He knew me--in fact, he had known me since boyhood, having caught me many a time in his orchard5 at Craig Eryri--and thought he recognized the lady. Moreover, he had heard of the search overnight, and lost no time in spurring his fat little cob in quest of succour. Some wondering rustics6 promptly7 came from a neighbouring barnyard, and by the time they arrived, Estelle and I had recovered consciousness, and struggled into a sitting position on some stones close by, whence we were beginning to look about us.
A benumbed sensation and total lack of power in my right arm warned me that an accident had occurred, and I endeavoured to conceal8 the circumstance from Estelle, but in vain; for when murmuring some thanks to God for our preservation9, she suddenly lifted her face from my breast, and exclaimed, "You cannot move this arm! You have been hurt, darling! Tell me about it--speak!"
"I think it is broken, Estelle," said I, with a smile; for while I felt something almost of pleasure in the conviction that I had undergone this in saving her, thereby10 giving me a greater title to her interest and sympathy, I could not forget my short leave from Winchester, the war at hand, the regiment11 already abroad, and the active duties that were expected of me.
"Broken?" she repeated, in a faint voice.
"My sword-arm--on the eve of marching for foreign service. Awkward, isn't it?"
"Awkward! O Harry12, it is horrible! And all this has occurred through me and my childish folly13!"
"One arm is at your service, dearest, still," said I, while placing it round her, and assisting her to rise, as the kind old farmer returned with his people, joyful14 to find that we were living, after all, and that by assisting us he might in some degree repay Sir Madoc Lloyd a portion of that debt of gratitude15 which he owed to him.
After despatching a mounted messenger to Craigaderyn with tidings of our safety, he had us at once conveyed to his farm-house at Craig Eryri, where dry clothing was given us, and a doctor summoned to attend me.
"You knew that we were missing--lost?" said I.
"Too well, sir," replied the farmer, as he produced a brandy-bottle from an ancient oak cupboard. "With all my lads I assisted in the search," he continued in Welsh, as he could scarcely speak a word of English. "A gentleman came here over night with a groom16, both mounted, to spread the news of you and a lady having been lost somewhere below the B?d Mynach."
"A gentleman mounted--Mr. Caradoc, perhaps?"
"Caradoc is one of ourselves," said the farmer, his keen eyes twinkling; "this one was a Sassenach--he Sir Madoc gave that lovely ring to, with a diamond as big as a horse-bean, for winning a race at Chester."
"O, Mr. Guilfoyle."
"Yes, sir, that is his name, I believe," replied Rhuddlan; and despite the gnawing17 agony of my arm I laughed outright18, for the quondam German attaché would seem to have actually found time to relate something new about his brilliant to the simple old farmer, and while the fate of Lady Estelle was yet a mystery. As for mine, I shrewdly suspected he cared little about that.
Attired19 by the farmer's wife in the best clothing with which she could provide her, Lady Estelle, pale, wan20, and exhausted21, was seated near a fire to restore warmth to her chilled frame, while I retired22 with the medical man, who found my unlucky arm broken above the elbow; fortunately, the fracture was simple, and in no way a compound one. The bones were speedily set, splinted, and bandaged; and clad in a suit provided for me by Farmer Rhuddlan--to wit, a pair of corduroy knee-breeches, a deeply-flapped double-breasted waistcoat, which, from its pattern, seemed to have been cut from a chintz bedcover, so gorgeous were the roses and tulips it displayed, a large loose coat of coarse gray Welsh frieze23, with horn buttons larger than crown pieces, each garment "a world too wide"--I presented a figure so absurd and novel that Estelle, in spite of all the misery24 and danger we had undergone, laughed merrily as she held out to me in welcome a hand of marvellous form and whiteness, the hand that was to be mine in the time to come; and I seated myself by her side, while the farmer and his wife bustled25 about, preparing for the certain arrival of Sir Madoc and others from the Court.
"How odd it seems!" said Estelle, in a low voice, and after a long pause, as she lay back in the farmer's black-leather elbow chair, where his wife had kindly26 placed and pillowed her; and while she spoke27, her eyes were half closed and her lips were wreathed with smiles; "engaged to be married--and to you, Harry! I can scarcely' realise it. Is this the end of all our ballroom28 flirtations, our Park drives, and gallops30 in the Row?"
"Nay31, not the end of any; but a continuance of them all, I hope."
"Scarcely; people don't flirt29 after marriage--together, at least. But it will be the end of all mamma's grand schemes for me. She always hoped I should twine32 strawberry leaves with my marriage wreath. Heavens, how nearly I was having a wreath of seaweed!" she added, with a shudder33 and a little gasping34 laugh as I kissed her hand. "O, my poor Harry, with an arm broken, and by my means I shall never forgive myself--never!"
"Better an arm than if my heart had been broken by your means, Estelle," said I, in a low voice. After a little she said calmly and in an earnest tone, while her colour came and went more than once,
"We must be secret, secret as we are sincere; and yet such a system is repugnant to me, and to my pride of heart."
"Secret, Estelle!" (How delicious to call her simply Estelle!) "Why?"
"It is most necessary--yet awhile, at least."
"Your mamma's objections?"
"More than that."
"What--more?"
"By papa's will mamma has entire control over all her fortune and mine, too, and should I marry without her full approbation35 and consent, she may bequeath both if she pleases to my cousin Naseby, leaving but a pittance36 to me."
"But what will not one undergo for love?" said I, gazing tenderly into her eyes.
She smiled sadly, but made no response; perhaps she thought of what love might have of luxury on a subaltern's pay and his "expectations."
"Fear not, Estelle," said I, "for your sake our engagement shall be a secret one."
All my doubts and fears had already given place to the confidence of avowed37 and reciprocated38 affection, and in the security of that I was blindly happy. How my heart had been wont39 to throb40 when I used mentally to imagine the last interview I should have with her ere going forth41 to the East, with the story of my love untold42; leaving her in ignorance, or partially43 so, of the sweet but subtle link that bound my existence to hers! Now, the love was told; the link had become a tie, and pain of the anticipated parting became all the more keen apparently44, and I prospectively45 reckoned one by one the weeks, the days, yea, almost the hours I might yet spend in the society of Estelle. I was not much given to daydreams47 or illusions, but, I asked of myself, was not all this most strange if I was not dreaming now? Could it be that, within a few hours--a time so short--Estelle and I had braved such peril48 together, and that I had achieved her plight49, her troth; the promise of her hand; the acknowledgment of her love, and that all was fulfilled; the coveted50 and dearest object of my secret thoughts and tenderest wishes!
Whether our engagement were secret or not mattered little to me now. Assured of her regard, I felt in her presence and society all that calm delight and sense of repose51 which were so pleasing after my late tumult52 of anxiety, pique53, jealousy54, and uncertainty55. By chance or some intuition the farmer and his wife left us for a time alone, while waiting the arrival of our friends; and never while life lasts shall I forget the joy of that calm morning spent alone with Estelle in Rhuddlan's quaint56 little drawing-room, the windows of which faced the green Denbigh hills, on which the warm August sun shone cheerily; and often did the memory of it come back to me when I was far away, when I was shivering amid the misery of the half-frozen trenches57 before Sebastopol, or relieving the out pickets58, when Inkermann lights were waxing pale and dim as dawn stole over those snow-clad wastes, where so thick lay the graves of men and horses, while the eternal boom and flash went on without ceasing from the Russian bastions and the allied59 batteries. I felt as if I had gained life anew, and with it Estelle Cressingham. Great, indeed, was the revulsion of feeling after such peril undergone; after a night of such horror and suffering, to sit by her side, to hang over her, inspired to the full by that emotion of tenderness and rapture60 which no man can feel but once in life, when the first woman he has really loved admits that he has not done so in vain. I placed on her finger--the engaged finger--an emerald-and-diamond ring that I valued highly, as it had once been my mother's, and in its place took one of hers, a single pearl set in blue-and-gold enamel61. The once proud beauty seemed so humble62, gentle, and loving now, as she reclined with her head on my shoulder, and looked at me from time to time with a sweet quiet smile in the soft depths of her dark eyes I forgot that she was an earl's daughter, with a noble dowry and an ambitious mother, and that I was but a sub of the Royal Welsh, with little more than his pay. I forgot that the route for Varna hung over my head like the sword of Damocles; that a separation, certain and inevitable63, was hourly drawing closer and closer, though the accident which had occurred might protract64 it a little now.
Estelle Cressingham was a grand creature, certainly. She naturally seemed to adopt statuesque positions, and thus every movement, however careless and unstudied, was full of artistic65 grace. Even the misshapen garments of Mrs. Evan Rhuddlan could not quite disfigure her. The turn of her head was stately, and at times her glance, quick and flashing, had a pride in it that she was quite unconscious of. She was, as Caradoc had said, "decidedly a splendid woman--young lady, rather--but of the magnificent order." But there were tender and womanly touches, a gentler nature, in the character of Estelle, that lay under the artificial strata66 of that cumbrous society in which she had been reared. She had many pets at home in London and at Walcot Park--birds and dogs, which she fed with her own hands, and little children, who were her pensioners67; and if her nose seemed a proud one, with an aristocratic curve of nostril68, her short upper lip would quiver occasionally when she heard a tale of sorrow or cruelty. And now, from our mutual69 daydream46, we were roused by the sound of wheels, of hoofs70, and several voices, as some of our friends from the Court arrived.
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1
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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2
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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3
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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5
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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6
rustics
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| n.有农村或村民特色的( rustic的名词复数 )；粗野的；不雅的；用粗糙的木材或树枝制作的 | |
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7
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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10
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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12
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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13
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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14
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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16
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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17
gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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18
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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19
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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21
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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22
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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23
frieze
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| n.(墙上的)横饰带，雕带 | |
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24
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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25
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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26
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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27
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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28
ballroom
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| n.舞厅 | |
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29
flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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30
gallops
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| （马等）奔驰，骑马奔驰( gallop的名词复数 ) | |
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31
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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32
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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33
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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34
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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35
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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36
pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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37
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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38
reciprocated
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| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
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39
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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40
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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41
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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42
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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43
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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44
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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45
prospectively
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| adv.预期； 前瞻性； 潜在； 可能 | |
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46
daydream
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| v.做白日梦，幻想 | |
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47
daydreams
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| n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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49
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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50
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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51
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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52
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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53
pique
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| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
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54
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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55
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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56
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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57
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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58
pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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59
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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60
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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61
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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62
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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63
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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64
protract
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| v.延长，拖长 | |
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65
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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66
strata
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| n.地层（复数）；社会阶层 | |
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67
pensioners
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| n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 ) | |
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68
nostril
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| n.鼻孔 | |
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69
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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70
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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