through the other, and gliding12 along through the dark room, all reflected from head to foot in the great glass, with her peach-blossom ribbons nodding tremulously over her grey hair, and her white muslin shawl drawn13 over her shoulders. Her face, as I saw it in the mirror, had a cloud and agitation14 upon it, but was set with a fixed15 smile upon the lips, and a strange, settled, passionate16 determination. I could no more penetrate17 what it meant than I could tell why Sarah was angry. It was something within herself that made her so, nothing that I had done or said.
After she was gone I dropped into my chair, and sat there wondering and pondering till the fire had nearly gone out, and the great room was lying blank and chill in the darkness. Now that my thoughts were directed into this channel—and it was very strange to me that they never had been so before—there were a thousand things to think of. When Sarah was twenty and I only ten there was a wonderful difference to be sure between us, and not a great deal less when Sarah was thirty and I twenty; but from that time it had been growing less by degrees, so that we really did not feel nowadays any great difference in our age. But I was only fourteen when my mother died. I had never, of course, been able to share in any of the gaieties, being only in the schoolroom, and certainly never dreamed of criticising my big sister, whom I thought everything that was beautiful and splendid. Then my father and she went away and left me. The Park was let, and I lived with my godmother. I almost forgot that I had a father and sister in the world. They seldom wrote, and we lived entirely18 out of the world, and never heard even in gossip of the goings on at Rome and Naples, and what place the beautiful Miss Mortimer took there. They came home at last quite suddenly, in the depth of winter. Naturally Sarah had caught a very bad cold. She kept her own room for a very long time after and never saw anybody. Then she lost her voice. I remember I took it quite for granted at the time that it was her cold and the loss of her voice that made her shut herself{12} up; but I must say that once or twice since I have had a little doubt on that subject. She was then not much past five-and-thirty, a very handsome woman. My father lived many years after, but they never, though they had been great companions for so long before, seemed to be at ease in each other’s presence. They never even sat down to dinner together when they could help it. Since then, to be sure, Sarah had begun to live more with me; but what a life it was! I had the concerns of the property to occupy me, and things to manage; besides, I was always out and about in the village and among the neighbours; and still more, I was quite a different woman from Sarah, more homely-like, and had never been out in the world. I wouldn’t for anything be what you might call suspicious of my own only sister; and what I could be suspicious about, even if I wanted to, was more than I knew. Still it was odd, very odd, more particularly after Sarah’s strange words and look. My mind was all in a ferment—I could not tell what to think; but it came upon me as strong as a conviction that something must have happened in those ten years; what it could be was as dark as midnight, but there must be something. That was the end I came to after all my pondering. Ellis came twice into the room to shut up, and twice stumbled off again with his “Beg pardon, ma’am.” It began to feel chilly19 as the fire went out, and the night grew pale and ghostly in the mirrors. By and by I began to hear those cracks and rustles20 which one always hears when one sits up late at night. It wasn’t in the furniture, bless you! I know a great deal better than that; the old walnut21 and satin-wood was all seasoned by a century’s wear. I don’t pretend to say what it was: but I know that I was made very uneasy sitting all by myself, with the fire out, in that big room. When it drew near twelve o’clock, I went to bed.
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1
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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2
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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3
forefingers
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| n.食指( forefinger的名词复数 ) | |
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4
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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5
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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6
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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7
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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8
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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9
rummage
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| v./n.翻寻，仔细检查 | |
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10
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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11
aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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12
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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13
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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14
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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15
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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16
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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17
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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18
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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19
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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20
rustles
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| n.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的名词复数 )v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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21
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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