The stale heat of the long day in town, the dusty promiscuity13 of the suburban14 train were now but the requisite15 foil to an evening of scented16 breezes and tranquil17 talk. They had been married more than a year, and each home-coming still reflected the freshness of their first day together. If, indeed, their happiness had a flaw, it was in resembling too closely the bright impermanence of their surroundings. Their love as yet was but the gay tent of holiday-makers.
His wife looked up with a smile. The country life suited her, and her beauty had gained depth from a stillness in which certain faces might have grown opaque18.
“Are you very tired?” she asked, pouring his tea.
“Just enough to enjoy this.” He rose from the chair in which he had thrown himself and bent19 over the tray for his cream. “You’ve had a visitor?” he commented, noticing a half-empty cup beside her own.
“Only Mr. Flamel,” she said, indifferently.
“Flamel? Again?”
She answered without show of surprise. “He left just now. His yacht is down at Laurel Bay and he borrowed a trap of the Dreshams to drive over here.”
Glennard made no comment, and she went on, leaning her head back against the cushions of her bamboo-seat, “He wants us to go for a sail with him next Sunday.”
Glennard meditatively20 stirred his tea. He was trying to think of the most natural and unartificial thing to say, and his voice seemed to come from the outside, as though he were speaking behind a marionette21. “Do you want to?”
“Just as you please,” she said, compliantly22. No affectation of indifference23 could have been as baffling as her compliance24. Glennard, of late, was beginning to feel that the surface which, a year ago, he had taken for a sheet of clear glass, might, after all, be a mirror reflecting merely his own conception of what lay behind it.
“Do you like Flamel?” he suddenly asked; to which, still engaged with her tea, she returned the feminine answer—“I thought you did.”
“I do, of course,” he agreed, vexed25 at his own incorrigible26 tendency to magnify Flamel’s importance by hovering27 about the topic. “A sail would be rather jolly; let’s go.”
She made no reply and he drew forth28 the rolled-up evening papers which he had thrust into his pocket on leaving the train. As he smoothed them out his own countenance29 seemed to undergo the same process. He ran his eye down the list of stocks and Flamel’s importunate30 personality receded31 behind the rows of figures pushing forward into notice like so many bearers of good news. Glennard’s investments were flowering like his garden: the dryest shares blossomed into dividends32, and a golden harvest awaited his sickle33.
He glanced at his wife with the tranquil air of the man who digests good luck as naturally as the dry ground absorbs a shower. “Things are looking uncommonly34 well. I believe we shall be able to go to town for two or three months next winter if we can find something cheap.”
She smiled luxuriously35: it was pleasant to be able to say, with an air of balancing relative advantages, “Really, on the baby’s account I shall be almost sorry; but if we do go, there’s Kate Erskine’s house... she’ll let us have it for almost nothing....”
“Well, write her about it,” he recommended, his eyes travelling on in search of the weather report. He had turned to the wrong page; and suddenly a line of black characters leapt out at him as from an ambush36.
“‘Margaret Aubyn’s Letters.’
Two volumes. Out to-day. First edition of five thousand sold out before leaving the press. Second edition ready next week. The Book Of The Year....”
He looked up stupidly. His wife still sat with her head thrown back, her pure profile detached against the cushions. She was smiling a little over the prospect37 his last words had opened. Behind her head shivers of sun and shade ran across the striped awning. A row of maples38 and a privet hedge hid their neighbor’s gables, giving them undivided possession of their leafy half-acre; and life, a moment before, had been like their plot of ground, shut off, hedged in from importunities, impenetrably his and hers. Now it seemed to him that every maple-leaf, every privet-bud, was a relentless39 human gaze, pressing close upon their privacy. It was as though they sat in a brightly lit room, uncurtained from a darkness full of hostile watchers.... His wife still smiled; and her unconsciousness of danger seemed, in some horrible way, to put her beyond the reach of rescue....
He had not known that it would be like this. After the first odious40 weeks, spent in preparing the letters for publication, in submitting them to Flamel, and in negotiating with the publishers, the transaction had dropped out of his consciousness into that unvisited limbo41 to which we relegate42 the deeds we would rather not have done but have no notion of undoing43. From the moment he had obtained Miss Trent’s promise not to sail with her aunt he had tried to imagine himself irrevocably committed. After that, he argued, his first duty was to her—she had become his conscience. The sum obtained from the publishers by Flamel’s adroit44 manipulations and opportunely45 transferred to Dinslow’s successful venture, already yielded a return which, combined with Glennard’s professional earnings46, took the edge of compulsion from their way of living, making it appear the expression of a graceful47 preference for simplicity48. It was the mitigated49 poverty which can subscribe50 to a review or two and have a few flowers on the dinner-table. And already in a small way Glennard was beginning to feel the magnetic quality of prosperity. Clients who had passed his door in the hungry days sought it out now that it bore the name of a successful man. It was understood that a small inheritance, cleverly invested, was the source of his fortune; and there was a feeling that a man who could do so well for himself was likely to know how to turn over other people’s money.
But it was in the more intimate reward of his wife’s happiness that Glennard tasted the full flavor of success. Coming out of conditions so narrow that those he offered her seemed spacious51, she fitted into her new life without any of those manifest efforts at adjustment that are as sore to a husband’s pride as the critical rearrangement of the bridal furniture. She had given him, instead, the delicate pleasure of watching her expand like a sea-creature restored to its element, stretching out the atrophied52 tentacles53 of girlish vanity and enjoyment54 to the rising tide of opportunity. And somehow—in the windowless inner cell of his consciousness where self-criticism cowered—Glennard’s course seemed justified55 by its merely material success. How could such a crop of innocent blessedness have sprung from tainted56 soil?
Now he had the injured sense of a man entrapped57 into a disadvantageous bargain. He had not known it would be like this; and a dull anger gathered at his heart. Anger against whom? Against his wife, for not knowing what he suffered? Against Flamel, for being the unconscious instrument of his wrong-doing? Or against that mute memory to which his own act had suddenly given a voice of accusation58? Yes, that was it; and his punishment henceforth would be the presence, the unescapable presence, of the woman he had so persistently59 evaded60. She would always be there now. It was as though he had married her instead of the other. It was what she had always wanted—to be with him—and she had gained her point at last....
He sprang up, as though in an impulse of flight.... The sudden movement lifted his wife’s lids, and she asked, in the incurious voice of the woman whose life is enclosed in a magic circle of prosperity—“Any news?”
“No—none—” he said, roused to a sense of immediate61 peril62. The papers lay scattered63 at his feet—what if she were to see them? He stretched his arm to gather them up, but his next thought showed him the futility64 of such concealment65. The same advertisement would appear every day, for weeks to come, in every newspaper; how could he prevent her seeing it? He could not always be hiding the papers from her.... Well, and what if she did see it? It would signify nothing to her, the chances were that she would never even read the book.... As she ceased to be an element of fear in his calculations the distance between them seemed to lessen66 and he took her again, as it were, into the circle of his conjugal67 protection.... Yet a moment before he had almost hated her!... He laughed aloud at his senseless terrors.... He was off his balance, decidedly.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked.
He explained, elaborately, that he was laughing at the recollection of an old woman in the train, an old woman with a lot of bundles, who couldn’t find her ticket.... But somehow, in the telling, the humor of the story seemed to evaporate, and he felt the conventionality of her smile. He glanced at his watch, “Isn’t it time to dress?”
They lingered side by side, surveying their domain70. There was not space in it, at this hour, for the shadow of the elm-tree in the angle of the hedge; it crossed the lawn, cut the flower-border in two, and ran up the side of the house to the nursery window. She bent to flick71 a caterpillar72 from the honey-suckle; then, as they turned indoors, “If we mean to go on the yacht next Sunday,” she suggested, “oughtn’t you to let Mr. Flamel know?”
Glennard’s exasperation73 deflected74 suddenly. “Of course I shall let him know. You always seem to imply that I’m going to do something rude to Flamel.”
The words reverberated75 through her silence; she had a way of thus leaving one space in which to contemplate76 one’s folly77 at arm’s length. Glennard turned on his heel and went upstairs. As he dropped into a chair before his dressing-table he said to himself that in the last hour he had sounded the depths of his humiliation78 and that the lowest dregs of it, the very bottom-slime, was the hateful necessity of having always, as long as the two men lived, to be civil to Barton Flamel.
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1
starched
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| adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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4
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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prospering
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 ) | |
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6
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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7
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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8
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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9
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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10
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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11
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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12
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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13
promiscuity
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| n.混杂，混乱；（男女的）乱交 | |
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14
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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15
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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16
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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17
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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18
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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19
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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20
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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21
marionette
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| n.木偶 | |
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22
compliantly
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| adv.顺从地，应允地 | |
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23
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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24
compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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25
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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26
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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27
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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28
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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29
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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30
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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31
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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32
dividends
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| 红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金 | |
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33
sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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34
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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35
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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36
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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37
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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38
maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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39
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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40
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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41
limbo
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| n.地狱的边缘；监狱 | |
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42
relegate
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| v.使降级，流放，移交，委任 | |
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43
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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44
adroit
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| adj.熟练的，灵巧的 | |
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45
opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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46
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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47
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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48
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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49
mitigated
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| v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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51
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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52
atrophied
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| adj.萎缩的，衰退的v.（使）萎缩，（使）虚脱，（使）衰退( atrophy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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54
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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55
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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56
tainted
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| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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57
entrapped
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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59
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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60
evaded
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| 逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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61
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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62
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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63
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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64
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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65
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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66
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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67
conjugal
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| adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的 | |
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68
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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69
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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70
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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71
flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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72
caterpillar
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| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
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73
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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74
deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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75
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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76
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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77
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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78
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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