CHAPTER XIII NUMBER THREE

 It was the middle of November when I was shown once more into the old room at the old number in Elm Park Gardens. There was a fire, the windows were shut, and the electric light was a distinct improvement when the maid put it on; otherwise all was exactly as I had left it in August, and so often pictured it since. There was "Hope," presiding over the shelf of poets, and here "Paolo and Francesca," reminiscent as ever of Melbury Road, upon a wet Sunday, years and years ago. The day's Times and the week's Spectator were not less prominent than the last new problem novel; all three lay precisely¹ where their predecessors² had always lain; and my own dead self stood in its own old place upon the piano which had been in St. Helena with Napoleon. It is vanity's deserts to come across these unnecessary memorials of a decently buried boyhood; there is always something stultifying³ about them, and I longed to confiscate⁴ this one of me.

 

But there was a photograph on the chimney-piece that interested me keenly; it was evidently the very latest of Bob Evers, and I studied it with a painful curiosity. Was the boy really altered, or did I only imagine it from my secret knowledge of his affairs? To me he seemed graver, more sedate⁵, less angelically trustful in expression, and yet something finer and manlier⁶ withal: to confirm the idea one had only to compare this new one with the racket photograph now relegated⁷ to a rear rank. The round-eyed look was gone. Had I here yet another memorial of yet another buried boyhood? If so, I felt I was the sexton, and I might be ashamed, and I was.

 

"Looking at Bob? Isn't it a dear one of him? You see—he is none the worse!"

 

And Catherine Evers stood smiling as warmly, as gratefully, as she grasped my hand; but with her warmth there was a certain nervousness of manner, which had the odd effect of putting me perversely⁸ at my ease; and I found myself looking critically at Catherine, really critically, for I suppose the first time in my life.

 

"He is playing foot-ball," she continued, full as ever of her boy. "I had a letter from him only this morning. He had his colours at Eton, you know (he had them for everything there), but he never dreamt of getting them at Cambridge, yet now he really thinks he has a chance! They tried him the other day, and he kicked a goal. Dear old Bob! If he does get them he will be a Blue and a half, he says. He writes so happily, Duncan! I have so much to be thankful for—to thank you for!"

 

Yes, Catherine was good to look at; there was no doubt of it; and this time she was not wearing any hat. Discoursing⁹ of the lad, she was animated¹⁰, eager, for once as exclamatory as her pen, with light and life in every look of the thin intellectual face, in every glance of the large, intellectual eyes, and in every intonation¹¹ of the keen dry voice. A sweet woman; a young woman; a woman with a full heart of love and sympathy and tenderness—for Bob! Yet, when she thanked me at the end, either upon an impulse, or because she thought she must, her eyes fell, and again I detected that slight embarrassment¹² which was none the less a revelation, to me, in Catherine Evers, of all women in the world.

 

"We won't speak of that," I said, "if you don't mind. I am not proud of it."

 

Catherine scanned me more narrowly. I knew her better with that look. "Then tell me about yourself, and do sit down," she said, drawing a chair near the fire, but sitting on the other side of it herself. "I needn't ask you how you are. I never saw you looking so well. That comes of going right away and not hurrying back. I think you were so wise! But, Duncan, I am sorry to see both sticks still! Have you seen your man since you came back?"

 

"I have."

 

"Well?"

 

"I'm afraid there's no more soldiering for me."

 

Catherine seemed more than sorry and disappointed; she looked quite indignant with the eminent¹³ specialist who had finally pronounced this opinion. Was I sure he was the very best man for that kind of thing? She would have a second opinion, if she were me. Very well, then, a third and fourth! If there was one man she pitied from the bottom of her heart, it was the man without a profession or an occupation of some kind. Catherine looked, however, as though her pity were almost akin¹⁴ to horror.

 

"I have a trifle, luckily," I said. "I must try something else."

 

Catherine stared into the fire, as though thinking of something else for me to try. She seemed full of apprehension¹⁵ on my account.

 

"Don't you worry about me," I went on. "I came here to talk about somebody else, of course."

 

Catherine almost started.

 

"I've told you about Bob," she said, with a suspicious upward glance from the fire.

 

"I don't mean Bob," said I, "or anything you may think I did for him or you. I said just now that I didn't want to speak of it and no more I do. Yet, as a matter of fact, I do want to speak to you about the lady in that case."

 

Catherine's face betrayed the mixed emotions of relief and fresh alarm.

 

"You don't mean to say the creature—? But it's impossible. I heard from Bob only this morning. He wrote so happily!"

 

I could not help smiling at the nature and quality of the alarm.

 

"They have seen nothing more of each other, if that's what you fear," said I. "But what I do want to speak about is this creature, as you call her, and no one else. She has done nothing to deserve quite so much contempt. I want you to be just to her, Catherine."

 

I was serious. I may have been ridiculous. Catherine evidently found me so, for, after gauging¹⁶ me with that wry¹⁷ but humourous look which I knew so well of old, for which I had been waiting this afternoon, she went off into the decorous little fit of laughter in which it had invariably ended.

 

"Forgive me, Duncan dear! But you do look so serious, and you are so dreadfully broad! I never was. I hope you remember that? Broad minds and easy principles—the combination is inevitable¹⁸. But, really though, Duncan, is there anything to be said for her? Was she a possible person, in any sense of the word?"

 

"Quite a probable person," I assured Catherine.

 

"But I have heard all sorts of things about her!"

 

"From Bob?"

 

"No, he never mentioned her."

 

"Nor me, perhaps?"

 

"Nor you, Duncan. I am afraid there may be just a drop of bad blood there! You see, he looked upon you as a successful rival. You wrote and told me so, if you remember, from some place on your way down from the mountains. Your letter and Bob arrived the same night."

 

I nodded.

 

"It was so clever of you!" pursued Catherine. "Quite brilliant; but I don't quite know what to say to your letting my baby climb that awful Matterhorn; in a fog, too!"

 

And there was real though momentary¹⁹ reproach in the firelit face.

 

"I couldn't very well stop him, you know. Besides," I added, "it was such a chance."

 

"Of what?"

 

"Of getting rid of Mrs. Lascelles. I thought you would think it worth the risk."

 

"I do," declared Catherine, on due consultation²⁰ with the fire. "I really do! Bob is all I have—all I want—in this world, Duncan; and it may seem a dreadful thing to say, and you mayn't believe it when I've said it, but—yes!—I'd rather he had never come home at all than come home married, at his age, and to an Indian widow, whose first husband had divorced her! I mean it, Duncan; I do indeed!"

 

"I am sure you do," said I. "It was just what I said to myself."

 

"To think of my Bob being Number Three!" murmured Catherine, with that plaintive²¹ drollery²² of hers which I had found irresistible²³ in the days of old.

 

I was able to resist it now. "So those were the things you heard?" I remarked.

 

"Yes," said Catherine; "haven't you heard them?"

 

"I didn't need. I knew her in India years ago."

 

Catherine's eyes opened.

 

"You knew this Mrs. Lascelles?"

 

"Before that was her name. I have also met her original husband. If you had known him, you would be less hard on her."

 

Catherine's eyes were still wide open. They were rather hard eyes, after all. "Why did you not tell me you had known her, when you wrote?" she asked.

 

"It wouldn't have done any good. I did what you wanted done, you know. I thought that was enough."

 

"It was enough," echoed Catherine, with a quick return of grace. She looked into the fire. "I don't want to be hard upon the poor thing, Duncan! I know you think we women always are, upon each other. But to have come back married—at his age—to even the nicest woman in the world! It would have been madness ... ruination ... Duncan, T'm going to say something else that may shock you."

 

"Say away," said I.

 

Her voice had fallen. She was looking at me very narrowly, as if to measure the effect of her unspoken words.

 

"I am not so very sure about marriage," she went on, "at any age! Don't misunderstand me ... I was very happy ... but I for one could never marry again ... and I am not sure that I ever want to see Bob...."

 

Catherine had spoken very gently, looking once more in the fire; when she ceased there was a space of utter silence in the little room. Then her eyes came back furtively²⁴ to mine; and presently they were twinkling with their old staid merriment.

 

"But to be Number Three!" she said again. "My poor old Bob!"

 

And she smiled upon me, tenderly, from the depths of her alter-egoism.

 

"Well," I said, "he never will be."

 

"God forbid!" cried Catherine.

 

"He has forbidden. It will never happen."

 

"Is she dead?" asked Catherine, but not too quickly for common decency²⁵. She was not one to pass such bounds.

 

"Not that I know of."

 

It was hard to repress a sneer²⁶.

 

"Then what makes you so sure—that he never could?"

 

"Well, he never will in my time!"

 

"You are good to me," said Catherine, gratefully.

 

"Not a bit good," said I, "or—only to myself ... I have been good to no one else in this whole matter. That's what it all amounts to, and that's what I really came to tell you. Catherine ... I am married to her myself!"

 

  

THE END

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 stultifying   

v.使成为徒劳，使变得无用( stultify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• the stultifying effects of work that never varies 一成不变的工作造成的使人呆滞的后果
• At its worst it is corrosive and it is stultifying. 在最坏的情况下，时间具有腐蚀作用，而且使人更为愚钝。 来自互联网

4 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

5 sedate   

adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的

参考例句：

• After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后，医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
• We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。

6 manlier   

manly（有男子气概的）的比较级形式

参考例句：

• The man did work that was thought to be manlier. He was a logger. 老先生做的是一般认为较适合男性的工作-当一名樵夫。

7 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 perversely   

adv. 倔强地

参考例句：

• Intelligence in the mode of passion is always perversely. 受激情属性控制的智力，总是逆着活动的正确方向行事。
• She continue, perversely, to wear shoes that damaged her feet. 她偏偏穿那双挤脚的鞋。

9 discoursing   

演说（discourse的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was discoursing to us on Keats. 他正给我们讲济慈。
• He found the time better employed in searching than in discussing, in discovering than in discoursing. 他认为与其把时间花费在你争我辩和高谈阔论上，不如用在研究和发现上。

10 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

11 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

12 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

13 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

14 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

15 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

16 gauging   

n.测量[试]，测定，计量v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的现在分词 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• The method is especially attractive for gauging natural streams. 该方法对于测量天然的流注具有特殊的吸引力。 来自辞典例句
• Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an opportunity of gauging his mind. 由于他不爱说话，我过了一些时候才有机会探测他的心灵。 来自辞典例句

17 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

18 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

19 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

20 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

21 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

22 drollery   

n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等）

参考例句：

• We all enjoyed his drollery. 我们都欣赏他的幽默。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "It is a bit of quiet, unassuming drollery which warms like good wine. "这是一段既不哗众取宠又不矫揉造作的滑稽表演，像美酒一样温馨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

23 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

24 furtively   

adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地

参考例句：

• At this some of the others furtively exchanged significant glances. 听他这样说，有几个人心照不宣地彼此对望了一眼。
• Remembering my presence, he furtively dropped it under his chair. 后来想起我在，他便偷偷地把书丢在椅子下。

25 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

26 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。