It is difficult to say whether Winifred could be pronounced a brunette or a blonde, her skin was so exquisitely2 fair, while her splendid hair was a shade of the deepest brown, and her glorious sparkling eyes were of the darkest violet blue. Their normal expression was quiet and subdued3; they only flashed up at times, and she was a girl that somehow every colour became. In pure white one might have thought her lovely, and lovelier still, perhaps, in black or blue or rose, or any other tint5 or shade. Her fine lithe6 figure appeared to perfection in her close-fitting habit of dark-blue cloth, and the masses of her hair being tightly bound up under her hat, revealed the contour of her slender neck and delicately formed ear.
Dora was a smaller and younger edition of her sister--more girlish and more of a hoyden7, with her lighter8 tresses, half golden in hue9, floating loose over her shoulders and to beneath her waist from under a smart little hat, the feather and fashion of which imparted intense piquancy10 to the character of her somewhat irregular but remarkably11 pretty face and--we must admit it--rather retroussé nose.
Pride and a little reserve were rather the predominant style of the elder and dark-eyed sister; merriment, fun, and rather noisy flirtation12 were that of Dora, who permitted herself to laugh at times when her sister would barely have smiled, and to say things on which the other would never have ventured; but this espièglerie and a certain bearing of almost rantipole--if one may use such a term--were thought to become her.
Winifred rode a tall wiry nag13, a hand or two higher than her father's stout14 active hunter; but Dora preferred to scamper15 about on a beautiful Welsh pony16, the small head, high withers17, flat legs, and round hoofs18 of which it no doubt inherited, as Sir Madoc would have said, from the celebrated19 horse Merlin.
"Hope you'll stay with us till the twelfth of next month," said he. "The grouse20 are looking well."
"Our time is doubtful, our short leave conditional21, Sir Madoc," replied Phil Caradoc, who, however, was not looking at the Baronet, but at Winifred, in the hope that the alleged22 brevity of his visit might find him some tender interest in her eyes, or stir some chord by its suggestiveness in her breast; but Winny, indifferent apparently23 to separation and danger so far as he was concerned, seemed intent on twirling the silky mane of her horse with the lash4 of her whip.
"Then, in about a fortnight after, we shall be blazing at the partridges," resumed Sir Madoc, to tempt24 us. "But matters are looking ill for the pheasants in October, for the gamekeeper tells me that the gapes25 have been prevalent among them. The poults were hatched early, and the wet weather from the mountains has made more havoc26 than our guns are likely to do."
"Long before that time, Sir Madoc, I hope we shall be making havoc among the Russians," replied Phil, still glancing covertly27 at Miss Lloyd.
"Ah, I hope not!" said she, roused apparently this time. "I look forward to this most useless war with horror and dismay. So many dear friends have gone, so many more are going, it makes one quite sad! O, I shall never forget that morning in London when the poor Guards marched!"
This was addressed, not to Phil Caradoc, but to me.
"We knew that we should meet you," said she, colouring, and adding a little hastily, "We asked Lady Estelle to accompany us; but--"
"She is far too--what shall I call it?--aristocratic or unimpressionable to think of going to meet any one," interrupted her sister.
"Don't say so, Dora! Yet I thought the loveliness of the evening would have tempted28 her. And Bob Spurrit the groom29 has broken a new pad expressly for her, by riding it for weeks with a skirt."
So there was no temptation but "the loveliness of the evening," thought I; while Dora said,
"But she preferred playing over to Mr. Guilfoyle that piece of German music he gave her yesterday."
All this was not encouraging. She knew that I was coming--a friend in whom she could not help having, from the past, rather more than a common interest--and yet she had declined to accompany those frank and kindly30 girls. Worse than all, perhaps she had at that moment this Mr. Hawkesby Guilfoyle hanging over her admiringly at the piano, while she played his music, presented to her doubtless with some suggestive, secret or implied, meaning in the sentiment or the title of it. Jealousy31 readily suggested much of this, and a great deal more. That Lady Estelle was at Craigaderyn Court had been my prevailing32 idea when accepting so readily my kind friend's invitation. Then I should see her in a very little time now! I had been resolved to watch well how she received me, though it would be no easy task to read the secret thoughts of one so well and so carefully trained to keep all human emotions under perfect control, outwardly at least--a "Belgravian thoroughbred," as I once heard Sir Madoc term her; but if she changed colour, however faintly, if there was the slightest perceptible tremor33 in her voice, or a flash of the eye, which indicated that which, under the supervision34 of the usually astute35 dowager her mother, she dared scarcely to betray--an interest in one such as me--it would prove at least that my presence was not indifferent to her. Thus much only did I hope, and of such faint hope had my heart been full until now, when I heard all this; and if I was piqued36 by her absence, I was still more by the cause of it; though had I reflected for a moment, I ought to have known that the very circumstances under which I had last parted from her in London, with an expected avowal37 all but uttered and hovering38 on my lips when leading her to the carriage, were sufficient to preclude39 a girl so proud as she from coming to meet me, even in the avenue, and when accompanied by Winifred and Dora Lloyd.
"Is Mr. Guilfoyle a musician?" I asked.
"A little," replied Dora; "plays and sings too; but I can't help laughing at him--and it is so rude."
"He says that he is a friend of yours, Harry40 Hardinge; is he so?' asked Sir Madoc, with his bushy brows depressed41 for a moment.
"Well, if losing to him once at pool mysteriously, also on a certain horse, while he scratched out of its engagements another on which I stood sure to win, make a friend, he is one. I have met him at his club, and should think that he--he--"
"Is not a good style of fellow, in fact," said Sir Madoc in a low tone, and rather bluntly.
"Perhaps so; nor one I should like to see at Craigaderyn Court." I cared not to add "especially in the society of Lady Cressingham," after whom he dangled42, on the strength of some attentions or friendly services performed on the Continent.
"And so you lost money to him? We have a Welsh proverb beginning, Dyled ar bawb--"
"We shall have barely time to dress, dear papa," said Miss Lloyd, increasing the speed of her horse, as she seemed to dread43 the Welsh proclivities44 of her parent; "and remember that we have quite a dinner-party to-day."
"Yes," added Dora; "two country M.P.s are coming; but, O dear! they will talk nothing but blue-book with papa, or about the crops, fat pigs, and the county pack; and shake their heads about ministerial policy and our foreign prestige, whatever that may be. Then we have an Indian colonel with only half a liver, the doctor says, and two Indian judges without any at all."
"Dora!" exclaimed Miss Lloyd in a tone of expostulation. "Well, it is what the doctor said," persisted Dora; "and if he is wrong can I help it?"
"But people don't talk of such things."
"Then people shouldn't have them."
"A wild Welsh girl this," said Sir Madoc; "neither schooling45 in Switzerland nor London has tamed her."
"And we are to have several county gentlemen who are great in the matters of turnips46, top-dressing, and Welsh mutton; four young ladies, each with a flirtation on hand; and four old ones, deep in religion and scandal, flannel47 and coals for the poor; so, Mr. Hardinge, you and Mr. Caradoc will be quite a double relief to us--to me, certainly."
"O, Dora, how your tongue runs on!" exclaimed Winifred.
"And then we have Lady Naseby to act as materfamilias, and play propriety48 for us all in black velvet49 and diamonds. Winny, eldest50 daughter of the house, is evidently unequal to the task."
"And the coming fête," said I, "is it in honour of anything in particular?"
"Yes, something very particular indeed," replied Dora.
"Of what?"
"Me."
"You!"
"My birthday--I shall be eighteen," she added, shaking back the heavy masses of her golden hair.
"And she has actually promised to have one round dance with Lord Pottersleigh," said Winny, laughing heartily51.
"I did but promise out of mischief52; I trust, however, the Viscount will leave off his goloshes for that day, though we are to dance on the grass, or I hope he may forget all about it. Old Potter, I call him," added the young lady in a sotto-voce to me, "at least, when the Cressinghams are not present."
"Why them especially?"
"Because he is such a particular friend of theirs."
This was annoyance53 number two; for this wealthy but senile old peer had been a perpetual adorer of Lady Estelle, favoured too, apparently, by her mother, and had been on more than one occasion a bête noire to me; and now I was to meet him here again!
"Papa has told you that I mean to part with my poor pet goat--Carneydd Llewellyn, so called from the mountain whence he came. He is to be sent to the regiment--in your care, too."
"Why deprive yourself of a favourite? Why deprive it of such care as yours? Among soldiers," said I, "the poor animal will sorely miss the kindness and caresses54 you bestow55 upon it."
"I shall be so pleased to think that our Welsh Fusileers, in the lands to which they are going, will have something so characteristic to remind them of home, of the wild hills of Wales, perhaps to make them think of the donor56. Besides, papa says the corps57 has never been without this emblem58 of the old Principality since it was raised in the year of the Revolution."
"Most true; but how shall I--how shall we--ever thank you?"
I could see that her nether59 lip--a lovely little pouting60 lip it was--quivered slightly, and that her eyes were full of strange light, though bent61 downward on her horse's mane; and now I felt that, for reasons apparent enough, I was cold, even unkind, to this warm-hearted girl; for we had been better and dearer friends before we knew the Cressinghams. She checked her horse a little abruptly62, and began to address some of the merest commonplaces to Phil Caradoc; who, with his thick brown curly hair parted in the middle, his smiling handsome face and white regular teeth, was finding great favour in the eyes of the laughing Dora. But now we were drawing near Craigaderyn Court. The scenery was Welsh, and yet the house and all its surroundings were in character genuinely English, though to have hinted so much might have piqued Sir Madoc. The elegance63 and comfort of the mansion64 were English, and English too was the rich verdure of the velvet lawn and the stately old chase, the trees of which were ancient enough--some of them at least--to have sheltered Owen Glendower, or echoed to the bugle65 of Llewellyn ap Seisalt, whose tall grave-stone stands amid the battle-mounds on grassy66 Castell Coch.
At a carved and massive entrance-door we alighted, assisted the ladies to dismount, and then, gathering67 up their trains, they swept merrily up the steps and into the house, to prepare for dinner; while Sir Madoc, ere he permitted us to retire, though the first bell had been rung, led us into the hall; a low-ceiled, irregular, and oak-panelled room, decorated with deers' antlers, foxes' brushes crossed, and stuffed birds of various kinds, among others a gigantic golden eagle, shot by himself on Snowdon. This long apartment was so cool that, though the season was summer, a fire burned in the old stone fireplace; and on a thick rug before it lay a great, rough, red eyed staghound, that made one think of the faithful brach that saved Llewellyn's heir. The windows were half shaded by scarlet68 hangings; a hunting piece or two by Sneyders, with pictures of departed favourites, horses and dogs, indicated the tastes of the master of the house and of his ancestors; and there too was the skull69 of the last wolf killed in Wales, more than a century ago, grinning on an oak bracket. The butler, Owen Gwyllim, who occasionally officiated as a harper, especially at Yule, was speedily in attendance, and Sir Madoc insisted on our joining him in a stiff glass of brandy-and-water, "as a whet," he said; and prior to tossing off which he gave a hoarse70 guttural toast in Welsh, which his butler alone understood, and at which he laughed heartily, with the indulged familiarity of an old servant.
I then retired71 to make an unusually careful toilette; to leave nothing undone72 or omitted in the way of cuffs73, studs, rings, and so forth74, in all the minor75 details of masculine finery; hearing the while from a distance the notes of a piano in another wing of the house come floating through an open window. The air was German;--could I doubt whose white fingers were gliding76 over the keys, and who might be standing77 by, and feeling himself, perhaps, somewhat master of the situation?
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1
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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4
lash
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| v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛 | |
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5
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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hoyden
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| n.野丫头，淘气姑娘 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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piquancy
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| n.辛辣，辣味，痛快 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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19
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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grouse
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| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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21
conditional
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| adj.条件的，带有条件的 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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gapes
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的第三人称单数 )；张开，张大 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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covertly
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| adv.偷偷摸摸地 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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29
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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30
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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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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43
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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proclivities
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| n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 ) | |
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45
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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46
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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47
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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48
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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49
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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50
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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51
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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52
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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53
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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54
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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55
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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56
donor
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| n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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58
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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59
nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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60
pouting
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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61
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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62
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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63
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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65
bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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67
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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68
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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69
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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70
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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71
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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72
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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73
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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74
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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75
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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76
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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77
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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