Now the Lord Flavian was one of those happy persons who seem to stumble into heaven either by prodigious5 instinct or remarkable6 good-fortune. God gives to many men gold; to others intellect; to some truth; to few, a human echo, a harmony in the spirit, the right woman in the world. Many of us are such unstable7 folk that we vibrate vastly to a beautiful face and hail heaven in a pair of violet eyes. The chance is that such a business turns out miserably9. It is a wise rule to search the world through to find your Beatrice, or bide10 celibate11 to the end. Happy is the man whose instinctive12 choice is ratified13 by all the wisest poetry of heaven. Happy is he who finds a ruby14 as he rakes the ephemeral flower-gardens of life, a gem4 eternally bright and beautiful, durable15, unchanging, flashing light ever into the soul. It is given to few to love wisely, to love utterly16, to love till death.
That summer day Flavian saw life at its zenith, as he rode through the woods on the way to Gambrevault. The horse had dropped to a trot17, and the man had taken off his helmet and hung it at his saddle-bow. He was still red from the mêlée; his eyes were bright and triumphant18. The girl at his side looked at him half-timidly, a tremor19 upon her lip, her glances clouded. The terrific action of the last hour still seemed to weigh upon her senses, and she seemed fated to be the sport of contending sentiments. No sooner had she struggled to some level of saintliness than love rushed in with burning wings, and lo, all the tinsel of her religion fell away, and she was a mere20 Eve, a child of Nature.
Flavian watched her with the tenderness of a strong man, who is ready to give his life for the woman he serves. Love seemed to rise from her and play upon him like perfume from a bowl of violets; her eyes transfigured him, and he longed to touch her hair.
"At last."
"Lord?"
"You are a great signor."
"What are titles, testaments22, etiquettes to us! I am only great so long as you trust and honour me."
"Your power might appear precarious23."
"As you will."
"Yet war is loose!"
He looked round upon the sea of men that rolled on every hand.
"And war at its worst. I have seen enough in three days to make me loathe24 your partisans25 and their principles."
"Perhaps."
"What are you going to do with me?" she said.
"Remove you from the hands of butchers and offal-mongers; put you like a pearl in a casket in my own castle of Gambrevault."
"Have I not told you that no woman loves a coward?"
She was silent awhile, with her eyes wistful and melancholy29, as though some spiritual conflict were passing in her mind. Bitterness escaped in the man's words for all his tenderness and chivalry30. He needed an answer. Anon she capitulated and appeared to surrender herself absolutely to circumstance. She began to tell Flavian of her adoption32 by Fulviac, of her vision in the ruined chapel33, of the part assigned to her as a woman ordained34 by heaven. He heard her in silence, finding quaint35 pleasure in listening to her voice, having never heard her talk at such length before. Her voice's modulations, its pathos36, its many tones, were more subtle to him than any music, and seemed to steep in oblivion the grim realities of the last few days. He watched the play of thought upon her face, sun and shadow, calm and unrest. He began to comprehend the discords37 he had flung into her life; she was no longer a riddle38 to him; her confessions39 portrayed40 her soul in warm and delicate colouring--colouring pathetic and heroically pure. He had a glorious sense of joy in an instinctive conviction that this girl was worthy41 of all the highest chivalry a man's heart can conceive of.
Though he had a strong suspicion that he could humanise her Madonna for her, he refrained from argument, refrained from dilating42 on the iniquities43 her so-called crusades had already perpetrated. Moreover, the girl had opened her heart to him with a delicious and innocent ingenuousness44. He felt that the hour had blessed him sufficiently45; that personalities46 would be gross and impertinent in the light of that sympathy that seemed suddenly to have enveloped47 them like a golden cloud. The girl appeared to have surrendered herself spiritually into his keeping, not sorry in measure that a strong destiny had decided48 her doubts for her. They were to let political considerations and the ephemeral turmoils49 of the times sink under their feet. It was sufficient for them to be but a man and a woman, to forget the forbidden fruit, and the serpent and his lore50. God walked the world; they were not ashamed to hear His voice.
So they came with their glittering horde51 of horsemen to Gambrevault, and rode over the green downs with towers beckoning52 from the blue. The Gilderoy forces were still miles away, and could not have threatened the retreat on Gambrevault had they been wise as to the event. Yeoland rode close at Flavian's side. He touched her hand, looked in her eyes, saw the colour stream to her cheeks, knew that she no longer was his enemy.
"Yonder stands Gambrevault," were his words; "its walls shall bulwark53 you against the world. Trust me and my eternal faith to you. I shall see God more clearly for looking in your eyes."
He lodged54 her in a chamber55 in the keep, a room that had been his mother's and still held the furniture, books, and music she had used. Its window looked out on the castle garden, and over the double line of walls to the meadows and woods beyond. Maud, the castellan's wife, was bidden to wait upon her. Flavian gave her the keys of his mother's chests, where silks, samites, sarcenets galore, lace and all manner of golden fripperies, were stored. The ewers56 of the room were of silver, its hangings of violet cloth, its bed inlaid with ivory and hung with purple velvet57. It had a shelf full of beautifully illumined books, a prayer-desk and a small altar, a harp58, a lute31, an embroidery59 frame, and numberless curios. Thus by the might of the sword Yeoland was installed in the great castle of Gambrevault.
So Duessa and Balthasar were dead. The girl had told Flavian what had passed in Sforza's palace; the news shocked him more than he would have dreamed. The dead wound us with their unapproachableness and the mute pathos of their pale, imagined faces. They are like our own sins that stare at us from the night sky, irrevocable and beyond us for ever. Flavian ordered tapers60 to be burnt and masses said in the castle chapel for the souls of these two unfortunates. He himself spent more than an hour in silent prayer before he confessed, received penance61 and absolution.
That evening, at Flavian's prayer, Yeoland came down to meet him in the castle garden, with the castellan's two girls to serve her as maids of honour. She had put aside her armour62, and was clad in a jacket of violet cloth, fitting close to the figure, and a skirt of light blue silk. In the old yew63 walk, stately and solemn, amid the bright parterres and stone urns8 gushing64 colour, the two children slipped away and left Yeoland and the man alone.
She seemed to have lost much of her restraint, much of her independence, of her reserve, in a few short hours. Her mood inclined towards silence and a certain delightful65 solemnity such as a lover loves. Her eyes met the man's with a rare trust; her hands went into his with all the ideal faith he had forecast in his dreams.
They stood together under the yews66, full of youth and innocent joy of soul, timid, happily sad, content to be mere children. Flavian touched her hands as he would have touched a lily. She seemed too wonderful, too pure, too transcendent to be fingered. A supreme67, a godly timidity possessed68 him; he had such love in his heart as only the strong and the pure can know, such love as makes a man a saint unto himself, a being wrapped round with the rarest chivalry of heaven.
Their words were very simple and infrequent.
"I have been thinking," said the girl.
"Yes?"
"How war seems ever in the world."
"How else should I have won you?"
She sighed and looked up over his shoulder at the sunlight glimmering69 gold through the yews.
"I have been thinking how I bring you infinite peril. They will not lose me easily. What if I bring you to ruin?"
"I take everything to myself."
"They believe me a saint."
"And I!"
"My conscience will reproach me, but now----"
"Well?"
"I am too happy to remember."
Their eyes met and flashed all the unutterable truths of the soul. Flavian kissed her hand.
"Forget it all," he said, "save the words I spoke70 to you over that forest grave. Whatever doom71 may come upon me, though death frown, I care not; all the sky is at sunset, all the world is full of song. I could meet God to-morrow with a smile, since you have shown me all your heart."
From a little stone pavilion hidden by laurels72 the voices of flutes74 and viols swirled75 out upon the air. The west grew faint, and twilight76 increased; night kissed and closed the azure77 eyes of the day. Under the yew boughs78, Flavian and Yeoland walked hand in hand; the music spoke for them; the night made their faces pale and spiritual under the trees. They said little; a tremor of the fingers, a glance, a sigh were enough. When the west had faded, and the last primrose79 streak80 was gone, Flavian kissed the girl's lips and sent her back to the two children, who were curled on a bench by the laurels, listening sleepily to the music of flute73 and viol.
The man's soul was too scintillant81 and joyous82 to shun83 the stars. He passed up on to the battlements, and listened to the long surge of the summer sea.
And as he paced the battlements that night, he saw red, impish specks84 of flame start out against the black background of the night. They were the rebel watchfires burning on the hills, sinister85 eyes, red with the distant prophecy of war.
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1
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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2
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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urns
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| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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10
bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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celibate
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| adj.独身的，独身主义的；n.独身者 | |
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12
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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ratified
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| v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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16
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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17
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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18
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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19
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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20
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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21
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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22
testaments
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| n.遗嘱( testament的名词复数 )；实际的证明 | |
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23
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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24
loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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25
partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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26
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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27
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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28
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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29
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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30
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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31
lute
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| n.琵琶，鲁特琴 | |
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32
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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33
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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34
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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35
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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36
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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37
discords
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| 不和（discord的复数形式） | |
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38
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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39
confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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40
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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41
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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42
dilating
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| v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的现在分词 ) | |
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43
iniquities
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| n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正 | |
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44
ingenuousness
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| n.率直；正直；老实 | |
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45
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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46
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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47
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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49
turmoils
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| n.混乱( turmoil的名词复数 )；焦虑 | |
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50
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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51
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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52
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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53
bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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54
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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55
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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56
ewers
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| n.大口水壶，水罐( ewer的名词复数 ) | |
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57
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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58
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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59
embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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60
tapers
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| （长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛 | |
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61
penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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62
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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63
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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64
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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65
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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66
yews
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| n.紫杉( yew的名词复数 ) | |
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67
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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68
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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69
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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70
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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71
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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72
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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73
flute
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| n.长笛；v.吹笛 | |
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74
flutes
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| 长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛） | |
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75
swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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77
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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78
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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79
primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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80
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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81
scintillant
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| adj.产生火花的，闪烁（耀）的 | |
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82
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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83
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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84
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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85
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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