"What is the matter?" cried Dora, hurrying forward. "Why has Allen----"
Edermont lifted up a white face wet with tears, and flung out two thin hands with a low cry of terror. Then, with a sudden anxiety in his eyes, he staggered rather than walked across the room, and closed the door sharply. Joad had already entered, and, still hugging a book, stood looking grimly at the swaying figure of his patron. With his back to the door, Edermont interrogated9 his ward8 and his friend.
"Has he gone? Is the gate closed--is it locked and barred?"
"He has gone, and the gate is safe," said Joad, for Dora was too astonished by the oddity of these questions to reply.
Edermont wiped the sweat from his forehead, nodded weakly, and finally subsided10 into an armchair. Here he bowed his face in his hands, and Dora caught the drift of the words which he muttered in a low voice. They were those of his favourite prayer from the Litany.
"'From battle and murder, and from sudden death, good Lord, deliver us,'" moaned the man; and then in some measure he recovered his serenity11.
Seized with a sudden anger at the abject12 terror he had displayed, at the shameful13 accusation14 he had levelled against her lover, Dora stepped forward and faced Mr. Edermont with an indignant look.
"Now that you feel better," she said coldly, "perhaps you will afford me an explanation."
Edermont looked at her in a dazed manner. He was a little man, scarcely five feet in height, and had a noble head, which seemed out of place on so insignificant15 a body. With his long white locks and streaming beard, he was quite an imposing16 figure when seated; but when standing17, the smallness of his body, of his hands and feet, detracted from the majesty18 of his patriarchal looks. Also, his eyes were timid and restless; the silvery beard, which swept his breast, hid a weak mouth; and, stripped of his venerable disguise, Mr. Edermont would, no doubt, have looked what he was--a puny19, irresolute20, and insignificant animal. As it was, he imposed on everyone--until they knew him better. Dora had long since fathomed21 the narrow selfishness of his nature, and she saw him for what he was, not as he appeared to the outside world. It is but fair to add that she always treated him with deference22 in public.
At the present moment there was no need to keep up appearances, and Dora spoke23 brusquely to the little man. In her heart she had as great a contempt for him as she had a disgust for Joad. They were both objectionable, she considered, and each had but one redeeming24 point--the noble head of Edermont, the noble voice of his friend. Beyond these, the first was more of a rabbit than, a man; the second rather a satyr than a human being. Never had Dora detested25 the pair more than she did at the present moment.
"I am waiting for your explanation, Mr. Edermont," she said again, as he did not reply.
"I have no explanation for you," retorted her guardian wearily; "go away, Dora, and leave me in peace."
The girl took a seat, and folded her arms.
"I don't leave this room until I know why Allen left the house," she said firmly.
"What has that to do with you?" cried Edermont in shrill26 anger; "our conversation was about private matters."
"It was about Lady Burville."
"What do you know of that woman?" he demanded, shrinking back.
"I know that the mere27 sight of her caused you to faint," said Dora slowly, "and I know also that she was acquainted with Allen's father."
"Lambert, you have betrayed me!" said Edermont in a tone of terror.
"You have betrayed yourself, Julian," was Joad's reply. "I can guess why Allen Scott left the house."
"I--I could not help myself. I was--oh, I was afraid," muttered Edermont, passing his hand over his eyes.
"You have cause to be afraid--now," retorted Joad; and with a look of contempt at the shrinking figure of his friend he turned and left the room. Dora waited until his heavy footsteps died away, then she turned again to Edermont.
"That is my business."
"And mine also. I have a right to know why you have driven away the man whom I am about to marry."
Edermont burst into unpleasant mirth. "That's all over and done with, my dear," he said, staring at her. "Allen Scott will never marry you--now."
"I have told him something which will keep him away from this house--something which will prevent him from ever seeing you again."
"What do you mean, Mr. Edermont?"
She had risen to her feet, and was standing over him with flushed face and indignant eyes. To force his speech she gripped the shoulder of the man until he winced31 with pain.
"You have said something against me," she continued, giving him a slight shake.
"I have been saying nothing against you. I am truly sorry for you, Dora."
"Sorry for me, Mr. Edermont? Why?"
"Because of your parents," said her guardian slowly.
Dora stepped back. Since she had been brought by Edermont to the Red House, a year-old babe, he had never mentioned the name of her parents. All questions she had put to him had been put aside. That her father and mother were dead, that she inherited five hundred a year, and that Mr. Edermont was her guardian until she reached the age of twenty-one--these facts were known to her; beyond them, nothing. Now it would seem that some mystery was connected with the dead, and that Mr. Edermont was about to divulge32 it.
"I shall never tell you what they did, Dora. I have hinted too much already. It is sufficient for you to know that they sinned, and that their sin will be visited on you."
"How dare you speak to me like this!" cried Dora, clenching34 her hands; "what right have you to terrify me with vague hints? I demand an explanation!"
"You will never obtain one--from me," said Edermont in a quavering voice; "and if you are wise you will seek one nowhere else."
"I shall ask Allen."
"He is bound by a promise to me not to tell you."
"Then, I shall question Lady Burville."
Edermont rose with a bound, and gripped her arm with a strength of which she had not thought him capable.
"Girl," he cried earnestly, "do not go near that woman! She is an evil woman--one who has brought harm in the past, and will bring harm in the future. When I saw her in church it was no wonder that I turned faint. She has hunted me down; and she brings trouble in her train. Leave me to fight my own battles, Dora, and come not into the fray35. If you cross her path she will show you such mercy as she has shown me. I implore36 you to say nothing, to think nothing. If you disobey me I cannot save you; you must be your own salvation37."
Throughout this strange speech he kept his eyes fixed38 upon her face. When it was ended he dropped her arm and turned away.
"Leave me now," he said faintly; "I--I am not myself."
The poor creature seemed so exhausted39 that it would have been absolute cruelty to have questioned him further, and, anxious as Dora was to do so, she was moved from sheer pity to spare him. Without a word she left the room, closing the door after her, and went slowly downstairs to the hall. Here she paused and considered.
"I knew that some evil was coming," she thought, with a chill of fear, "and my premonition has come to pass. According to that coward upstairs, there is danger and evil on all sides. He has separated me from Allen; he warns me against Lady Burville; yet he refuses to enlighten my ignorance, and warns me against going to others. But I must know; I must learn what it is that threatens the future happiness of Allen and myself. I can't sit down with folded arms and await the bolt from the blue. I must know, I must consider, I must act."
Against two people Edermont had warned her, but he had omitted to specify40 a third. Out on the lawn, under the cedars41, Dora saw the black figure of Joad. It would appear from his parting words to his patron that he knew what had been told to Allen. Dora was on the point of crossing to him, and wringing42, if possible, the truth from his reluctant lips, but her instinctive43 repulsion to the man prevented her from taking him into her confidence. If she wanted help, she must rely on herself or upon Allen. He was her affianced lover, and she felt that she could trust him. But if his lips were sealed by the promise given to Edermont, why----
"But he will tell me--he must tell me," she said, with an angry stamp. "I shall go into Canterbury at once." She glanced at the old clock in the hall, which chimed half-past two. "I shall go at once," repeated Dora, and went for her bicycle.
At the gate she found Joad, with the key in his hand. He cast a sidelong look at her bicycle, and explained his presence on the spot.
"I quite forgot to lock the gate, Miss Dora," he said, in his deep tones; "it was fortunate for Dr. Scott that I did not, and unfortunate for you."
"Why was it unfortunate for me, Mr. Joad?" she asked coldly.
"Because, if Dr. Scott had not been able to get out, he would have been forced to remain; and if he had remained," said Joad, with another glance at the machine, "he might have saved you a journey to Canterbury."
"How do you know that I am going to Canterbury?"
"I guessed it. You wish to obtain from Scott the explanation which Julian refuses. As I said, it was unlucky Scott found this gate unlocked, else he might have made his explanation here."
"You are a shrewd observer, Mr. Joad," was Dora's reply; "and I admit that you are right. I am going to see Dr. Scott, as you say."
"It is a hot day, and a long journey. You will experience discomfort44."
"Probably I shall," said Dora, with a significant look. "Suppose you save me the journey, Mr. Joad, and explain this mystery yourself?"
"To the mystery of Allen's sudden departure. You know the reason for it. I heard you say so myself to Edermont."
"Mr. Edermont's secrets are not my secrets, and I do not betray my friends."
"You are wonderfully scrupulous," said Miss Carew scornfully. "Well, I won't ask you to play the part of a traitor47. Allen will tell me what I want to know."
"I am afraid Allen will do no such thing, Miss Dora."
"I have a right to know what bar there is to my marriage."
"I agree with you there," replied Joad, putting the key in the lock of the gate. "All the same, Dr. Scott will keep his own counsel. But I'll tell you one thing, Miss Dora--Julian is right: you will never marry Allen Scott."
"Who will stop the marriage?" asked Dora indignantly.
"Scott himself. He will ask you to break the engagement."
"I will never believe that until I hear it from his own lips," she said. And the next moment she was spinning at full speed towards Canterbury.
Joad looked after her with a grim smile, and locked the gates with the greatest deliberation. Then he went up to the house, swinging the key on his finger and talking aloud.
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1
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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8
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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9
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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10
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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11
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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15
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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17
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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18
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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irresolute
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| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
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21
fathomed
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| 理解…的真意( fathom的过去式和过去分词 )； 彻底了解； 弄清真相 | |
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22
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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23
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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24
redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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25
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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29
insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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30
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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31
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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pointedly
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| adv.尖地，明显地 | |
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34
clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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35
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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36
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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37
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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38
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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40
specify
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| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
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41
cedars
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| 雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 ) | |
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42
wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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43
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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44
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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45
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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46
blandness
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| n.温柔，爽快 | |
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47
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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48
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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49
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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