CHAPTER XXI. SO NEAR, AND YET SO FAR.

 Mrs. Tice was right: marriage with Allen was out of the question. He could not make the daughter of a murderer his wife; no power, human or divine, would sanction such a union. Dora no longer wondered at Allen's strange silence. It was natural that he should shrink from telling her so terrible a story, and from branding her father with the terrible name of assassin. She remembered how she had been glad to know that her father had died without killing¹ Edermont; that he had gone to his account without blood on his hands. No wonder Pallant had chuckled² at her ignorance, and had forborne to enlighten her. George Carew had taken a life in cold blood, with deliberation and malice³ aforethought. She, Dora Carew, was the daughter of a criminal.

 

Dora said little to Mrs. Tice after the story had been told. Indeed, there was nothing to say; for she knew her fate only too well. She could never marry Allen; and if she did not become Joad's wife, to save her lover from arrest, and possibly condemnation⁴, she would be forced to remain single for the rest of her life, lonely and sorrowful. The sins of the father had been visited on the child, and Dora was reaping the harvest of blood which George Carew had sown. Morally speaking, the end of all things had come to Dora.

 

"I shall go over to Canterbury with you," she said to Mrs. Tice, "and say good-bye to Allen. I can never marry him; but I can at least see him for the last time, and tell him that he is safe from Joad."

 

"But, my dear young lady, you will not marry that wicked man?"

 

"If I can save Allen in no other way, I must," said Dora firmly. "Consider his position, Mrs. Tice, should Joad accuse him of the crime! He quarrelled with Edermont, he came here at the very hour of the murder, and when he left the house Edermont was dead. To all this circumstantial evidence he can oppose only his bare word. I tell you he is in danger of being hanged, Mrs. Tice. Nothing is left for me to do save to marry Joad. He dare not speak then."

 

"The real assassin may be found yet," suggested Mrs. Tice hopefully.

 

"There is little chance of that, I am afraid. When all these hundreds of men, stimulated⁵ by that gigantic reward, have failed to track the murderer, how can I hope to succeed? No, Mrs. Tice; the name of the criminal will never be known, so it only remains⁶ for me to see Allen for the last time, and return here to be Joad's wife."

 

The housekeeper⁷ sighed. This indeed appeared the sole way out of the difficulty, and she could offer no advice on the subject. It went to her heart that Dora should marry so disreputable a creature; but as the reason for such marriage was the safety of Allen Scott, she was content that it should take place. In her love for Allen, the old nurse would have sacrificed a hundred women. Dora's fate was hard; she admitted that, but it was necessary.

 

Allen proved less ill than they expected to find him. He was annoyed that Mrs. Tice had been sent for, although he was glad to see both her and Dora. Nevertheless, he protested against being considered a sick man, or that he should take to his bed.

 

"I'm not well enough to go about my work," he said candidly⁸; "at the same time, I am not sufficiently⁹ ill to retire to a sick-room. I shall be all right in a day or two."

 

He did not look as though he would recover in so short a time. In default of bed, he was lying on a sofa in the dining-room, covered with a rug, and he appeared to be thoroughly¹⁰ ill. His eyes were bright, his hands were burning, and every now and again he shivered with cold, as though suffering from an attack of ague. Mrs. Tice made him some beef-tea, and insisted upon his taking it, which he did after much persuasion¹¹.

 

"You see, Dora," he said, with a smile, "the doctor has to be prescribed for by his old nurse. All my science and knowledge goes for nothing in comparison with Mrs. Tice's remedies."

 

"I know what is common-sense," said Mrs. Tice, smiling also. "Lie still, Mr. Allen, and keep warm. Miss Carew will sit with you here while I look after the house. I dare say it has been dreadfully neglected in my absence."

 

"That is hardly a compliment to my management," said Allen, trying to smile.

 

"Oh, as to that, no gentleman can look after a house, Mr. Allen. It's woman's work to see to such things. Let me manage at present, and when I am gone your wife can take my place."

 

"Wife!" echoed Dr. Scott, with a sigh. "I shall never marry."

 

Dora said nothing, but bent¹² her head to hide the despair written on her face. Feeling that she had said too much, Mrs. Tice hastened to excuse herself; in doing so, she only succeeded in making matters worse. The name of Joad occurred in the midst of her excuses, and Allen made a feeble gesture of displeasure.

 

"I wish you would not mention that creature," he said, clasping Dora's hand. "I hate him as much as Dora does. He is her enemy and mine."

 

"But, for all that, I must marry him, Allen."

 

"No. You must not sacrifice yourself."

 

"Mr. Allen, be sensible!" cried Mrs. Tice. "You stand in a dreadful position; you are at the mercy of Joad. Should he speak you are lost."

 

"I can tell my story."

 

Dora shook her head.

 

"It will not be believed in the face of Joad's evidence," said she dolefully. "And then the quarrel you had with Mr. Edermont gives colour to his accusation¹³."

 

Dr. Scott made a gesture of dissent¹⁴, but Mrs. Tice supported Dora.

 

"She is right, Mr. Allen. If Joad speaks you are lost. Talk it over with Miss Carew, sir, and I'll hear what you think when I come back. Just now I must look after the house."

 

When she left the room, Allen waited until the door was closed, then turned to look at Dora. She was sitting by the side of the sofa with a drooping¹⁵ head, and a sad expression on her face. Moved by her silent sorrow, and ascribing it rightly to the unhappy position in which they stood to one another, he took her hands within his own.

 

"Do not look so sad, Dora," he said softly; "I shall be better shortly. It is the knowledge of what was told to me by Mr. Edermont which has made me ill. But I shall recover, my dear, and bear my troubles like a man."

 

Dora burst into tears.

 

"I can only bear my troubles like a woman," she sobbed¹⁶. "Oh, Allen, Allen! what have we done, you and I, that we should be made so unhappy? You are in a very dangerous position, and I can save you only by marrying a man I detest¹⁷."

 

"Dora, you must not marry Joad. I cannot accept safety at the price of your lifelong misery¹⁸."

 

"What does it matter about my marrying that creature?" she said, drying her tears. "I can never become your wife."

 

Allen groaned¹⁹.

 

"True, true; ah, how true it is that the sins of the father are visited on the children! It is shameful²⁰ that we should suffer as we do for the evil of others."

 

"We cannot help our position, Allen. There is no hope."

 

"You are right," said Allen in a despairing tone; "there is no hope. Ah, Dora, if you only knew the truth!"

 

"I do know the truth."

 

"Who told you?" he asked, sitting up with a look of astonishment²¹.

 

"Lady Burville told me that----"

 

"Lady Burville!" he interrupted sharply; "what does she know?"

 

"Everything. And it is no wonder, seeing that she is the root of all the evil."

 

"How do you mean that she is the root of all the evil?"

 

"Lady Burville is my mother, Allen."

 

"Great heavens! Your mother--Mrs. Carew!"

 

"Yes. Mrs. Carew, Mrs. Dargill, Lady Burville--whatever you like to call her. I know her story, Allen, and what she failed to relate Mrs. Tice told. I know that my father killed yours, and that we can never marry."

 

"Lady Burville--your mother told you this!" he stammered²²; "and I was so careful to hide the truth from you!"

 

"I know you spared me, in the goodness of your heart, Allen, but it was better that I should know the truth. Yes, I went up to town; I restored the pearl brooch to Lady Burville--I cannot call her my mother--and I heard her story."

 

"Dora!" Allen seized her hand again. "Did your mother kill Mr. Edermont?"

 

"No. Thank God, she is innocent of that crime!"

 

"Then how was it I found her brooch by the dead body?"

 

"She dropped it in the room when she went to see Mr. Edermont on that night."

 

"But why did she see Edermont?"

 

"He sent for her to deliver up a packet of letters she had written to him. It is a long story, Allen, and a sad one. Listen, and I will tell you all."

 

Allen signified his desire to hear the story, and listened eagerly while she told him what her mother had related. To make the information complete, Dora passed on to the history of the murder, as told by Mrs. Tice. When she finished, and Allen was in possession of all the facts, she waited for him to comment thereon. This he was not long in doing.

 

"I see that you know all, Dora," he said with a melancholy²³ smile. "Yes, this is what Mr. Edermont told me on that day. I lost my head when he ended; I believe I advanced towards him in a threatening manner, to thrash him for the share he had taken in the matter. It was then that he threw up the window and cried out that I wished to kill him. Probably I was wrong to act as I did, as the miserable²⁴ little creature was not responsible for the death of my father; but I did not consider that at the moment. When he cried out to you and Joad, I left the room, and the house. You remember, I would not speak to you when I went. I could not, my dear; the revelation had proved too much for my self-control. I felt half-mad, for I saw that I had lost you for ever."

 

"And why did you go up to London?" asked Dora anxiously.

 

"Edermont referred me to a file of the Morning Planet, containing an account of the tragedy which ended in the death of my father."

 

"You went up to see an account of your father's murder?"

 

"Yes. I could not bring myself to believe that matters were so bad as he made out. But in London I went to the office of the paper; I turned up the report, and it was true enough. Your father shot mine, as was stated by Edermont. Afterwards I went down to Christchurch, and found out the rest of the story from an old housekeeper."

 

"Did you learn that Lady Burville was my mother?"

 

"No: nor did Edermont tell me so. Why, I do not know. He only stated the bare facts of the case, and how my father had been killed. Now you know why I told you nothing, Dora--why I kept silent. I was afraid lest your father should be arrested for the double murder, and bring shame and pain on you, my poor dear."

 

"The double murder?"

 

"Yes. George Carew killed my father; and, in accordance with his oath, I believe he murdered Mr. Edermont--found him out after many years and killed him."

 

"You are wrong, Allen. I told you how Pallant blackmailed²⁵ my mother, and learnt the whole story from my wretched father. Well, Captain Carew died two years ago in San Francisco."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"I am certain. He died in Mr. Pallant's arms. Pallant has no reason to lie over that story."

 

"Then, if Carew did not kill Edermont, who did?"

 

"Ah," said Dora with a weary sigh, "that is just what we must find out, if only to save your life and prevent my marrying Joad."

 

"Dora," said Allen after a pause, "do you know why Pallant wanted that packet of letters?"

 

"Yes. He desired to confirm his possession of my mother. By threatening to show the letters to Sir John Burville, he hoped to get whatever money he wished."

 

"The scoundrel! What particular information did the letters contain to render them so valuable?"

 

"I don't know. Mr. Pallant hinted that they were about me."

 

"About you?" Allen reflected for a few moments. "Dora," he said at length, "I dare say those letters passed between your mother and your guardian²⁶ after the tragedy at Christchurch. Probably they contained a full account of the crime, and details as to how your mother parted with you. In fact, I believe they contained a summary of Lady Burville's life. If Pallant had obtained those letters, no wonder he could have extorted²⁷ money. If they had been shown to Sir John Burville, his wife--your mother--could have denied nothing. Her own handwriting would prove the falsity of her denial."

 

"I quite understand," said Dora; "but Mr. Edermont was wise enough to give them to my mother himself."

 

"And that is just it!" cried Allen. "Supposing Lady Burville had unconsciously let Pallant know that she was going to the Red House to receive the letters; supposing he followed her, and was too late to intercept²⁸ the packet. Do you think he might have killed Edermont in a fit of rage at losing the letters?"

 

"No, Allen, I do not think so for a moment. Mr. Pallant is too cautious to act so foolishly. Besides, if it was as you say, he could easily have followed Lady Burville along that lonely road, and have forced her to give him the letters. No. Whoever killed my guardian, it was not Mr. Pallant."

 

"Then who is guilty?" asked Allen in despair.

 

"Ah!" said Dora with a melancholy sigh. "That secret is worth fifty thousand pounds and your life, my dear Allen."

 

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

3 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

4 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

5 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

8 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

9 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

10 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

11 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

12 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

13 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

14 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

15 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

16 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

17 detest   

vt.痛恨，憎恶

参考例句：

• I detest people who tell lies.我恨说谎的人。
• The workers detest his overbearing manner.工人们很讨厌他那盛气凌人的态度。

18 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

19 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

21 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

22 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

23 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

24 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

25 blackmailed   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He was blackmailed by an enemy agent (into passing on state secrets). 敌特威胁他（要他交出国家机密）。
• The strikers refused to be blackmailed into returning to work. 罢工者拒绝了要挟复工的条件。

26 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

27 extorted   

v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解

参考例句：

• The gang extorted money from over 30 local businesses. 这帮歹徒向当地30多户商家勒索过钱财。
• He extorted a promise from me. 他硬要我答应。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

28 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。