A fine rain was falling out of doors, and beads4 of moisture clung to Jean’s clothes and sparkled in the blown tendrils of russet hair which had escaped from beneath the little turban hat she was wearing. Apparently5, however, her appearance did not rouse Tormarin to any reciprocal appreciation6, for, after bestowing7 the briefest of glances upon her as she entered, he averted8 his eyes, concentrating his attention upon the misty9 ribands of smoke that drifted upwards10 from his cigarette.
Jean knelt down on the hearth11, and, pulling off her rain-soaked gloves, held out her hands to the fire’s cheerful blaze.
“It’s good-bye to all the skating, I’m afraid,” she said regretfully. “Nick says we’re not likely to have another hard frost like the last, now that the weather has broken so completely.”
“No. It’s April next month—supposedly springtime, you know,” returned Blaise indifferently.
He seemed disinclined to talk, and Jean eyed him contemplatively. His attitude towards her baffled her as much as ever. He was unfailingly courteous12 and considerate, but he remained, nevertheless, unmistakably aloof13, avoiding her whenever it was politely possible, and when it was not, treating her with a cool neutrality of manner that was as complete a contrast to his demeanour when they were together at Montavan as could well be imagined. Indeed, sometimes Jean almost wondered if the events of that day they spent amid the snows had really taken place—they seemed so far away, so entirely14 unrelated to her present life, notwithstanding the fact that she was in daily contact with the man who had shared them with her.
“It was rather uncomplimentary of you not to come skating with us a solitary15 once,” she remarked at last, an accent of reproach in her voice. “Was my performance on the rink at Montavan so execrable that you felt you couldn’t risk it again?”
He looked up, his glance meeting hers levelly.
“You’ve phrased it excellently,” he replied briefly16. “I felt I couldn’t risk it.”
A sudden flush mounted to Jean’s face. There was no misunderstanding the significance that underlay17 the curt18 words, which, as she was vibrantly19 aware, bore no relation whatever to her skill, or absence of it, on the ice.
Blaise made no endeavour to relieve the awkward silence that ensued. Instead, his eyes rested upon her with a somewhat quizzical expression, as though he were rather entertained than otherwise by her evident confusion. Jean felt her indignation rising.
“It is fortunate that other people are not so—nervous,” she said disdainfully. “Otherwise I should find myself as isolated20 as a fever hospital.”
“It is fortunate indeed,” he agreed politely.
In the course of the three weeks which had elapsed since her arrival at Staple21, Jean had dared several similar passages-at-arms with her host. Woman-like, she was bent22 on getting behind his guard of reticence23, on forcing him into an explanation of his altered attitude towards her—since no woman can be expected to endure that a man should completely change from ill-suppressed ardour to a cool, impersonal24 detachment of manner, without aching to know the reason why! But in every instance Tormarin had carried off the honours of war, parrying her small thrusts with a lazy insouciance25 which she found galling26 in the extreme.
Hitherto she had encountered little difficulty in getting pretty much her own way with the men of her acquaintance; she had sufficient of the temperament27 and charm of the red-haired type to compass that. But her efforts to elucidate28 the cause of the change in Blaise Tormarin were about as prolific29 of result as the efforts of a butterfly at stone-breaking.
Fortunately for the preservation30 of peace, at this juncture31 there came the sound of voices, and Lady Anne entered the room, accompanied by a visitor. Her clever, grey eyes flashed quickly from Jean’s flushed face to that of her son, but, if she sensed the electricity in the atmosphere, she made no comment.
“Blaise, my dear, here is Judith,” she said pleasantly. “I found her wandering forlornly in the lanes, so I drove her back here. She has just returned from town, and for some reason her car wasn’t at the station to meet her.”
“I wired home saying what time I should reach Coombe Eavie,” explained the new-comer. “But as I was rather late reaching Waterloo, I rashly entrusted32 the wire to a small boy to send off for me, and I’m afraid he’s played me false. I should have had to trudge33 the whole way back to Willow34 Ferry if Lady Anne hadn’t happened along.”
Lady Anne turned to Jean, and, laying an affectionate hand on her arm, drew her forward.
“Jean, let me introduce you to Mrs. Craig. My new acquisition, Judith, she went on contentedly35. A daughter. I always told you I wanted one. Now I’ve borrowed someone else’s.”
Jean found herself shaking hands with a slender, distinctive-looking woman who moved with a slow, languorous36 grace that was almost snake-like in its peculiar37 suppleness38.
She gave one the impression that she had no bones in her body, or that if she had, they had never hardened properly but still retained the pliability39 of cartilage.
She was somewhat sallow—the consequence, it transpired40 later, of long residence in India—with sullen41, slate-coloured eyes, appearing almost purple in shadow, and a straight, thin-lipped mouth. Jean decided42 that she was not in the least pretty, though attractive in an odd, feline43 way, and that she must be about thirty-two. As a matter of fact, Judith Craig was forty, but no one would have guessed it—and she would certainly not have confided44 it.
Presently Nick, who had been personally supervising the feeding of his beloved dogs, joined the party, greeting Mrs. Craig with the easy informality of an old friend, and shortly afterwards Baines brought in the tea-things.
“And where is Burke?” enquired45 Blaise, of Mrs. Craig, as he handed her tea. “Didn’t he come back with you?”
“Geoffrey? Oh, no. He’s not coming down till the end of April. You know he detests46 Willow Ferry in the winter—‘beastly wet swamp,’ he calls it! He’s dividing his time between London and Leicestershire—London, while that long frost stopped all hunting.”
Mrs. Craig was evidently on a footing of long-established intimacy47 with the Staple household, and Jean, listening quietly to the interchange of news and of little personal happenings, regarded her with rather critical interest. She was not altogether sure that she liked her, but she was quite sure that, wherever her lot might be cast, Judith Craig would never occupy the position of a nonentity48. She had considerable charm of manner, and there was a quite unexpected fascination49 about her smile—unexpected, because, when in repose50, her thin lips lay folded together in a straight and somewhat forbidding line, whereas the moment they relaxed into a smile they assumed the most delightful51 curves, and two little lines, which should have been dimples but were not, cleft52 each cheek on either side of the mouth.
All at once Mrs. Craig turned to Jean as though she had made up her mind about something over which she had been hesitating.
“Have I seen you anywhere before?” she asked, her charming smile softening53 the abruptness54 of the question. “Your face is so extraordinarily55 familiar.”
Jean shook her head.
“I don’t think so,” she answered. “I’m sure I should remember you if we had met anywhere. Besides, I’ve lived abroad all my life; this is only my first visit to England.”
“I think I can explain,” said Lady Anne. There was a deliberateness about her manner that suggested she was about to make a statement which she was aware would be of some special interest to at least one of the party. “Jean is Glyn Peterson’s daughter; so of course you see a likeness56, Judith.”
Jean, glancing enquiringly across at Mrs. Craig, was startled at the sudden change in her face produced by Lady Anne’s simple announcement. The sallow skin seemed to pale—almost wither57, like a cut flower that needs water—and the lips that had been parted in a smile stiffened58 slowly into their accustomed straight line.
“Of course”—Mrs. Craig’s voice sounded flat and she swallowed once or twice before she spoke—“that must be it. I—knew your father, Miss Peterson.”
To Jean, always sensitive to the emotional quality of the atmosphere, it seemed as though some current of hostility59, of malevolence60, leapt at her through the innocent-sounding speech. “I knew your father.” It was quite ridiculous, of course, but the words sounded almost like a threat.
She had no answer ready, and a brief silence followed. Then Lady Anne bridged the awkward moment with some commonplace, adroitly61 steering62 the conversation into smoother waters, and a few minutes later Mrs. Craig rose to go.
“I’ll see you across the park, Judith,” volunteered Nick, and he and his mother accompanied her out of the room.
In the hall, Lady Anne detained her visitor an instant with a light hand on her arm, while Nick foraged63 for his own particular headgear, amongst the family assortment64 of hats and caps.
“Jean is a dear girl, Judith,” she said earnestly. “I want you to be friends with her. Don’t”—pleadingly—“visit the sins of the fathers on the children.”
“Why, no, I shouldn’t,” replied Mrs. Craig, with apparent frankness. “It was only that, for the moment, it was rather a shock to learn that she was—that woman’s—child.”
“Of course it was,” acquiesced65 Lady Anne. “Good-bye, dear Judith.”
But notwithstanding Mrs. Craig’s assurances, a troubled look lingered in Lady Anne’s grey eyes long after her guest’s departure.
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1
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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5
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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8
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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9
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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10
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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15
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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16
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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underlay
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的过去式 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起n.衬垫物 | |
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18
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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vibrantly
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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staple
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| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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22
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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24
impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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insouciance
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| n.漠不关心 | |
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galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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28
elucidate
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| v.阐明，说明 | |
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29
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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30
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
trudge
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| v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行 | |
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34
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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35
contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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36
languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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38
suppleness
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| 柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从 | |
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pliability
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| n.柔韧性；可弯性 | |
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40
transpired
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| （事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生 | |
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41
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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42
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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43
feline
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| adj.猫科的 | |
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44
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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45
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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46
detests
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的第三人称单数 ) | |
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47
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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48
nonentity
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| n.无足轻重的人 | |
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49
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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50
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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51
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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52
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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53
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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54
abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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55
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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56
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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57
wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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58
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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59
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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60
malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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61
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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62
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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63
foraged
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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64
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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65
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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