“Do you know,” said I, with a little hesitation7, “the family at the Park—the Miss Mortimers? I should very much like to hear something about them.”
“There’s nobody I know better, ma’am,” said our companion with a slight look of surprise; “I’ve been with—that is, I’ve known ’em this fifty years.”
“Oh, then will you please tell me how they succeeded?” said I; “how did they come into the estate?”
“How they succeeded?” said the stranger, with a certain slow wonder and amazement8; “why, ma’am, in the natural way, after their father as was Squire9 before them.”
Here I could not help thinking to myself that the dissenting clergy10 must be dreadfully uneducated, if this were one of them.
“But was there never any gap in the succession?” said I; “has it been in a straight line? has there been no break lately—no branch of the family passed over?”{220}
“Bless you, ma’am, you don’t know the Mortimers,” said our friend; “there’s never enough of them to make branches of the family. There was a second cousin the young ladies had a many years ago, but I never heard of no more of them, and he was distant like, and had no more thoughts of succession than I had. If that gen’lman was alive or had a family, things might be different now.”
“How do you mean things might be different now?” cried I.
“The ladies, ma’am, has never married,” said the man, who certainly could not be more than a Methodist local preacher at the utmost, “and, in the course of nature, there can’t be no natural heir.”
This view of the subject, however, was one totally unsatisfactory to me. “Are you sure,” said I, “that there never was any other heir spoken of—that there never was any story about the succession—that there was never anybody to dispute it with the Miss Mortimers? I thought I had heard some such story about——”
“Ah, you’re thinking, ma’am, of Eden Hall, just the next property,” said he.
“But was there never any claimant to the Park?” asked I, somewhat excited.
“No such thing,” said the man in black, “nor couldn’t be. Bless you, the family’s well known. There never was so much as a will-case, as I ever heard on; for why, you see, ma’am, there never was such a plenty of children to make quarrels. When there’s but two or so, there’s little can come of quarrelling. No, no! there never was no strange claimant to our estate.”
“To your estate, did you say?” cried I, in amazement.
“No, ma’am, no—no such presumption11. I said our, and sure I might; I’ve been with the ladies this fifty year.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, much dismayed. This was certainly coming to the very head-quarters for information. This was no local preacher after all, but only the Miss Mortimers’ majordomo. If there had been any possible excuse for it, I should certainly have got out of the omnibus immediately, so utterly12 confounded and taken aback did I feel. But as we were still some two miles out of Chester, and we were all tired, and baby cross and sleepy, I had to think better of it. However, in my consternation13 I fell into instant silence, and felt really afraid of meeting the man’s eye. He sat opposite me, beside Lizzie, very respectful and quiet, and by no means obtruding14 himself upon my notice. I cannot tell how shocked and affronted15 and angry{221} I felt with myself. I had, I suppose, like most people of my condition, a sort of horror of men-servants, a sort of resentful humiliation16 in feeling that I had mistaken one of that class for an ordinary fellow-traveller, a frightened idea of what Harry17 would think to hear of his wife sitting in an omnibus beside Miss Mortimer’s man. Altogether I was sadly discomfited18 and beaten. The Miss Mortimers had got the better of me at every hand; and I was entirely19 humiliated20 and cast down by this last blow of all.
The interval21 was quite tedious and oppressive till we arrived in Chester. Seeing me look at another house unconsciously as we passed, the man, most kindly22 and good-humouredly, I am sure, after my sudden withdrawal23 from the conversation, mentioned its name. “That is Dee-sands, ma’am, the mayor o’ Chester’s place. It ain’t within sight of the Dee, and there’s none of them sands near here, but they do say it’s named after a song,” said the good-natured cicerone. “Oh!” said I again, shrinking back into my corner. He looked at me rather closely after this, muttering something that sounded like “No offence!” and leaned back also, a little affronted. It did not occur to me that I was only drawing his attention to what I had said before by this sudden reserve. I took care to show no more interest in the wayside villas24, and sprang out with a great sense of relief when we reached the end of our journey. Happening to glance back when I had reached our own door, I saw that the omnibus had been delayed by numerous descents from the roof, and was still standing25 where we had left it, and that Miss Mortimer’s man had put his head out of one of the windows, and was watching where I went to. This circumstance made me enter with great haste and trepidation26. Now, above all, I had been found out; and if ever any one felt like a traitor27 and a spy, it was surely me, stumbling back from that unsuccessful enterprise across the threshold of Mrs. Goldsworthy’s house.
The door was opened to us too alertly to be done by anybody but Domenico; and it was Domenico accordingly, in his vast expanse of shirt sleeves. It was quite a comfort to see his beaming, unconscious face. “The time is fine,” said Domenico; “it pleases to the signora to make promenade28? Ah, bravo! the piccolo signore grow like tree.”
This was in reference to baby, who crowed at him and held out his arms, and whom Domenico freely called piccolo and piccolino, at first somewhat to my indignation; but I confess the good fellow’s voice and looks, and the way baby stretched{222} out to him, out of poor Lizzie’s tired arms, was quite consolatory29 and refreshing30 to me. It is easy to get a feeling of home to a place, surely. It was only lodgings31, and Domenico was a foreigner, and I had not the ghost of an early association with the little insignificant32 house; but I cannot tell you what a sense of ease and protection came upon me the very moment I was within the door.
Upstairs on the table lay a letter. We got so few letters that I was surprised, and took it up immediately, and with still greater surprise found it to be from Sara Cresswell, lamenting33 over not having found me, wondering where I could have gone, and concluding with a solemn invitation to dinner in her father’s name. “Papa is so anxious to see Mr. Langham and you,” wrote Sara, “and to talk over things. I have been obliged to obey him for once, and not to go or write out to dear godmamma till he has seen you. If you don’t come he will be so dreadfully disappointed; indeed, I am quite sure if you don’t come he will go to see you. I can’t suppose you will be able to resist such a threat as that. Send me a word, please, directly. I shall be quite wretched till I know.”
This revived all my excitement, as may be supposed; there must be something in it after all, and surely, instead of Harry going to his office to seek him, it would be much better to meet at his house, and with an evening’s leisure too; for Sara had taken care to add that nobody else was to be there. The earnestness of this invitation seemed so entirely contradictory34 to all that I had heard to-day, that the wildest vague suspicions of mystery began to break upon my mind. To be sure, bakers35 and butlers were not likely to be in the secret. Mr. Cresswell knew all about it; and here was he seeking us entirely of his own accord! Once more all my dazzled ambitious dreams came back again; I forgot my failure and sense of treachery—I was no traitor—it was only my rights that I had been thinking of; and they were not pathetic possible victims, but triumphant36 usurpers, who now had possession of the Park.
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1
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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dissenting
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| adj.不同意的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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antiquated
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| adj.陈旧的，过时的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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7
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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8
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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9
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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12
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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obtruding
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| v.强行向前，强行，强迫( obtrude的现在分词 ) | |
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15
affronted
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| adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇 | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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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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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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21
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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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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23
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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consolatory
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| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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32
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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33
lamenting
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| adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 ) | |
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34
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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35
bakers
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| n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三 | |
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36
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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