I know Betty too well to venture assistance, and I had the feeling that she would soon work her way round to her subject without my aiding and abetting4.
'The kettle will soon be through the boil, an' ye'll get your tea in a jiffy,' she said. 'Imphm! it's a gey comfortable-lookin' chair, that yin opposite ye, Maister Weelum; an', d'ye ken5, I met a leddy the day that I wad like to see sittin' in it.'
'Indeed, Betty!'
'Ay. I dinna ken when I was sae much impressed wi' onybody at first sicht as I was this day; an' when I was sittin' lookin' at her, an' listenin' to her voice, something whispered in my ear, "That's the wife for my boy."'
'My goodness, Betty, you're forcing the pace!' I laughingly said. 'First you wish to see this lady sitting in my chair, and in your next breath you say you wish to see her my wife! Where did you meet this paragon6?'
'Weel, this efternoon, when you an' the dugs were away yer walk, I slippit in next door juist for a meenit to see hoo they were a' gettin' on, an', as I usually do, I opened the door withoot knockin' an' walked strecht ben to the kitchen, an' there, Maister Weelum, sittin' on the wee laich nursin'-chair at the fireside, was the leddy I speak o'. I gaed to gang back into the lobby; but Mrs Jardine wadna hear o't, an' she made me step in, an' she introduced me, quite the thing, mind you. Ye see, Tom's wife was toon bred, an' she kens7 a' the weys o't, an' she mentioned me by name an' the leddy by name; an' if she had been staunin' in a drawin'-room on a Turkey carpet, an' cled in brocade, she couldna ha'e dune8 it better. I juist didna catch the leddy's name, for, what wi' the suddenness, her bonny face, an' ae thing an' anither, I was sairly flabbergasted an' putten aboot. It seems, hooever, that she's in the picter-pentin' line, an' she's ta'en a great fancy to wee Isobel, an' she's makin' a portrait o' her. A week or twae bygane she saw the wee lass staunin' at the door as she was passin', an' she was so struck wi' her bonny wee face an' her lang fair hair that she spoke9 to her an' asked to see her mither. Weel, the upshot o' this was that, as I've said, she is pentin' her, an' a capital picter she's makin'. It's hardly finished yet. I ken fules an' bairns should never see hauf-dune wark, an' I'm no' a judge, into the bargain; but I'll say this, photographin' micht be quicker an' mair o' a deid likeness10, but it's no' in it wi' yon for naturalness and bonny life-like colour. But that's by the wey, as it were. Her work is guid, withoot a doot, but she hersel's a perfect picter.'
I felt my heart beginning to thump11 and throb12, and my breath getting catchy13. 'Pity you missed her name, Betty,' I said with forced unconcern.
'Ay, as I telt ye, I was putten aboot, an' missed it; but I'll speir at Mrs Jardine again, 'at will I.'
'And—and what is the lady like?' I asked, with as much indifference14 as I could command.
'Weel, Maister Weelum, I juist canna exactly tell ye. She's yin o' the few folks ye meet in a lifetime that ye canna judge o' or scrutinise bit by bit. It's impossible to do that wi' her; you've to tak' her in a' at aince, as it were; ye ken what I mean—eh?'
I did, and I didn't; but I nodded as if I understood.
'What struck me mair than ocht else,' she continued, 'was her couthie, affable mainner. To look at her ye wad think that she's a' drawn15 thegether—prood-like, ye ken, wi' an almichty set apairt kind o' an air; but whenever she speaks an' looks at ye, ye've the feelin' that she's a' roon aboot ye, an' that there's only her an' you in the whole world. An' she was so composed an' calm, so weel-bred withoot bein' uppish! Oh, I tell ye she juist talked away to Mrs Jardine an' me as if we were o' her ain kind. An' when she rose up to gang away, an' was staunin' her full heicht lookin' doon on us, do you know, Maister Weelum, she seemed to me to be kind o' glorified16, an' the kitchen an' a' its plenishin's faded frae my sicht, an' a' I was conscious o' was the kindly17 glent o' twae big dark een an' the feelin' that I was in the presence o' some yin by-ordinar'—imphm! An' efter she had gane I couldna carry on a wiselike conversation wi' Mrs Jardine for listenin' to the whispered words in my ear, "That's the yin! That's the wife for Maister Weelum."'
Since the forenights began to lengthen18 the doctor has got into the way of dropping in and smoking a quiet, meditative19 pipe with me over the chess-board. When he called to-night I drew out the little table with the squared top, and we settled down to our game. But my mind was not concerned with bishops20, pawns21, and knights22, and my thoughts kept careering between Hastie's gate and Mrs Jardine's kitchen. I made an effort to centre my interest, and to look the part of the keen, zealous23 player; but, unfortunately, I cannot dissemble. I lost two pawns very stupidly, and the doctor looked keenly at me, but said nothing. I blundered on, and at last I made a move which caused the doctor to smile. He got up, relit his pipe, and sank into an easy-chair. 'Ah, William,' he said, 'Love is a tyrant24! Heart claimed, thoughts claimed, all dancing attendance on the enslaver.'
I blushed, and made a show of riping my pipe into the coal-scuttle to hide my confusion. Then I told him of the meeting on the Carronbrig road, and of Betty's experience in Mrs Jardine's kitchen.
'The plot thickens, William,' he said as he rose to go; 'and if I were you I would tell her of your dream next time you meet her. It will interest her in you; and, you know, once interest is aroused—well, love will follow. Good-night.'
My picture has arrived, and I have got it hung in a favourable25 light, in a place of honour above the mantelpiece. I became quite excited when it was delivered, and, like a child with a new toy, was impatient to see it, and to gloat over it. But the lid of the wooden case was tightly screwed down; and, as a hammer and a saw were the only joinery tools which Betty possessed26, I had to call in Deacon Webster's aid, and Betty, poor body, got no peace till he arrived with his screwdriver27. When at length the picture was taken out of its packing I noticed there was no signature in the corner, and this at the time was a keen disappointment to me; but it has ceased to trouble me now, because I have the feeling that it will shortly bear the artist's name, and till that time comes, when I am not admiring her handiwork, I shall just entertain myself filling the corner space with names which appeal to my mind as fitting and appropriate.
When I asked Nathan's opinion of my purchase, he looked several times very deliberately29 from me to the picture; then, after a pause, informed me he had 'never till noo seen purple gress.' I explained to him that this was the purple sunset glow; but he shook his head sceptically, spat30 in my fire, and walked slowly ben into the kitchen. Betty, who spent her early girlhood in the Keir, is delighted that a picture in which her native parish hills are depicted31 should be hanging on her walls, and she was very anxious to know who the painter was, and how it came into my possession. I just said I was very much interested in the artist, and that the picture had been sent from Edinburgh. She pointed32 out to me, what I hadn't noticed before, that the bright richness of the gold frame made the others shabby and tarnished-looking, and she warmly advocated the application of a liquid gold paint which John Boyes retails33 at sixpence a bottle, and which, she assures me, 'is liker pure gold than a sovereign.' Betty dearly loves to dabble34 in paint. It was Nathan who acquainted me with this predilection35, and he instanced a case of her blue-enamelling the long hazel crook36, the representative staff of the Ancient Order of Shepherds, which on gala-days he carries in the procession; and another, when she varnished37, with a strange concoction38, a workbox which she has never been able to open since. Knowing this, I purposely belittled39 Boyes's liquid, and assured her that in a week or two our eyes would become so accustomed to the conditions that we shouldn't distinguish any difference between the frames. It grieves me very much to thwart40 Betty; though, truth to tell, I seldom have occasion to do so, as our opinions on the big things of life, the essentials, are rarely in conflict, and the smaller we think not worth wrangling41 over; so I talked her into a gracious, amenable42 humour, and ultimately took leave of the subject in what I considered mutual43 agreement.
This morning, however, when she brought up my ante-breakfast cup of tea, she reverted44 to the subject without any preliminaries. 'Man, Maister Weelum,' she began, 'I've juist been takin' anither look roon' the dinin'-room. Noo, since we've got it done up it's the first thing I do in the mornin' an' the last at nicht; an', do ye know, I feel quite prood an' important when I'm puttin' a nice white cover on the big table, an' the silver candelabra in the centre o't. But, oh man, since yesterday I'm positively45 he'rt-sorry for thae auld2 frames. In a mainner it's my pleesure spoiled; to me it's a case o' deid flies in the ointment28, ye understaun? Imphm! an' I'm gettin' fair angry at the new yin hangin' oot so prominently an' skinklin' as if to chaw the ithers. Dod, I imagine it's laughin' an' jeerin' at them. Noo, Maister Weelum, twae sixpenny bottles o' John Boyes's gold spread oot thin would amaist do the whole lot, an'—an' I'll put it on mysel'. I'm rale knacky wi' a brush. It'll no' come to much—imphm! the cost'll be very little. What think ye?'
'I don't know, Betty, I'm sure. I'm sorry to know the old frames annoy your eye. Personally I like the old ones better than the new one; but I'll tell you what, Betty,' I said gleefully, as a happy thought struck me; 'we'll get the new frame coated over with some sort of stuff to dull it down a bit. They'll be all alike then. How would that do?'
'It'll no' do at a', Maister Weelum,' she said emphatically. 'That picter maunna be touched. No! no! It has some history, or I'm cheated. Time will prove'——
A sudden loud knocking echoed through the house and cut short her sentence. 'Mercy me, what a bang!' she said. 'That's Milligan the postman, an' as sure as my name's Betty Grier he'll bash through that door some day;' and, to my relief—for she was stumbling into 'kittle' ground—she hurried downstairs.
Since I came here my correspondence has become almost a negligible quantity. I rarely write to any one, and the few letters I receive are of a more or less private business character. I had two this morning—one from the treasurer46 of my club reminding me my subscription47 is due at the end of this month, and the other from my partner, Murray Monteith, who, after alluding48 to minor49 matters, writes as follows:
'Now for the real reason of my troubling you at this time. The Hon. Mrs Stuart wrote to me yesterday from Nithbank House, near Thornhill, saying she was desirous of consulting me on a very important subject; but owing to indisposition she couldn't travel to Edinburgh, and she would be much obliged if I could make it convenient to call on her at that address any day next week. I wrote to her by return saying I would travel south on Wednesday first, and would be with her during the early afternoon of that day. As you know, I am a stranger to your native county; but I presume Nithbank House is within driving distance of Thornhill, and as I am due at the station of that name at 11.30 A.M., I shall thus have ample time to call on you prior to my visit, and talk over matters with you.
'The important subject she refers to is, without doubt, in connection with the affairs of her brother-in-law, the late General Stuart, which, I regret to say, are still in a most unsatisfactory state, owing to our inability to unearth50 a will or to procure51 any information regarding his marriage. We have made exhaustive inquiry52 in every conceivable direction, but without result; and his daughter, Miss Stuart, must now be acquainted with the facts as they at present stand. She called here on the 17th ult., and asked to see you. Ormskirk informed her that you were at present invalided53 in the country, and showed her into my room. We talked over matters in a general way, and I think I managed to satisfy her on the main points, without giving her any reason to suspect we were faced with such serious difficulties. But, as I have said, she must be told now, and I approach this part of the business with misgivings54, as it is a very delicate matter indeed; and, from the little I have seen of her, I argue she will take it very keenly to heart. For us to inform her, in our cold, unfeeling legal phraseology, that she is, in the eyes of the law, illegitimate would be nothing short of brutal55, and I trust we may prevail on her aunt to discharge this unenviable obligation. I assure you I have no desire to trouble you unnecessarily at this time with business concerns; but, as you are in the immediate56 locality, and are not only acquainted with the parties, but conversant57 with all the details of this case, I hope you will see your way to accompany me to Nithbank. Miss Stuart informed me that she had transacted58 business by correspondence only, and that she had not yet met you. Would this not be a good opportunity for us all to meet and decide what ought to be done?'
Needless to say, I shall be delighted to receive Murray Monteith here. We must arrange to have him remain overnight with us, and I shall take peculiar59 pleasure in introducing him to Betty and Nathan and Dr Grierson, types, I feel sure, which he has never met before, but which I am equally sure he will appreciate. I shall certainly accompany him to Nithbank House; and I must be prepared to have the vials of the Hon. Mrs Stuart's wrath60 poured out upon me when she learns that for almost six months I have resided within two miles of her, and have not considered it my duty and privilege to call on her. I am very, very sorry to learn from Monteith that things have turned out so unfortunately; but somehow I have dreaded61 such an outcome all along. And my heart goes out to that poor girl who is likely to lose her patrimony62 under the inexorable law of succession. But, wait now, let me think. Yes, these four thousand Banku oil shares which her father transferred to her, on her coming of age, are hers, and cannot be contested; so that, after all, if our worst fears regarding the property are realised, she will not be penniless. I wonder if she is a level-headed business girl, and if she knows to what extent she will benefit from this. Banku oils are worth looking after. This will be one cheering subject, at least, which we may broach63 to her. But, after all, the stigma64 of illegitimacy remains65, and money cannot make up for that. Poor girl!
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1
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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auld
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| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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abetting
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| v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持 | |
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5
ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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paragon
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| n.模范，典型 | |
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kens
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| vt.知道（ken的第三人称单数形式） | |
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dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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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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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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13
catchy
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| adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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pawns
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| n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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screwdriver
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| n.螺丝起子；伏特加橙汁鸡尾酒 | |
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ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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retails
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| n.零售( retail的名词复数 ) | |
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dabble
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| v.涉足，浅赏 | |
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predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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concoction
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| n.调配(物)；谎言 | |
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belittled
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| 使显得微小，轻视，贬低( belittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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amenable
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| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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44
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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45
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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46
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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subscription
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| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
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48
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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50
unearth
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| v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出 | |
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51
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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52
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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53
invalided
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| 使伤残（invalid的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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54
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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55
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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56
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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58
transacted
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的过去式和过去分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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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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60
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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61
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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62
patrimony
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| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
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63
broach
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| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
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64
stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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65
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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