"You have seemed very triste to-day--looking quite as if you lived in some thoughtful world of your own," said Lady Estelle, when she left her seat; "neither laughing nor dancing, scarcely even conversing6, and certainly not with me. Why is this?"
"You have declined all dancing, hence the music has lost its zest7 for me."
"It is not brilliant; besides, it is somewhat of a maypole or harvest-home accomplishment8, dancing on the grass; pretty laborious9 too! And then, as Welsh airs predominate, one could scarcely waltz to the Noble Race of Shenkin."
"You reserve yourself for the evening, probably?"
"Exactly. I infinitely10 prefer a well-waxed floor to a lawn, however well mown and rolled. But concerning your--what shall I term it--sadness!"
"Why ask me when you may divine the cause, though I dare not explain--here at least?"
After a little pause she disengaged two flowers from her bouquet11, and presenting them to me with an arch and enchanting12 smile--for when beyond her mother's ken13, she could at times be perfectly14 natural--she said,
"At this floral fête champêtre, I cannot permit you to be the only undecorated man."
"Being in uniform, I never thought of such an ornament15."
"Wear these, then," said she, placing them in a button-hole.
"As your gift and for your sake?"
"If you choose, do so."
"Ah, who would not but choose?" said I, rendered quite bright and gay even by such a trifle as this. "But Lady Estelle, do you know what these are emblematic16 of?"
"In the language of the flowers, do you mean?"
"Of course; what else could he mean?" said a merry voice; and the bright face of Dora, nestled amid her golden hair, appeared, as she joined us, flushed with her dancing, and her breast palpitating with pleasure, at a time when I most cordially wished her elsewhere. "Yes," she continued, "there is a pansy; that's for thought, as Ophelia says--and a rosebud17; that is for affection."
"But I don't believe in such symbolism, Dora; do you. Mr. Hardinge?"
"At this moment I do, from my soul."
She laughed, or affected18 to laugh, at my earnestness; but it was not displeasing19 to her, and we walked slowly on. Among the multitude of strangers--to us they were so, at least--to isolate20 ourselves was comparatively easy now. Besides, it is extremely probable that under the eyes of so many girls she had been rather bored by the senile assiduity of her old admirer; so, avoiding the throng21 around the dancers, the band, and the luncheon22 marquee, we walked along the terraces towards the chase, accompanied by Dora, who opened a wicket in a hedge, and led us by a narrow path suddenly to the cliffs that overhung the sea. Here we were quite isolated23. Even the music of the band failed to reach us; we heard only the monotonous24 chafing25 of the waves below, and the sad cry of an occasional sea-bird, as it swooped26 up or down from its eyrie. The change from the glitter and brilliance27 of the crowded lawn to this utter solitude28 was as sudden as it was pleasing. In the distance towered up Great Orme's Head, seven hundred and fifty feet in height; its enormous masses of limestone29 rock abutting30 against the foam31, and the ruins of Pen-y-Dinas cutting the sky-line. The vast expanse of the Irish Sea rolled away to the north-westward, dotted by many a distant sail; and some eighty feet below us the surf was rolling white against the rocky base of the headland on which we stood.
"We are just over the B?d Mynach, or 'monk's dwelling,'" said Dora. "Have you not yet seen it, Estelle?"
"No; I am not curious in such matters."
"It is deemed one of the most interesting things in North Wales, quite as much so as St. Tudno's Cradle, or the rocking-stone on yonder promontory32. Papa is intensely vain of being its proprietor33. Gruffyd ap Madoc hid here, when he fled from the Welsh after his desertion of Henry III.; so it was not made yesterday. Let us go down and rest ourselves in it."
"Down the cliffs?' exclaimed Lady Estelle, with astonishment34.
"Yes--why not? There is an excellent path, with steps hewn in the rock. Harry35 Hardinge knows the way, I am sure."
"As a boy I have gone there often, in search of puffins' nests; but remember that Lady Estelle--"
"Is not a Welsh girl of course," said Dora.
"Nor a goat, like Carneydd Llewellyn," added her friend. "But with Mr. Hardinge's hand to assist you," urged Dora. "Well, let us make the essay at once, nor lose time, ere we be missed," said the other, her mind no doubt reverting36 to mamma and Lord Pottersleigh.
I began to descend37 the path first, accepting with pleasure the office of leading Lady Estelle, who for greater security drew off a glove and placed her hand in mine, firmly and reliantly, though the path, a ladder of steps cut in the living rock, almost overhung the sea, and the descent was not without its perils38. The headland was cleft39 in two by some throe of nature, and down this chasm40 poured a little stream, at the mouth of which, as in a diminutive41 bay, a gaily-painted pleasure-boat of Sir Madoc's, named the "Winifred," was moored42, and it seemed to be dancing on the waves almost beneath us.
We had barely proceeded some twenty feet down the cliff when Dora, instead of following us, exclaimed that she had dropped a bracelet43 on the path near the wicket, but we were to go on, and she would soon rejoin us. As she said this she disappeared, and we were thus left alone. To linger where we stood, almost in mid-air, was not pleasant; to return to the edge of the cliff and await her there, seemed a useless task. Why should we not continue to descend, as she must soon overtake us? I could read in the proud face of Lady Estelle, as we paused on that ladder of rock, with her soft and beautiful hand in mine, that she felt in a little dilemma44. So did I, but my heart beat happily; to have her so entirely45 to myself, even for ten minutes, was a source of joy.
While lingering thus, I gradually led our conversation up to the point I wished, by talking of my too probable speedy departure for another land; of the happy days like the present, which I should never forget; of herself. My lips trembled as my heart seemed to rise to them; and forgetting the perilous46 place in which we stood, and remembering only that her hand was clasped in mine, I began to look into her face with an expression of love and tenderness which she could not mistake; for her gaze soon became averted47, her bosom48 heaved, and her colour came and went; and so, as the minutes fled, we were all unaware49 that Dora had not yet returned; that the sultry afternoon had begun to darken as heavy dun clouds rolled up from the seaward, and the air become filled with electricity; and that a sound alleged50 to be distant thunder had been heard at Craigaderyn Court, causing some of the guests to prepare, for departure, despite Sir Madoc's assurances that no rain would fall, as the glass had been rising.
Dora was long in returning; so long that, instead of waiting or retracing51 our steps, proceeding52 hand in hand, and more than once Lady Estelle having to lean on my shoulder for support, we continued to descend the path in the face of the cliff--a path that ultimately led us into a terrible catastrophe53.
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1
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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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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conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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7
zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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10
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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emblematic
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| adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性 | |
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rosebud
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| n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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isolate
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| vt.使孤立，隔离 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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26
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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abutting
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| adj.邻接的v.（与…）邻接( abut的现在分词 )；（与…）毗连；接触；倚靠 | |
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31
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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32
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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35
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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36
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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37
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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42
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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43
bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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44
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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45
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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46
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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47
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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48
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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49
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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50
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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51
retracing
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| v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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52
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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53
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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