Throughout that day she was puzzled by the singularity of Miss Harding's behaviour; she had cares enough of her own to occupy her mind, yet she could not help but notice that there was something very strange the matter with Elaine. The young lady's outburst of the evening before had not been explained. All day long she was in a state of nervous tremor8 which was almost hysterical9; such conduct was unusual in Elaine, who had been wont10 to laugh at the idea both of nerves and of hysterics. Nora did not know what to make of her. So far as she could gather, from the cryptic11 utterances12 which the girl now and then let fall, she was troubled about three things. First, because of the poverty which apparently13 was in store for Nora; then because of the various amounts, which together did not amount to a very large sum, and most of which, to tell the truth, the creditor3 had herself forgotten, in which she was indebted to Nora; and, in the third part, because of a nebulous scheme she had for endowing Nora with unnamed, but seemingly immense supplies of ready money. It was this scheme which, apparently, was worrying her more than anything else; though what it really was, was beyond Nora's comprehension. Elaine talked--vaguely, it is true, but passionately14, none the less--of being in possession of funds which Nora knew perfectly15 well she never had had, and probably never would have; and about which she waxed quite warm when Nora smilingly asked if she was quite sure she was not dreaming.
"You're not to laugh!" she cried. "You're not to laugh! You are to have it! you shall have it!"
"I shall have what?"
"The money I'm telling you about!"
"But what money are you telling me about? Elaine, you don't seriously wish me to believe that you have money. Only this week you were crying because of what you said you owed me; though I say you owe me nothing, since all that has been between us has been for love's sake. And only last week you told me that your pockets were empty, and you didn't know where you were going to get something to put in them; don't you remember?"
"But I may know where money is!"
"Yes, and so may I; there's money in the bank, but it's neither yours nor mine; and I'm sure--don't you know I'm sure? you must be a goose if you don't--that you've no more idea how, honestly, it's to be wooed and won than I have; so what's the use of our pretending?"
To the speaker's surprise Miss Harding glared at her for some moments in silence; then, as if in sudden rage, she flung herself out of the room without a word; sounds were audible as if she were sobbing16 as she went.
"What," inquired Nora of herself, not by any means for the first time that day, "can be the matter with Elaine?"
On the Saturday the storm broke on her from a quarter for which, at the moment, she was unprepared. Word had been brought that the Earl and Countess of Mountdennis were in the drawing-room, waiting to see her. Her first impulse was to send an excuse; the mere17 announcement of their presence made her conscious of a sinking heart; but it was not her way to excuse herself because she feared unpleasantness; second thoughts prevailed. She recognized that, from their point of view, they were entitled to see her, even in these first days of her bereavement18. She needed none to tell her that the purport19 of their presence was not likely to be an agreeable one; that they probably had not come upon an errand of love; she had too shrewd a notion of their characters. Under the circumstances the last thing she might expect from them was sympathy; she was aware that they had a standard of their own; and that according to that the more a person stood in need of sympathy the less likely they were to vouchsafe20 it. Still they were Robert's parents; it was for her to consider him rather than herself; so, for the first time since her father was taken ill she ventured into the drawing-room.
The frigidity21 of the reception which they accorded her was ominous22; she knew at once that so far from having deserved their sympathy she had incurred23 their displeasure. The last time they had met they had both of them taken her, not only metaphorically24, but literally25, to their bosoms26; showering oh her tokens of affection which erred27, if anything, on the side of redundance. Now the lady permitted her to touch a fish-like hand, taking care not to allow her to approach too near; while the gentleman merely bowed. It was he who spoke28 first, as if he were addressing some one whose behaviour had both pained and shocked him.
"We only learnt this morning, actually by the merest accident, that your father was not only dead, but buried."
"Not only dead but buried!"
This was the Countess. It was a standing29 joke that, if they were both engaged in the same conversation, when he did not echo her she echoed him. If they ever differed it must have been in private; in public their agreement was so complete as sometimes to approach almost to the verge30 of the exasperating31.
"We were not even aware that your father was unwell; we had received positively32 no information on the subject whatever."
"Positively none whatever!"
"It seems to me--to us--a most extraordinary thing that you should not have apprised33 us of the condition of your father's health; that you should have given us no intimation of any kind; that you should have kept us in utter ignorance."
"In utter ignorance!"
"May I ask, may we ask, Miss Lindsay, why you have not treated us with at least some approximation to that consideration which our position obviously demanded?"
"Our position obviously demanded!"
"To begin with, it was all very sudden; and then I didn't know where you were.
"But you might have made inquiries34, anybody would have told you; almost, one might say, the first person you met in the street. We are not the kind of people who hide ourselves in holes."
"No, not in holes!"
"The moment we learnt what had occurred--learnt, as I have observed, by the sheerest accident,--we rushed back to Holtye, that very moment; though to do so involved us in the most serious inconvenience; but we had no option."
"We had no option."
"Because, not only were we informed, by accident, that your father was dead and buried, but we were also told, at the same time, what struck us as being so surprising as to be almost incredible, that he had not left behind him even so much as a sixpence."
"Not even so much as a sixpence!"
"You will remember, Miss Lindsay--that is, I take it for granted that information was given to you to that effect, that before sanctioning my--our--son Robert's engagement to you I made a special point of calling upon your father, who then and there informed, I may say, assured, me that, on the occasion of your marriage, he would present you with a house and furniture, and settle on you five thousand pounds a year. On the strength of that positive and definite assurance I--we--gave our consent, which, without it, we never should have dreamt of doing. We have our duty to perform, not only to our son, but to ourselves, and I may say, to our family, of which we are the representatives; I therefore offer no excuse for taking advantage of the first opportunity which arises to ask if your father has left his affairs in a condition which will enable you to carry out that assurance. On behalf of the Countess of Mountdennis, and of myself, I beg you, Miss Lindsay, in answering that question, to be perfectly plain and perfectly candid35."
"Perfectly plain and perfectly candid!"
The Earl, very tall, very straight, very thin, waved his hard felt hat in one hand, and his gold-knobbed malacca cane36 in the other, in a manner which was hardly so impressive as he perhaps intended; the Countess, her gloved hands clasped in front of her, wagged not only her head, but her whole body, as if to punctuate37, and notify her approval, of his remarks as they fell from him. Nora was silent. At the back of her mind had been the consciousness that, sooner or later, this question would have to be confronted; but she had not anticipated that it would be addressed to her so suddenly, so brusquely, with such a stand-and-deliver air. When she began to speak her lips were tremulous; and, though she might not have been aware of it, her eyes were moist; the feeling was strong upon her how different it all was from what she had expected.
"I--I'm sorry to say that, so far as we have been able to ascertain38, the state of my father's affairs is not--not altogether satisfactory."
It was the Countess who took up the running then; the Earl who played the part of echo; but as her volubility was much greater than his she did not give him so many opportunities to shine as he had given her.
"Not altogether satisfactory! my good young woman, what do you mean? I suppose all ideas of a house and furniture and five thousand a year must be given up, though your father led us to expect that there would be much more than that after he was dead; but the Earl has asked you a plain question and what we want is a plain answer; how much has he left you? If you can't give us the exact sum let's have it approximately, in pounds, shillings and pence."
"I'm afraid that I'm not yet in a position which enables me to do that."
"Not in a position? what do you mean, you're not in a position? are you in a position to say that he has left you anything, except debts?"
"I'm certain that when he said he had that money he had it; I believe he was a rich man when he died. Only he was very reserved; and, in consequence, we have not been able to find where the money is."
"Stuff and nonsense! you'd have found the money if there'd been any to find; it's only when there is none that none's found! Have you any sort of solid foundation for thinking that he did leave money?"
"He gave me to understand that I should be left well off; and I can't believe he would have done so if it had not been true."
"Some people can't believe anything; I know a woman who can't believe that her husband committed murder, though he was found guilty on the clearest possible evidence, confessed his guilt39, and was hung ten years ago. Husbands and wives can't exist on the incomes they believe they have; tradesmen want coin of the realm. I'm informed that by the time everything's sold, and everything will have to be sold, and the debts paid, there'll be nothing left for you; I want you to tell me, plainly, please, if that's true."
At last the Earl had his chance.
"Yes, plainly, please, if that's true!"
"I am afraid that, as matters stand at present, it does seem as if it were likely to be true."
"You must allow me to remark, Miss Lindsay, that you have a way of fencing with a plain question which, under the circumstances, seems peculiar42, and which compels me to wonder if it can be possible that you knowingly obtained my son's consent to marry you under false pretences43."
At this Nora did fire up.
"How dare you say such a thing! I did not obtain his consent, he obtained mine."
"We know very well what that means. I have not arrived at my time of life without understanding what are the wiles44 with which a young woman of no position lures45 a handsome young fellow of good family; I have not the slightest doubt that my son would never have asked you to be his wife had you not made it quite clear to him that you wished him to."
Nora stood up; one could see that the colour kept coming and going in her cheeks; that she was trembling; that she seemed to be panting for breath.
"I--I think you'd better go."
The Countess went calmly on; the girl's agitation46 seemed to make the elder woman calmer, and more corrosive47.
"I am going when it suits me; I assure you I have no wish to stay a moment longer in this abode48 of misrepresentation than I am compelled to. But before I go I wish to appeal to your sense of decency49, if you have any sense of decency----"
"How--how dare you! how dare you speak to me like this!"
"I say, if you have any sense of decency, to release him from the most unfortunate position in which your father's misrepresentations, and your own peculiar behaviour, have entangled50 him."
"Has--has he sent you here?"
"If you persist in putting such a question I shall understand that you have no sense of decency; surely any young woman with a spark of honour in her composition, must perceive that in such a situation the man would not be likely to send--that the initiative must come from her, not from him."
"I simply wish to learn if Mr. Robert Spencer knows that you have come to me upon this errand."
"He does not know; which gives you an opportunity to free him gracefully51 before the true state of affairs does come to his knowledge."
"If he wishes to be what you call 'free,' do you suppose that for one moment I would stand in his way?"
"It is not so much a question of what he wishes, as of what you wish. If you wish, though ever so slightly, to hold him to his bargain, I dare say he'll be held, even to the extent of making you his wife; though he will regret it ever afterwards, and will probably live to curse the day on which you first placed yourself in his path. Young men have married undesirable52 women, who were in no way fitted to be their wives, and who were thinking only of themselves, before to-day, and will again; I have seen examples of it in my own family, to my great sorrow. I intend, if I can, to save my son Robert from such a fate, whatever you may say or do; the purport of my presence here is merely to learn if you are, or are not, possessed53 of a shred54 of principle."
"I cannot conceive why you talk to me like this; what makes you think yourself entitled to take up such an attitude towards me; what I have done which causes you to address me in such a strain."
"That's high-faluting, it's talk of that sort which makes me suspect that you must be even worse than I supposed. Your father held you out to the world as a young woman who was rich already, and who would be still richer later on, and you tacitly endorsed55 his positive statements; then he dies just in time to save himself from being made a fraudulent bankrupt, leaving you worse than a pauper56, and you have the assurance to pretend to wonder why I and the Earl regard you--I will be as civil as I can--askance. Talk sense, Miss Lindsay; don't presume on our simplicity57 any longer. You are perfectly well aware that, had we been aware of the truth from the first, we should never have countenanced58 you in any way whatever. Your father's lies, with which you went out of your way to associate yourself--I know!--deceived us; and they deceived my son; there's the truth for you, if you never heard it before."
Nora looked as if she could have said many things; but she only asked a question.
"I wish you to do something to, at least in part, undo60 the mischief61 which you have done already, to atone62 for the evil of which you have been the cause; I wish you to show by your demeanour your consciousness of the miserably63 false position in which you have been placed by others, or in which you have placed yourself, it doesn't matter which. In other, and plainer words, I wish you to hand me my son's letters and presents, and to sit down at once and write a letter, which I will hand him, in which you express your appreciation64 of the fact that he asked you to become his wife under an entire misapprehension, and that now, since circumstances have turned out so wholly different to what they were represented to be, your own self-respect forbids you to allow any association to continue between you; and that, in short, all is over between you, in every possible sense of the phrase. I want you to put that down, as plainly, and as finally, as it can be put, in black and white, because, Miss Lindsay, I wish to save my son Robert, at the earliest possible, from the danger in which he stands, and to do it while he is still absent."
"But, my dear mother," exclaimed the voice of some new-comer, "your son Robert is not still absent, he is here."
Looking round the trio saw that the Honourable65 Robert Spencer was standing at the open window.
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1
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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2
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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creditor
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| n.债仅人，债主，贷方 | |
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appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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5
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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6
authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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8
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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9
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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11
cryptic
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| adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的 | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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13
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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15
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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17
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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18
bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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20
vouchsafe
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| v.惠予，准许 | |
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21
frigidity
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| n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失 | |
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22
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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metaphorically
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| adv. 用比喻地 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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27
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
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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29
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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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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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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33
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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35
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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punctuate
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| vt.加标点于；不时打断 | |
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38
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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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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43
pretences
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| n.假装( pretence的名词复数 )；作假；自命；自称 | |
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44
wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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45
lures
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| 吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式） | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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47
corrosive
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| adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的 | |
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48
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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49
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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50
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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52
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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53
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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54
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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55
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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56
pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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57
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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58
countenanced
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| v.支持，赞同，批准( countenance的过去式 ) | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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60
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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61
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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62
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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63
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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64
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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65
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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