CHAPTER XLVIII. HETTY SPEAKS OUT.

There was a good deal of whispering and talking in corners and under the trees at Longmere House. A fussy¹ little man with an eyeglass seemed to have a great deal to say. Lady Longmere laughed somewhat scornfully as she watched him. A great pile of strawberries were on her plate.

"I have a great many faults," the pretty American heiress said, "but scandal never was one of them. Look at that little wretch² of a Mosley Harcourt. Nobody likes him, and nobody is free from his poisonous tongue, but he goes everywhere because he has the very latest gossip."

Hetty nodded absently; in society parlance³ Lady Longmere had taken Hetty up. Since the night of the card party at Lytton Avenue, when her ladyship had foresworn cards for good and all, she had seen a good deal of Hetty. And she was one of the few who stuck loyally to Bruce.

"Here's your young man," she said presently. "He didn't want to come, but I made a special journey and persuaded him. Never hide yourself at times like this."

"Gordon is very sensitive," said Hetty. "That's the kind of thing that hurts."

She clutched at the handle of her sunshade passionately⁴ as a society leader responded to Bruce's uplifted hat by a cold stare.

"And Gordon saved that woman's life," Hetty said. "He sat up all one night with her and part of the second. It's very hard, Lady Longmere."

Lady Longmere replied generally that it would benefit Bruce in the long run. Lady Rockingham came up and said it was very hot. After his rebuff Bruce stood by as if unconscious of Lady Rockingham's presence.

"Surely your ladyship knows Dr. Bruce!" Hetty said with a vivid splash of colour on either cheek "A little time ago I understood that Dr. Bruce----"

"Dr. Bruce perfectly⁵ understands," Lady Rockingham said coldly.

"But you evidently don't," Hetty said coolly. "I was going to give your ladyship a little information. I fancy you were present at Lytton Avenue the night of the card party when those mysterious notes were produced. It was never known exactly who paid them over to Mr. Isidore, but I know now. They came from Countess Lalage; indeed, she admitted as much to my uncle, Mr. Lawrence."

Bruce drew Hetty gently away. The girl was sore and angry, and might be betrayed into saying something that she would be sorry for afterwards. After all, it did not matter much so long as they had one another.

The grounds were large and secluded⁶; there were plenty of spots there for lovers. They might have been far away in the country.

"I have been talking to Lawrence," Bruce said. "My dear little girl, I have only learnt lately what you have endured for me. If these people had found you out they would most certainly have murdered you."

Hetty smiled lightly. She had her own reward. It would be mainly due to her that her lover's good name would be cleared.

"But it makes my blood boil to see you treated in that way by that woman," she cried, "especially after what you did for her. I long to tell her who the real culprit was, and that in a few days a woman in whose house she had been would be arrested for the crime."

"I'm glad you didn't," Bruce smiled. "What a sensation those good people will have presently! And most of them have been on intimate terms with our Countess. My darling, I shall never be easy in my mind till you are out of that house."

"And I shall never go till I can make some arrangements for Mamie," Hetty said. "Of course the secret cannot be kept much longer, and then I suppose everything will be seized by the creditors⁷. But even the servants are in the dark as yet."

Bruce nodded moodily⁸. He seemed to have something on his mind that he could not throw off. The cloud lifted a little under Hetty's blandishments; it was impossible to sit looking into those clear eyes and be wholly unhappy.

"You have some trouble," Hetty said anxiously.

"I have," Gordon said, "but I shan't tell it to you today. Let us talk of something else. Let us forget the world for ourselves."

A band was playing somewhere; there were voices pitched high close by; then came the clear laugh of Lady Longmere.

"Say, what a comedy!" she said. "What does it matter? It will be something to say afterwards that we knew the woman."

"I can't believe it," said Lady Rockingham. "Mr. Harcourt, are you quite clear and certain of your facts? Who told you?"

"Shouldn't dare to speak thus of the fascinating Lalage," Harcourt, the little man with the eyeglass, drawled. "Should be afraid of a knife in my back, or something horribly Corsican of that kind. Can't tell you any more except I know the police had a warrant for her arrest, and that she's bolted."

"And she's got a diamond star of mine worth a thousand pounds!" Lady Rockingham screamed. "A stone was missing, and she offered to have it replaced for me out of her stock of loose diamonds. I made a friend of that woman, a vulgar adventuress, who steals brooches and the like."

"Be a lesson to us all," Harcourt said sapiently⁹, "for at least a month. And then we shall run after the next flashy adventurer who comes along. Give me the money, and I'll put any gutter¹⁰ flower-girl in society, and at the top of all in a month. It's only a question of cash."

The speaker passed on. Hetty seemed amused about something.

"So the story has leaked out," she said. "But it has its funny side. Fancy Leona Lalage getting Lady Rockingham's star like that! It was the sort of cynical¹¹ thing she would have enjoyed."

Bruce held up his hand for silence.

"What are the boys saying in Piccadilly?" he asked.

The cries came nearer; a familiar name was mentioned.

"Latest society scandal!" came the shrill¹² voices. "Latest society sensation! Flight of the Countess Lalage!"

1 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

2 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

3 parlance   

n.说法；语调

参考例句：

• The term "meta directory" came into industry parlance two years ago.两年前，商业界开始用“元目录”这个术语。
• The phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.这种说法是指代间谍行为的常用外交辞令。

4 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 moodily   

adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地

参考例句：

• Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来，留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
• He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车，既松了一口气，又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网

9 sapiently   

参考例句：

10 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

11 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

12 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。