She would be there when he got back, this girl with the soft full voice and delightful1 welcoming manner, and he found himself watching the clock like the laziest boy in his form during the last hour of afternoon school.
For years past, although he lived in a crowd and possessed2 troops of friends, he had been rather a lonely man, and his loneliness was accentuated3 rather than lessened4 when he came into possession of B. House.
"Truly you may call it a 'house,'" he said to a congratulating college friend. "It's far less of a home than my old diggings. I don't feel as though a single stick of the furniture really belongs to me except my old arm-chair and my desk."
Now, however, he thought more fondly of B. House; particularly of his study, where he knew that he would find a bright fire, the little tea-table drawn5 up beside his chair, and the brass6 kettle singing merrily over the spirit lamp. Not that these things were new. There had always been tea laid for him in his study when he came in at half-past five; but now it was Lallie who made the tea, not Ford8, and Lallie made excellent tea. Moreover, she always had a great deal to ask and to tell. She took the deepest interest in all College matters, and absolutely declined to regard anything from a tutorial standpoint; and this in itself was restful and refreshing9 to Tony.
To her, Tony Bevan was above all the old friend tried by time; "the best of good sorts," "the decentest old thing." That he happened also to be a schoolmaster was perhaps unfortunate, but she generously declined to let this regrettable fact influence her attitude towards him.
She knew well that he wanted her above all things to be happy, and with him she always was happy. Furthermore she had loyally kept her resolution not to worry Tony with any knowledge of the friction10 that existed between herself and Miss Foster. He was not much at B. House, and being of a good-natured and tolerant disposition11 himself, he always gave other people credit for being similarly well disposed until he had ample proof to the contrary. Besides, in his presence Lallie and Miss Foster almost unconsciously adopted a manner towards one another that was at least free from signs of open hostility12.
When Lallie had been a week at B. House she took her host's personal appearance firmly in hand. In the morning she flew after him to brush his coat before he went up to College. She exclaimed indignantly at the "bagsomeness" of his trouser knees. Finding that he did not possess any form of trouser-press she insisted on his going with her into the town to buy one. And when it was sent home, she folded the offending garments and placed them in it herself. She objected to ties that looked "like a worn-out garter," and said so. She even suggested that certain old and well-loved coats might be sent to the Mission, but here Tony was firm in his opposition13. He would buy a new suit to please her, but part with his old coats he would not; and Lallie was far too diplomatic to press the matter.
She tried always to be at home to make tea for him when he came in at half-past five, and cut short many a tea-party to keep this tryst14. She was in great demand at other houses, especially the houses where the heads were musical.
She was waiting for Tony on the evening of the footprint encounter with Miss Foster, and when she had fed and warmed and cosseted15 him generally she sat down in the big chair opposite his and faced him squarely, announcing:
"Hunting begins this week, Tony."
"Does it really? How the year is getting on."
"Tony, dear, don't you think I might hunt if I took out one of the men from the riding school as groom--just one day a week?"
Tony shook his head.
"If your father had wanted you to hunt I am sure he would have suggested it, and he would probably have made arrangements for you to have a couple of the horses over; but he has never so much as mentioned it, and I can't let you do it on my own responsibility. I don't believe he'd like it for you here either. It isn't as if I could go with you."
"Much good you'd be if you could go with me. You know, Tony, you are not at your best across a horse. As for Dad not having made arrangements--this Indian trip was got up and settled in such a tremendous hurry, he had no time to think about me at all. Listen to me now! How would you feel if when they began to mow16 the grass in May, and the good smell was in the air, and you saw all the others in their flannels17, and heard all round you the nice deep ring of the cricket balls--and you mightn't play a stroke, and your arm as strong and your eye as true as ever it was. How would you like it?"
"I shouldn't like it at all; but----"
"Well, then, think of me. The smell of the wet dead leaves and the south wind blowing the soft rain against my face is just as full of association for me. And I never go out but I see long strings18 of horses in their nice new clothing, the dear darlings! And me, ME, that has gone hunting on the opening day ever since I could sit a fat little Shetland pony19, ME to stay pokily at home! Tony, I simply can't! You must let me."
"Lallie, the two cases are not analogous20. You can go out riding whenever you like, provided you take a man; but hunting, no. Not without your father's permission. Especially here, you are too young--too----"
"Too what? You can't say I'm timid. You can't say I couldn't ride any mount they choose to give me at that old school. Look here, Tony, suppose they said, 'You may play cricket--oh, yes, at the nets with a wee little junior boy to bowl to you; but no matches, no playing with people who play as well as you do'--would you say 'Thank you'? And that's precisely21 what you offer me. Let me tell you I ride just as well as you play cricket--blue and all; and to please you I've even gone pounding round that ridiculous racecourse with half a dozen other girls who sit a horse like a sack of potatoes, who'd be off at every bounce but for the pommel. D'you think I call that riding? Oh, Tony, dear, if I could just have one good gallop22 across country after the hounds, I'd be a better girl--much nicer and easier to get on with."
"I don't find you particularly hard to get on with as it is."
"Other people do, though"--Lallie's conscience pricked23 her as to Miss Foster--"and I dare say I'm often a great nuisance; but once let me work the steam off on the back of a good horse and I'd be an angel. Just you let me go out with the hounds on Thursday and you'll see."
"Lallie, my child, don't. I would if I could, but I simply dare not. Your father would never forgive me. It was quite different last winter when he was there himself to look after you."
"My dear, good man, a hunting field isn't like the 'croc' of a girls' school. No one can 'look after' anybody else. You either ride straight or you potter, or you rush your fences and get in people's way. But whatever you do you're on your own. If you come a bad smash there's always a hurdle24 to lay you on, and a doctor and a farmhouse25 somewhere about. If you think Dad kept me in his pocket three days a week throughout the hunting season all these years, you've a more fertile imagination than I gave you credit for, and Dad would be the first to disillusion26 you. We went to the meets together, and after that we saw precious little of one another."
"What about riding home?"
"Hardly ever did we come home together. Sometimes he got home first, sometimes I did; and whichever of us was first in got the bath, and the other was pretty sure to come pounding at the door before the early bird was out of it. You can't chaperon people out hunting. Why, by the time I'd been out three times here, I'd know the whole field, and you'd be perfectly27 happy knowing I was among friends."
Lallie sat forward in her chair gazing eagerly at Tony, who said nothing at all; but from the expression of his face it might have been gathered that this prediction of her speedy intimacy28 with all the field gave him no satisfaction whatever.
"Well, Tony?" she demanded impatiently.
"I'm sorry, but it's impossible. You can write to Fitz if you like and ask him to cable his opinion."
"No, indeed. I'll write and tell him that unless he cables forbidding me, I'm going to hunt. Dad will always do the easiest thing, and I know will never bother to cable forbidding me to do a thing I've done for years."
Lallie's voice was almost defiant29, and poor Tony looked very pained, but he said nothing; and after a minute's silence she continued in a more conciliatory tone:
"Then in a fortnight's time from next mail if I don't hear, I may hunt?"
"You must give him three weeks, for he may be up country, and his mail takes days to reach him after the agent gets it."
"And by that time there'll be a frost; I didn't think it of you, Tony, I really didn't. In this matter you out-Emileen Aunt Emileen herself."
Tony rose.
"You have my leave to depart," he said, opening the door for her; "I've a lot of letters to write, and those chaps are coming to bridge after dinner, so I must do them now."
"Well, I think you're horrid30, and if a slate31 falls on my head and kills me when I'm out walking, just you reflect how nice and safe I'd have been if I'd had my own way and been out in the open country."
"I'll risk the slate," Tony remarked unfeelingly; but still he would not look at Lallie, who stood in the doorway32 gazing reproachfully at him.
"And you're going to play bridge and have a nice time while I sit solemnly in the drawing-room making a waistcoat for you, ungrateful man. You've never asked me to take a hand, and I play quite well."
"You see, this is a club; we meet at each other's houses--there are no ladies----"
"Of all the monastical establishments I've ever come across this is the strictest, and you call Ireland a priest-ridden country."
"Lallie, I must write my letters."
At that moment Mr. Johns came into the hall, bearing a large and heavy book.
"Well, you deny me everything that keeps me out of mischief--on your own head be it," said Lallie rapidly, in low tones of ominous34 menace. Then, turning to the newcomer, she smiled a radiant welcome, exclaiming joyously35: "You've brought your snapshots to show me! How kind of you! I'm badly in need of something to cheer me up. Come into the drawing-room, for Mr. Bevan is busy and Miss Foster's out, so we'll have it all to ourselves."
With quite unnecessary violence Mr. Bevan rang the bell for Ford to take away tea. Yet, when Ford, looking rather aggrieved36, had responded to his noisy summons and removed the tea-things with her customary quiet deftness37, he did not sit down at once to deal with his correspondence. Instead, he went and stood in front of the fire staring at the Greuze girl who was so like Lallie.
He ran his fingers through his smooth thick hair--a sure sign of mental perturbation with Tony--and he made the discovery that he was furiously angry; not with Lallie, the wilful38 and inconsequent, but with the unoffending Mr. Johns.
"Confound the fellow and his snapshots!" thought Tony; "if there's one kind of hobby more detestable than another it's that of the ardent40 amateur photographer. A man given up to it is almost as bad as the chap who wears cotton-wool in his ears, and is always taking medicine. There were these two" (with the second-sight vouchsafed41 to most of us upon occasion, Tony was perfectly correct in his surmise) "sitting side by side on the sofa with their heads close together, and that great heavy book spread out on their joint42 knees. Heavens! he would be proposing to snapshot Lallie next" (which is precisely what Mr. Johns was doing at that moment). "He, Tony, would not have it. He would interfere43, he would--" Suddenly, exclaiming aloud, "What an ass7 I am!" he sat down at his desk with the firm determination to attend to his letters. He drew a neatly44 docketed bundle towards him, and selected the top one. It was that of Uridge Major's father, who wrote pointing out what a steadying effect it would have upon the boy were he made a prefect that term. Tony dealt diplomatically with this, but instead of going methodically through the bundle as he had fully33 intended to do he drew from his pocket a letter he had received from Fitzroy Clonmell last mail. It consisted of two closely written sheets; the first mainly descriptive of the sport they were enjoying, and duly concluded with the pious45 hope that his daughter was behaving herself. This was manifestly intended to be shown to Lallie. It was the second sheet that Tony read and re-read when he ought to have been allaying46 the misgivings47 of anxious-minded parents.
"By the way," it ran, "if one Sidney Bargrave Ballinger should happen to call upon Lallie while she is with you, be decent to him, will you? He fell hopelessly in love with her at Fareham last winter, and followed us to Ireland for fishing in the spring, when he proposed and she refused him. Consequently she is unlikely ever to have mentioned his name. The frankest and most garrulous48 creature about all that concerns herself, she is extraordinarily49 reticent50 as to things concerning other people, especially if she thinks it might be in any way unpleasant for them to have their affairs discussed. They parted quite good friends, and I take it as not unlikely that she might be brought to reconsider her decision. You will probably think him a bit of a crock--old son of Anak that you are! So he is in some ways, but he is also quite a good sort, refined, kind-hearted, and a gentleman; a Trinity man, with somewhat scholarly tastes. I am sure he would make her a good and indulgent husband. Besides, he has an uncommonly51 nice place in Garsetshire, and about eight thousand a year. He came into this money quite recently through the death of an uncle, and having now a 'stake in the country' he feels, I suppose, that he ought to be a bit of a sportsman, and he does his best to achieve that character, although I don't believe he has a single sporting instinct in him. He broke his collar-bone the second time he came out hunting last season; but he hunted again the minute it was mended, and rode as queerly as ever. He followed us to Kerry for fishing in April, and flogged the stream all day without getting a single rise; but he contrived52 to see something of Lallie, which was what he came for.
"Should he appear in Hamchester I'd like to know how he strikes you. I'm so horribly afraid she may want to marry some impecunious53 soldier chap imported by Paddy, who will carry her off to a vile54 climate where she would assuredly go under in a year or two, that it would be a real comfort to me to see her safely married to a good fellow who could give her all the pleasures she most cares for and has been accustomed to; and even if he isn't a sportsman himself would not be averse55 from her fond father occasionally sharing in the same--but this is a very secondary consideration. A son-in-law will be such an incubus56 that nothing he can bring in his hand will mitigate57 the nuisance much.
"Perhaps he won't turn up at all, but if he does, don't cold-shoulder him--he has my blessing58. Give him his chance. She'll follow her own line of country in any long run, but there's no harm in giving her an occasional lead in the most desirable direction. I wish he hadn't been called Sidney, it's a name I detest39; still, we can call him by his middle name if it ever reaches the necessity for a familiar appellation59.
"Salve atque vale.
"From yours.
"Fitz."
Tony knit his brows and pondered. Had Mr. Sidney Bargrave Ballinger already arrived? he wondered. Was that why Lallie was so ardently60 desirous of going out with the hounds on Thursday? No; he acquitted61 her of any form of stratagem62. If she had seen the man she would have mentioned it. She always made a bee-line for anything she wanted, and intrigue63 was as foreign to her nature as mischief-making.
He was worried and irritable64; he couldn't settle to his letters; and he felt quite unaccountably annoyed with Fitz for thus shifting the burden of responsibility from his own shoulders to Tony's. And Tony, being of a just and charitable temperament65, took himself seriously to task for having instantaneously and irrevocably taken a violent dislike to the unseen and unknown Sidney Bargrave Ballinger.
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1
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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3
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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9
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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10
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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12
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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13
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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tryst
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| n.约会；v.与…幽会 | |
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15
cosseted
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| v.宠爱，娇养，纵容( cosset的过去式 ) | |
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16
mow
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| v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆 | |
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17
flannels
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| 法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 ) | |
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18
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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20
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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21
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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22
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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23
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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24
hurdle
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| n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛 | |
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25
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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26
disillusion
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| vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭 | |
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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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28
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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29
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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32
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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33
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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36
aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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37
deftness
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38
wilful
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| adj.任性的，故意的 | |
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39
detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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40
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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41
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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42
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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43
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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44
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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45
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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46
allaying
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 ) | |
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47
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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48
garrulous
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| adj.唠叨的，多话的 | |
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49
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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50
reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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51
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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52
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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53
impecunious
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| adj.不名一文的，贫穷的 | |
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54
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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55
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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56
incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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57
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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58
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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59
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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60
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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61
acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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62
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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63
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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64
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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65
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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