Bonnibel had been trying to read, but in the perturbed4 state of her mind she could not fix her attention upon the book. It had fallen from her lap upon the floor, and as she sat in the luxurious5 arm-chair she leaned forward with her little chin buried in one pink palm and her blue eyes gazing into vacancy6, as if lost in thought.
She looked very fair and sweet sitting there in a cool, white morning-dress, trimmed in lace and dotted about with several bows of black ribbon. Her beautiful hair, which was growing long and thick again, fell upon her shoulders in loose curls, like glints of sunshine.
She had broken a spray of white hyacinth and pinned it on her bosom7, and she looked as pure and sweet as the flower itself.
"I am very sorry," she was thinking to herself, "that I was so unfortunate as to win Colonel Carlyle's affection. I certainly never dreamed of such a thing, and a year ago I should have laughed in the face of any old man who dared propose to me, and have told him I did not wish to marry my grandfather. Heigh-ho! I have grown graver now, and do not turn everything into a jest as I did then. Still, I wish it had not happened. I liked him simply as my father's friend, and I thought he liked me just as papa's daughter."
She sighed heavily.
"I think I understand some things now that have puzzled me all the winter," she mused8. "He was Felise's lover when I first came, and I have unconsciously rivaled her. She hates me for it, and Aunt Arnold hates me, too. Ah! if they knew all that I knew they need not be afraid. Felise is welcome to him, and I will try to induce him to return to her. I never thought that Colonel Carlyle could have acted so basely toward her, as it seems he has——"
Mrs. Arnold's sudden entrance into the room interrupted her meditations9. She looked so angry and overbearing that Bonnibel rose and was about leaving the room when she was recalled abruptly10.
"Stay, Bonnibel; I wish to speak with you. Resume your seat, if you please."
Flushing with resentment11 at the insolent12 authority of the tone, Bonnibel turned and faced the lady with a gleam of pride shining in her blue eyes.
"Pardon me," she answered, coldly. "I will hear what you have to say standing13."
"As you please," said Mrs. Arnold, with a sneer14. "Perhaps your strength may not stand the ordeal15, however."
[Pg 51]
Bonnibel stared at her in silent surprise.
"You have refused an offer of marriage from Colonel Carlyle," said Mrs. Arnold in a tone of deep displeasure.
Bonnibel's fair cheeks deepened their color ever so slightly.
"Yes, madam, I have," she answered after a moment's thought. "But I am ignorant of the means by which you became cognizant of the fact."
"It does not matter," Mrs. Arnold replied, flushing to a dark red under the clear pure eyes bent16 upon her. "Perhaps he told me himself. One would think that even so elderly a lover would consult a young lady's guardian17 and protector before addressing her! But no matter how I came by my information, you admit its truth."
"Certainly, madam," Bonnibel answered quietly, but wondering within herself what all this fencing meant. She was growing slightly nervous. The fair hands trembled slightly as they hung lightly clasped before her, and the white and red rose triumphed alternately in her cheek.
Mrs. Arnold stood resting her folded arms on the back of a chair, regarding the lovely young creature as if she had been a culprit before the bar of justice.
"May I ask what were your reasons for declining the honor Colonel Carlyle offered you?" she inquired in measured tones.
Bonnibel was half-tempted to deny Mrs. Arnold's right to ask such a question. With an effort she fought down the quick impulse, and answered in a voice as gentle as the other's was rude and self-assertive:
"I did not love him, Aunt Arnold!"
"Love! Love!" sneered18 the widow contemptuously. "What had love to do with the matter? You, a poor, penniless, dependent creature, to prate19 of love when such a man as Colonel Carlyle lays his millions at your feet! You should have jumped at the chance and thanked him for his condescension20!"
The listener regarded her with horror and amazement21. Her delicate lips quivered with feeling, and her eyes were misty22 with unshed tears.
"Surely, Aunt Arnold," she said, questioningly, "you would not have had me accept Colonel Carlyle simply for his gold?"
"Yes, I would, though," answered Mrs. Arnold roughly, "and what is more, I intend that you shall accept him, Bonnibel Vere! Girl, you must have been mad to dream of refusing such a splendid offer. When Colonel Carlyle returns for his final answer you will tell him that your first refusal was only a girlish freak of coquetry, to try his love, and that you accept his offer gratefully."
Bonnibel's cheeks turned as white as her dress, a mist rose before her eyes, shutting out the sight of her aunt's angry face.
She staggered and put out her hand to steady herself by a chair. Mrs. Arnold regarded her with an air of cold insolence23.
"I thought you would find it rather beyond your strength to stand before our conversation was over," she remarked, with slight sarcasm24.
Bonnibel did not seem to hear the last shaft25 of malice26. She[Pg 52] answered the preceding words in a voice that she strove to render steady and controlled.
"I cannot recognize your right to dictate27 to me in a matter that concerns myself alone, madam."
Mrs. Arnold listened to the proud, calm tones in furious wrath28.
"You defy my authority? You refuse to obey me?" she broke out angrily.
"Your violence leaves me no other alternative, Aunt Arnold," said the young girl, trying hard to speak calmly. "I do not wish to marry yet, and the man whom you wish me to accept as a husband, could never be the choice of my heart. I cannot understand why you should wish to force me into a marriage so unsuitable."
The graceful29, womanly dignity of the young girl's words and manner made no impression on the coarse woman's nature. She only saw before her the girl she had hated ever since her innocent babyhood, the girl whose peerless beauty had come between Felise and her brilliant prospects30. She broke out in a passionate31 resentment:
"Because I want to be rid of you, girl! You have been a tumbling-block in my path your whole life, and I hate the very sight of your baby-face! But I took pity on you and cared for you when poverty came upon you. In return for my kindness you stole my daughter's lover! Now you shall marry him and get out of her way. It is the only reparation you can make her. Do you think I will allow you to refuse Colonel Carlyle, and remain here to cheat her out of the next eligible32 chance that offers? Never!"
It was hard work for the listener to be so fiercely assailed33 by this woman and not break out into the angry remonstrances34 that were swelling35 in her heart. But Bonnibel had learned the difficult art of self-control lately. She reflected to herself that it was but natural that Mrs. Arnold should feel sore over the disappointment and humiliation36 of her clever, handsome daughter.
"I am very sorry to hear that you hate me so much," she said, a little sadly. "I have had no one to love me since Uncle Francis died, and I hoped I might win a little place in his wife's heart. But you wrong me, indeed, in charging me with stealing Felise's lover. I never dreamed of winning him away from her; I was deceived by his interest in me, thinking it was simply because he had been a friend and comrade of my dear papa. I might have known better, you say. Perhaps I might, but I was blinded by private troubles of my own, and scarcely heeded37 what went on around me. I am very sorry I have been the innocent cause of pain to Felise."
"Spare her the additional mortification38 of your sympathy," was the ironical39 answer. "I think she can bear the old dotard's desertion. She does not desire your regrets, and I believe I have named the only reparation possible for you."
"And that?" said the girl, slowly.
"Is to marry Colonel Carlyle and get out of her way," was the harsh reply.
"I cannot do that," said Bonnibel, hurriedly. "It is impossible[Pg 53] for me to marry Colonel Carlyle—there are many reasons why I should not. As to the other, I will——"
She was about to add, "I will go away from here," but a sickening thought flashed across her. Where could she go?
She had no relative to fly to in her trouble. She did not know how to work and take care of herself. She had never learned anything useful, and her education had been mostly limited to those showy, superficial accomplishments40 in vogue41 in the fashionable world. She had five hundred fashionable friends, but not one to whom she could turn for comfort in this her dark hour.
"You say you cannot marry Colonel Carlyle," said Mrs. Arnold, breaking in on her troubled silence. "Listen to the only alternative that is left you. I give you until he returns for his answer to decide in. If you do not then accept him you shall no longer have the shelter of my roof. Yes, in the very hour that you refuse Carlyle's millions, I will turn you out homeless into the streets!"
Into the streets! How the words grated on the girl's horrified42 hearing. She had seen them take up a dead girl from the street once, a girl as young and fair almost as herself.
They said she had poisoned herself because she had no home. They took her away to the Morgue, but Bonnibel had never forgotten that fair, still face as it lay cold in death.
She recalled it now with a shiver. Some one had turned the poor girl into the streets to die. Would that be her fate?
A deadly weakness stole over her. She dropped into a chair like one shot, and Mrs. Arnold as she stood near her could hear the loud, wild beating of her heart. Her little white hands trembled, and her cheeks and lips turned white as marble.
"Aunt Arnold," she said, looking up at the cruel, relentless43 woman, "you would not do that, surely? I should have nowhere to go, and I am so terribly afraid of the night and the darkness in the dreadful streets of the city!"
"No matter," sneered the listener. "You can go to one of the finest houses in the city if you like, and have every luxury that wealth can command—but if you refuse that, out you go from under the shelter of this roof!"
There was the sound of some one singing in the flower-garden outside.
It was Felise. She came in with one handful of roses, while the other held a newspaper which she was studying with a thoughtful brow.
"Bonnibel," she said, abruptly, "do you recollect44 that young artist, Leslie Dane, who used to visit at Sea View last summer?"
A wave of color drifted into the girl's white cheek. She looked up quickly into the thoughtful face of Felise.
"Yes," she answered, "what of him, Felise?"
"Did he not go to Rome to study painting?" inquired the artful girl.
"That was his intention, I believe," said Bonnibel, wondering what was coming now.
[Pg 54]
"I thought so. There can be no mistake, then—poor fellow! Look here, Bonnibel."
She put the paper she carried into the young girl's hand, and touched her taper45 finger to a marked paragraph.
Bonnibel's eyes followed the jeweled finger and read the few lines with staring gaze, mutely conscious of the overpowering scent46 of the roses that Felise carried in her hand.
Ever afterward47 Bonnibel associated roses with the thought of death.
"Died on the 10th of April, at Rome, Italy, of malarial48 fever, Leslie Dane, in the 24th year of his age. Mr. Dane was an artist and a native of the United States of America. Requiescat in pace."
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1
rejection
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| n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃 | |
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walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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3
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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4
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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6
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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7
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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8
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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9
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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10
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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12
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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13
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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14
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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15
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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16
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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17
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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18
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
prate
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| v.瞎扯，胡说 | |
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20
condescension
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| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
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21
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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23
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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24
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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25
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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26
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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27
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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28
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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29
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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30
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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31
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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32
eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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33
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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34
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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35
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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36
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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37
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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39
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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40
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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41
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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42
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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44
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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45
taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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46
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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47
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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48
malarial
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| 患疟疾的，毒气的 | |
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