Reuben was very kind to Naomi during her illness. He helped his mother to nurse her, and spent by her side all the time he could spare from the farm. He was too strong to vent1 on her personally the rage and disappointment with which circumstances had filled him. He pitied her fragility, he even pitied her for the antagonism2 which he saw she still felt towards him.
At nights he slept upstairs in one of the attics3, which always smelt5 of apples, because it was next to the loft6 where the apples were stored. He was happy there, in spite of some dark hours when the deadlock7 of his married life kept him awake. He wondered if there was a woman in the world who could share his ambitions for Odiam. He expected not, for women were an ambitionless race. If Naomi had had a single spark of zeal8 for the great enterprise in which he and she were engaged, she would not now be lying exhausted9 by her share in it. He had honoured her by asking her to join him in this splendid undertaking10, and all she had done had been to prove that she had no fight in her.
He could now gaze out on Boarzell uninterrupted. The sight of the great Moor11 made his blood tingle12; his whole being thrilled to see it lying there, swart, unconquered, challenging. How long would it be, he wondered, before he had subdued13 it? Surely in all Sussex, in all England, there had never been such an undertaking as this ... and when he was triumphant14, had achieved his great ambition, won his heart's desire,[Pg 108] how proud, how glorious he would be among his children....
The wind would carry him the scent15 of gorse, like peaches and apricots. There was something in that scent which both mocked and delighted him. It was an irony16 that the huge couchant beast of Boarzell should smell so sweet—surely the wind should have brought him a pungent17 ammoniacal smell like the smell of stables ... or perhaps the smell of blood.
But, after all, this subtle gorse-fragrance had its suitableness, for though gorse may cast out the scent of soft fruit from its flowers, its stalks are wire and its roots iron, its leaves are so many barbs18 for those who would lay hands on its sweetness. It was like Boarzell itself, which was Reuben's delight and his dread19, his beloved and his enemy.
The day would come when Boarzell would no longer drench20 the night with perfume, when the gorse would be torn out of its hide to make room for the scentless21 grain. Then Reuben would no longer lean out of his window and dream of it, for dreams, like the peach-scent of the gorse, would go when the corn came. But those days were not yet.
Naomi's illness dragged. Sometimes Reuben suspected her of malingering, she so obviously did not want to get well. He guessed her reasons, and took an opportunity to tell her of the doctor's verdict. The struggle was in abeyance—at least her share of it. Nature—which was really what he was fighting in Boarzell—had gained a temporary advantage, and his outposts had been forced to retire.
Naomi began now decidedly to improve. She put on flesh, and showed a faint interest in life. Towards the end of April she was able to come downstairs. She was obviously much better, and old Mrs. Backfield hinted that she was even better than she looked. Reuben watched over her anxiously, delighted to notice day by[Pg 109] day fresh signs of strength. She began to do little things for the children, she even seemed proud of them. They were splendid children, but it was the first time that she had realised it. She helped the scholastic23 elders with their sums and made frocks for the little girls. She even allowed baby Mathilda to wear Fanny's shoes.
The summer wore on. The sallow tints24 in Naomi's skin were exchanged for the buttery ones which used to be before her marriage. Her hair ceased to fall, her cheeks plumped out, her voice lost its weak shrillness25. She made herself a muslin gown, and Reuben bought ribbons for it at Rye.
The husband and wife now lived quite independently. They no longer made even the pretence26 of walking on the same path. Naomi played with the children, did a little sewing and housework—exactly what she chose—and occasionally went over to Totease or Burntbarns for a chat with the neighbours. She once even spent a couple of nights at her father's, the first time since her marriage that she had slept away from Odiam.
As for Reuben, he worked as hard as ever, but never spoke27 of it to his wife. He seemed to enjoy her society at meals, and now and then would take her out for a stroll along the lanes, or sit with her in the evening by the kitchen fire. Once more he liked to have her read him the papers; and though she understood no more than she had ever done, her voice had ceased to be dull and fretful. Then at night he would go up to his attic4 and drink in the smell of gorse at the window, till he grew drowsy28 and shut himself in with the smell of apples.
After a time they began to notice a convergence in these independent ways. It seemed as if only by running apart had they learned at last to run together. A certain friendliness29 and comradery began to establish itself between them. Reuben began to talk to Naomi[Pg 110] about politics and agricultural doings, and gradually her character underwent a strange blossoming. She became far more adult in her opinions; she took interest in matters outside her household and immediate30 surroundings. He never spoke to her of his plans for Boarzell, for that would have brought them back into the old antagonism and unrest; but when she read the papers to him he would discuss them with her, occasionally interrupt her with comments, and otherwise show that he had to do with an intelligent being. She in her turn would enquire31 into the progress of the hops32 or the oats, ask him if his new insect-killer was successful, or whether Ditch had done well with his harvest, or how much Realf's had fetched at the corn-market.
Three months passed in this new way. Reuben would never have believed that Naomi could be a companion to him, especially after the last few hostile years. As for her, she looked young and pretty again; delicious slim lines had come into her figure—no longer the slack curves and emaciation33 of recent months, or the matronly fullness of earlier times. Her health seemed completely restored.
Then came a day early in December, when they were walking home together through the mud of Totease Lane, their faces whipped into redness by the south-west wind. Naomi wore a russet cloak and hood34, and her hair, on which a few rain-drops glistened35, was teasing her eyes. She held Reuben's arm, for the ruts were treacherous36, and he noticed the spring and freedom of her walk. A sudden turn of the lane brought them round due west, and between them and the sunset stood Boarzell, its club of firs knobbily outlined against the grape-red sky. It smote37 itself upon Reuben's eyes almost as a thing forgotten—there, half blotting38 out the sunset with its blackness. Unconsciously his arm with Naomi's hand on it contracted against his side, while the colour deepened on his cheek-bones.
"Naomi."
"What is it?"
"Boarzell."
She lifted her eyes to the shape between her and the sky, and as unconsciously he had flushed so unconsciously she shuddered39.
"Well, what about it?" she asked in a voice that stuck a little.
"It's wunnerful ..." he murmured, "all that great big dark Moor, wot's going to be mine."
She did not speak.
"Mine!" he repeated almost fiercely.
Then suddenly she began to plead:
"Can't you let it alone, Reuben?—we—we've been so happy these last months not worrying about it. Must we ever start again?"
Her voice came anxiously, timidly like a child's. He dropped her hand from his arm.
"Yes—we must," he said shortly.
They reached Odiam, both feeling that the glory of those last three months had departed. The sight of Boarzell, lying black and hullish across their path, had made them realise that their happiness was but an interval40, an interlude between more significant, more sinister41 things. Naomi had lost her peace and confidence, she seemed to avoid her husband, was tongue-tied in his presence, gave him a hurried good night from the door. Reuben was silent and meditative—when his eyes rested on Naomi they were half regretful.
That night he lay awake long hours in the smell of apples. He pondered many things. Those past months had been sweet in their revived tenderness, their simple freedom. But Boarzell had reasserted itself—Naomi was now quite well again—she must no longer shirk her duties. She must have more children.
It was cruel, he knew. She had already given him seven, she could not realise that her task was not yet[Pg 112] done. She had just felt what it was to be well and strong again after long months of illness. It would be cruel to impose on her once more the pains and weariness of motherhood. It would be cruel.—But, hem22 it all! was not the thing he was fighting cruel? Was not Boarzell cruel, meeting his endeavours with every form of violence and treachery? If he was to conquer it he too must be cruel, must harden his heart, and press forward, without caring how much he or anyone bled on the way. He could not stop to consider even his nearest and dearest when his foe42 had neither mercy nor ruth for him.
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1
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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3
attics
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| n. 阁楼 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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deadlock
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| n.僵局，僵持 | |
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8
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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9
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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12
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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13
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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14
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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15
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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16
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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17
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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18
barbs
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| n.（箭头、鱼钩等的）倒钩( barb的名词复数 )；带刺的话；毕露的锋芒；钩状毛 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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20
drench
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| v.使淋透，使湿透 | |
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21
scentless
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| adj.无气味的，遗臭已消失的 | |
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22
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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23
scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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24
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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25
shrillness
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| 尖锐刺耳 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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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
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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30
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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31
enquire
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| v.打听，询问；调查，查问 | |
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32
hops
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| 跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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33
emaciation
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| n.消瘦，憔悴，衰弱 | |
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34
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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35
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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37
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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38
blotting
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| 吸墨水纸 | |
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39
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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40
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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41
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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42
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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