"I call it common sense!"
"Call it what you please, Malet. I deny your right to keep back my money."
"Right? Your father's will gives me every right. If I approve of your marriage, the money will be paid down on your wedding day."
"But you don't approve, confound you!"
"Certainly not. Brenda Scarse is not the wife for you, Harold."
"That's my business."
"Mine also--under the will. Come, come now; don't lose your temper."
The elder speaker smiled as he proffered1 this advice, knowing well that he was provoking his cousin beyond all bounds. Harold Burton was young, fiery-tempered, and in love. To be thwarted2 in his love was something more than exasperating3 to this impetuous lover. The irritating request that he should keep his temper caused him to lose it promptly4; and for the next five minutes Mr. Gilbert Malet was witness of a fine exhibition of unrestrained rage. He trembled for the furniture, almost for his own personal safety, though he managed to preserve a duly dignified5 outward calm. While Harold stamped about the room, his burly cousin posed before a fireless grate and trimmed his nails, and waited until the young man should have exhausted7 this wholly unnecessary display of violence.
They were in the library of Holt Manor8. It was a sombre, monkish9 room; almost ascetic10 in its severity. Bookcases and furniture were of black oak, carpet and curtains of a deep red color; and windows of stained glass subdued11 the light suitably for study and meditation12. But on this occasion the windows were open to the brilliant daylight of an August afternoon, and shafts13 of golden sunshine poured into the room. From the terrace stretching before the house, vast woods sloped toward Chippingholt village, where red-roofed houses clustered round a brawling14 stream, and rose again on the further side to sweep to the distant hills in unbroken masses of green. Manor and village took their Teutonic names from these forests, and buried in greenery, might have passed as the domain15 of the Sleeping Beauty. Her palace was undoubtedly16 girdled by just such a wood.
But this sylvan17 beauty did not appeal to the pair in the library. The stout18, domineering owner of the Manor who trimmed his nails and smiled blandly19 had the stronger position of the two, and he knew it well--so well that he could afford to ignore the virile20 wrath21 of his ward6. Strictly22 speaking, Captain Burton was not a ward, if that word implies minority. He was thirty years of age, in a lancer regiment23, and possessed24 of an income sufficient to emancipate25 him from the control of his cousin Gilbert. Still, though possible for one, his income was certainly not possible for two, and if Gilbert chose he could increase his capital by twenty thousand pounds. But the stumbling-block was the condition attached to the disposal of the money. Only if Malet approved of the prospective26 bride was he to part with the legacy27. As such he did not approve of Brenda Scarse, so matters were at a standstill. Nor could Harold well see how he was to move them. Finding all his rage of no avail, he gradually subsided28 and had recourse to methods more pacific.
"Let me understand this matter clearly," he said, taking a seat with a resolute29 air. "Independent of my three hundred a year, you hold twenty thousand pounds of my money."
"To be correct," replied Malet in a genial30 tone, "I hold forty thousand pounds, to be equally shared between you and your brother Wilfred when you marry. The three hundred a year which you each possess I have nothing to do with."
"Well, I want to marry, and----"
"You do--against my wishes. If I do not approve of your choice I need not pay you this money. I can hold it until I die."
"And then?" asked Harold, sharply.
Gilbert shrugged31 his burly shoulders. "Then it goes to you and Wilfred direct. There is no provision made for my handing it over to another trustee. You are bound to get your share in the long run; but I am not thinking of dying just yet, my dear Harold."
"I can't imagine what possessed my father ever to make so foolish a will."
"Your father was guided by experience, my boy. He made a miserable32 marriage himself, and did not want you or Wilfred to go and do likewise. He had evidently confidence in my judgment33, and knew that I would stand between you and folly34."
"Confound your impudence," shouted Harold, his dark face crimson35 with anger. "You're only fifteen years older than I am. At the age of thirty I am surely capable of selecting my own wife!"
"I hardly think so, when you select Miss Scarse!"
"What the deuce have you against her?"
"Nothing, personally. She is a nice girl, a very nice girl, but poor. A man of your extravagant36 tastes should marry money. Brenda is well enough, for herself," continued Malet, with odious37 familiarity, for which Harold could have struck him, "but her father!--Stuart Scarse is a Little Englander!"
Captain Burton was taken aback at the irrelevancy38 of this remark. "What the devil has that to do with her or me?" he demanded bluntly.
"Everything, if you love your country. You belong to a Conservative family. You are a soldier, and the time is coming when we must all rally round the flag and preserve the Empire. Scarse is a member of that pernicious band which desires the dismemberment of our glorious----
"Oh, I'm sick of this!" Harold jumped up and crammed39 on his cap. "Your political ideas have nothing to do with my marriage. You have no reason to object to Miss Scarse. Once for all, will you pay me this money?"
"No, I will not. I shall not agree to your marrying the daughter of a Little Englander."
"Then I shall throw the estate into Chancery."
Malet looked uneasy, but sneered40. "By all means, if you want the whole forty thousand to go to fee the lawyers! But, before you risk losing your money, let me advise you to make sure of Miss Brenda Scarse!"
"What do you mean?"
"Ask Mr. van Zwieten, who is staying with her father."
"Oh!" said Harold, contemptuously, "Brenda has told me all about him. Her father wants her to marry him, and it is true he is in love with her; but Brenda loves me, and will never consent to become the wife of that Boer!
"Van Zwieten is no Boer. He is a Dutchman, born in Amsterdam."
"And a friend of yours," sneered Captain Burton. "He is no friend of mine!" shouted Malet, somewhat ruffled41. "I detest42 the man as much as I do Scarse. If----"
"Look here, Gilbert, I don't want any more of this. I trust Brenda, and I intend to marry her."
"Very good. Then you'll have to starve on your three hundred a year."
"You refuse to give me the money?"
"Absolutely."
"Then I'm glad I don't live under your roof and can tell you what I think of you. You are a mean hound, Malet--keep back, or I'll knock you down. Yes, a mean hound! This is not your real reason for refusing to pay me this money. I'll go up to town to-day and have your trusteeship inquired into."
Gilbert changed color and looked dangerous. "You can act as you please, Harold; but recollect43 that my powers are very clearly defined under the will. I am not accountable to you or to Wilfred or to any one else for the money. I have no need to defend my honor."
"That we shall see." Harold opened the door and looked back. "This is the last time I shall enter your house. You meddle44 with my private affairs, you keep back money rightfully belonging to me on the most frivolous45 pretext46, and, in fact, make yourself objectionable in every way; but, I warn you, the law will force you to alter your behavior."
"The law cannot touch me!" cried Gilbert, furiously. "I can account for the money and pay it when it should be paid. Out of my house----!"
"I am going--and, see here, Gilbert Malet, if the law affords me no redress47, I shall take it into my own hands. Yes, you may well turn pale. I'll make it hot for you--you swindler!" and Captain Burton, banging the door, marched out of the house, furious at his helpless position.
Left alone, Malet wiped his bald forehead and sank into a chair. "Pooh!" he muttered, striving to reassure48 himself. "He can do nothing. I am his cousin. My honor is his honor. I'm in pretty deep water, but I'll get ashore49 yet. There's only one way--only one!" Then Mr. Malet proceeded to cogitate50 upon that one and only way, and the obstacles which prevented his taking it. His thoughts for the next half hour did not make for peace of mind altogether.
Meanwhile, Captain Burton, fuming51 with rage, strode on through the green woods to the lady of his love. They had arranged to meet and discuss the result of this interview. As Mr. Scarse did not approve of his attentions toward his daughter, the cottage where she dwelt was forbidden ground to Harold. He was compelled, therefore, to meet her by stealth in the woods. But the glorious summer day made that no hardship. He knew the precise spot where Brenda would be waiting for him--under an ancient oak, which had seen many generations of lovers--and he increased his pace that he might the sooner unburden to her his mind. As he left the park and made his way through the orchards52 which surrounded Chippingholt, he saw Mr. Scarse no great distance away.
"That's a queer get-up the old man's got on," muttered Harold, perplexed53 at the wholly unusual combination of a snuff-colored greatcoat and a huge black scarf. "Never saw him in that rig before. I wonder what it means!"
As he came up within a dozen paces of the thin, white-haired figure, he was more than ever puzzled, for he noticed that the black scarf was of crape--there must have been several yards of it wound round the old man's neck. It was undoubtedly Mr. Scarse. There was no mistaking that clean-shaven, parchment-like visage. Burton took off his cap in greeting, but did not speak. He knew the old man was not well-disposed toward him. Mr. Scarse looked blankly at him and pressed on without sign of recognition; and even though he had half expected it, Captain Burton felt mortified54 at this cut direct.
"Brenda and I will have to marry without his consent," he thought; "never mind!"
But he did mind. To marry a girl in the face of parental55 opposition56 was all against his inclinations57. The future looked dismal58 enough to him at the moment, and his spirits were only further depressed59 as the sky began to blacken over with portentous60 clouds. Impressionable as he was, this endorsement61 of nature was full of meaning for him in his then pessimistic frame of mind. The sunshine faded to a cold grey, the leaves overhead shivered, and seemed to wither62 at the breath of the chill wind; and when he caught sight of Brenda's white dress under the oak, her figure looked lonely and forlorn. The darkling sky, the bitter wind, the stealthy meeting, the solitary63 figure--all these things struck at his heart, and it was a pale and silent lover who kissed his sweetheart under the ancient tree. His melancholy64 communicated itself to Brenda.
"Bad news, dear--you have bad news," she murmured, looking into his downcast face. "I can see it in your eyes."
They sat silent on the rustic65 seat. The birds had ceased to sing, the sun to shine, and the summer breeze was cold--cold as their hearts and hands in that moment of sadness.
They were a handsome couple. The man tall, thin-flanked, and soldiery of bearing; dark eyes, dark hair, dark moustache, and a clean-cut, bronzed face, alert, vivacious66, and full of intelligence. Brenda was a stately blonde, golden-haired, blue-eyed, and passionate67 as one of those stormy queens of the Nibelungen Lied, to whom love, insistent68 and impassioned, was as the breath of life. Both were filled with the exuberant69 vitality70 of youth, fit to overcome all obstacles, greatly daring and resolutely71 courageous72. Yet, seated there, hand in hand, they were full of despondency--even to cowardice73. Brenda felt that was so, and made an effort to rouse herself and him.
"Come, dear," she said, kissing her lover, "the sun will shine again. Things can't be so bad as to be past mending. He has refused?"
"Absolutely. He won't give me the money."
"On the ground that he does not approve of me!" Harold nodded. "He tried to make out that you were in love with Van Zwieten!"
"Oh! he is so ready to stoop to any meanness," said Brenda, scornfully. "I always disliked Mr. Malet. Perhaps my dislike is hereditary74, for my father detests75 him."
"On political grounds?"
"Of course. But those are strongest of all grounds for hatred76. Religion and politics have caused more trouble and more wars than--" she broke off suddenly. "Of course you don't believe this about Mr. van Zwieten."
"Need you ask?" said Burton, tenderly. "The fellow is staying with you still?"
"Yes. He has been here for the last two days talking politics with father, and worrying me. Thank goodness, he goes to-morrow!"
"Glad of it," growled77 Burton. "He is the Beast mentioned in Revelation. By the way, Brenda, who is Van Zwieten?"
Miss Scarse looked puzzled. "A friend of my father's."
"Yes; but what is his position--where does he come from--how does he make his income? There is something mysterious about the fellow."
"He comes from Holland--he is a friend of Dr. Leyds--and he is shortly going out to fill some post under the Transvaal Government. That's all I know about him."
"He seems to have plenty of money."
"Yes, he spends a good deal, to judge from what I saw of him in town last season. Then he is a popular cricketer, you know."
"I know. But the idea of a foreigner playing cricket!"
"Well, Mr. van Zwieten does, and very well too. You must have seen about his play in the papers. He is a great man at Lord's."
"All the same, he is a mystery; and he is too much mixed up with the Boers to please me. If there is a war, I hope he'll be with them that I may have a shy at him."
Brenda laughed, and pressed her lover's arm. "You silly boy, you are jealous."
"I am, I am. Who wouldn't be jealous of you? But this is not war, Brenda dear. Let us talk about ourselves. I can't get this twenty thousand pounds until Malet dies. I see nothing for it but to marry on my three hundred a year. I dare say we'll scrape along somehow."
"I have two hundred a year of my own," cried Brenda, vivaciously78; "that makes ten pounds a week. We can easily manage on that, dear."
"But your father?"
"Oh, he wants me to marry Mr. van Zwieten, of course," said she, with great scorn. "So I must just do without his consent, that's all. It sounds wrong, Harold, doesn't it? But my father has never done his duty by me. Like most men who serve the public, he has sacrificed his all to that. I was left to bring myself up as best I could and so I think I have the right to dispose of myself. My father is nothing to me--you are everything."
"Dearest!" He kissed her. "Then let us marry--but no--" he broke off abruptly79. "If war should break out in South Africa I would have to leave you!"
"But I wouldn't be left," said Brenda, merrily. "I would go out with you--yes, to the front!"
"I'm afraid you couldn't do that."
"I could and I would. I would go officially as a nurse. But, Harold, why don't you see your lawyer about this money? He may find means to force Mr. Malet to pay it to you."
"I intend to see him to-morrow, dearest. I am going up to town by the six train this evening, though I confess I don't like leaving you with this Van Zwieten."
"I think I can undertake to keep Mr. van Zwieten at his distance," said Brenda, quietly, "even though my father encourages him."
"I believe your father hates me," said Harold, gloomily, "He cut me just now."
"Cut you, dear; what do you mean?"
"Just what I say, Brenda. I met you father, and he cut me dead."
She stared at her lover in amazement80. "You can't possibly have seen my father," she said decisively. "He is ill with influenza81, and hasn't left his room for two days!"
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收听单词发音
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1
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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7
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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13
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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brawling
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| n.争吵，喧嚷 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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sylvan
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| adj.森林的 | |
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blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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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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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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emancipate
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| v.解放，解除 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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irrelevancy
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| n.不恰当，离题，不相干的事物 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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40
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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42
detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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43
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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44
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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45
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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46
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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47
redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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48
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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49
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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50
cogitate
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| v.慎重思考，思索 | |
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51
fuming
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| 愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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52
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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53
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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54
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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55
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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56
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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57
inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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58
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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59
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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60
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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61
endorsement
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| n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注 | |
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62
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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63
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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64
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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65
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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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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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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72
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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detests
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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77
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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vivaciously
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| adv.快活地；活泼地；愉快地 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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80
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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influenza
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| n.流行性感冒，流感 | |
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