It is to be noted7 that Audrey was no worse off than before the discovery of the astounding8 value of the Zacatecas shares. The Moze property, inherited through generations and consisting mainly in farms and tithe-rents, was not in the slightest degree impaired9. On the contrary, the steady progress of agriculture in Essex indicated that its yield must improve with years. Nevertheless Audrey felt as though she and her mother were ruined, and as though the National Reformation Society had been guilty of a fearful crime against a widow and an orphan10. The lovely vision of immeasurable wealth had flashed and scintillated11 for a month in front of her dazzled eyes—and then blackness, nothingness, the dark void! She knew that she would never be happy again.
And she thought, scornfully, “How could father have been so preoccupied12 and so gloomy, with all those riches?” She could not conceive anybody as rich as her father secretly was not being day and night in a condition of pure delight at the whole spectacle of existence. Her opinion of Mathew Moze fell lower than ever, and fell finally.
The parlourmaid, in a negligence13 of attire14 indicating that no man was left alive in the house, waited at the door of the study to learn whether or not Miss Moze was in.
“You’ll have to see him,” said Miss Ingate firmly. “It’ll be all right. I’ve known him all my life. He’s a very nice man.”
After the parlourmaid had gone, and while Audrey was upbraiding15 her for not confessing earlier her acquaintance with Mr. Foulger, Miss Ingate added:
“Only his wife has a wooden leg.”
Then Mr. Foulger entered. He was a shortish man of about fifty, with a paunch, but not otherwise fat; dressed like a sportsman. He trod very lightly. The expression on his ruddy face was amiable16 but extremely alert, hardening at intervals17 into decision or caution. He saw before him a nervous, frowning girl in inelegant black, and Miss Ingate with a curious look in her eyes and a sardonic18 and timid twitching19 of her lips. For an instant he was discountenanced; but he at once recovered, accomplishing a bright salute21.
“Here you are at last, Mr. Foulger!” Miss Ingate responded. “But you’re too late.”
These mysterious words, and the speechlessness of Audrey, upset him again.
“I was away in Somersetshire for a little fishing,” he said, after he had deplored22 the death of Mr. Moze, the illness of Mrs. Moze, and the bereavement23 of Miss Moze, and had congratulated Miss Moze on the protective friendship of his old friend, Miss Ingate. “I was away for a little fishing, and I only heard the sad news when I got back home at noon to-day. I came over at once.” He cleared his throat and looked first at Audrey and then at Miss Ingate. He felt that he ought to be addressing Audrey, but somehow he could not help addressing Miss Ingate instead. His grey legs were spread abroad as he sat very erect24 on a chair, and between them his dependent paunch found a comfortable space for itself.
“You must have been getting anxious about the will. I have brought it with me,” he said. He drew a white document from the breast-pocket of his cutaway coat, and he perched a pair of eyeglasses carelessly on his nose. “It was executed before your birth, Miss Moze. But a will keeps like wine. The whole of the property of every description is left to Mrs. Moze, and she is sole executrix. If she should predecease the testator, then everything is left to his child or children. Not perhaps a very businesslike will—a will likely to lead to unforeseen complications, but the sort of will that a man in the first flush of marriage often does make, and there is no stopping him. Your father had almost every quality, but he was not businesslike—if I may say so with respect. However, I confess that for the present I see no difficulties. Of course the death duties will have to be paid, but your father always kept a considerable amount of money at call. When I say ‘considerable,’ I mean several thousands. That was a point on which he and I had many discussions.”
Mr. Foulger glanced around with satisfaction. Already the prospect25 of legal business and costs had brought about a change in his official demeanour of an adviser26 truly bereaved27 by the death of a client. He saw the young girl, gazing fiercely at the carpet, suddenly begin to weep. This phenomenon, to which he was not unaccustomed, did not by itself disturb him; but the face of Miss Ingate gave him strange apprehensions28, which reached a climax29 when Miss Ingate, obviously not at all at ease, muttered:
“There is a later will, Mr. Foulger. It was made last year.”
“I see,” he breathed, scarcely above a whisper.
He thought he did see. He thought he understood why he had been kept waiting, why Mrs. Moze pretended to be ill, why the girl had frowned, why the naively30 calm Miss Ingate was in such a state of nerves. The explanation was that he was not wanted. The explanation was that Mr. Moze had changed his solicitor. His face hardened, for he and his uncle between them had “acted” for the Moze family for over seventy years.
He rose from the chair.
“Then I need not trouble you any longer,” he said in a firm tone, and turned with real dignity to leave.
He was exceedingly astonished when with one swift movement Audrey rose, and flashed like a missile to the door, and stood with her back to it. The fact was that Audrey had just remembered her vow31 never again to be afraid of anybody. When Miss Ingate with extraordinary agility32 also jumped up and approached him, he apprehended33, recalling rumours34 of Miss Ingate’s advanced feminism, that the fate of an anti-suffragette Cabinet Minister might be awaiting him, and he prepared his defence.
“You mustn’t go,” said Miss Ingate.
“You are my solicitor, whatever mother may say, and you mustn’t go,” added Audrey in a soft voice.
The man was entranced. It occurred to him that he would have a tale to tell and to re-tell at his club for years, about “a certain fair client who shall be nameless.”
The next minute he had heard a somewhat romantic, if not hysterical35, version of the facts of the case, and he was perusing36 the original documents. By chance he read first the letter about the Zacatecas shares. That Mathew Moze had made a will without his aid was a shock; that Mathew Moze had invested money without his advice was another shock quite as severe. But he knew the status of the Great Mexican Oil Company, and his countenance20 lighted as he realised the rich immensity of the business of proving the will and devolving the estate; his costs would run to the most agreeable figures. As soon as he glanced at the testament37 which Mr. Cowl had found, he muttered, with satisfaction and disdain38:
“H’m! He made this himself.”
And he gazed at it compassionately39, as a cabinetmaker might gaze at a piece of amateur fretwork.
Standing40, he read it slowly and with extreme care. And when he had finished he casually41 remarked, in the classic legal phrase:
“It isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
Then he sat down again, and his neat paunch resumed its niche42 between his legs. He knew that he had made a tremendous effect.
“But—but——” Miss Ingate began.
“Not worth the paper it’s written on,” he repeated. “There is only one witness, and there ought to be two, and even the one witness is a bad one—Aguilar, because he profits under the will. He would have to give up his legacy43 before his attestation44 could count, and even then it would be no good alone. Mr. Moze has not even expressly revoked45 the old will. If there hadn’t been a previous will, and if Aguilar was a thoroughly46 reliable man, and if the family had wished to uphold the new will, I dare say the Court might have pronounced for it. But under the circumstances it hasn’t the ghost of a chance.”
“But won’t the National Reformation Society make trouble?” demanded Miss Ingate faintly.
“Let ’em try!” said Mr. Foulger, who wished that the National Reformation Society would indeed try.
Even as he articulated the words, he was aware of Audrey coming towards him from the direction of the door; he was aware of her black frock and of her white face, with its bulging47 forehead and its deliciously insignificant48 nose. She held out her hand.
“You are a dear!” she whispered.
Her lips seemed to aim uncertainly for his face. Did they just touch, with exquisite49 contact, his bristly chin, or was it a divine illusion? ... She blushed in a very marked manner. He blinked, and his happy blinking seemed to say: “Only wills drawn50 by me are genuine.... Didn’t I tell you Mr. Moze was not a man of business?”
Audrey ran to Miss Ingate.
Mr. Foulger, suddenly ashamed, and determined51 to be a lawyer, said sharply:
“Has Mrs. Moze made a will?”
“Mother made a will? Oh no!”
“Then she should make one at once, in your favour, of course. No time should be lost.”
“But Mrs. Moze is ill in bed,” protested Miss Ingate.
“All the more reason why she should make a will. It may save endless trouble. And it is her duty. I shall suggest that I be the executor and trustee, of course with the usual power to charge costs.” His face was hard again. “You will thank me later on, Miss Moze,” he added.
“I do,” said he. “If you will give me some paper, we might go to her at once. You can be one of the witnesses. I could be a witness, but as I am to act under the will for a consideration somebody else would be preferable.”
“I should suggest Aguilar,” answered Miss Ingate, the corners of her lips dropping.
Miss Ingate went first, to prepare Mrs. Moze.
When Audrey was alone in the study—she had not even offered to accompany her elders to the bedroom—she made a long sound: “Ooo!” Then she gave a leap and stood still, staring out of the window at the estuary53. She tried to force her mood to the colour of her dress, but the sense of propriety54 was insufficient55 for the task. The magnificence of all the world was unfolding itself to her soul. Events had hitherto so dizzyingly beaten down upon her head that she had scarcely been conscious of feeling. Now she luxuriously56 felt. “I am at last born,” she thought. “Miracles have happened.... It’s incredible.... I can do what I like with mother.... But if I don’t take care I shall die of relief this very moment!”
《Anna of the Five Towns》
《Anna of the Five Towns》
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1
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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solicitors
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| 初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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scintillated
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| v.（言谈举止中）焕发才智( scintillate的过去式和过去分词 )；谈笑洒脱；闪耀；闪烁 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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negligence
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| n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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upbraiding
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| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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sardonic
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| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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deplored
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bereavement
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| n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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bereaved
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| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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naively
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| adv. 天真地 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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perusing
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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38
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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compassionately
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| adv.表示怜悯地，有同情心地 | |
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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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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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42
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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43
legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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44
attestation
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| n.证词 | |
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45
revoked
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| adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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47
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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48
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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49
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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50
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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52
shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
estuary
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| n.河口，江口 | |
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54
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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55
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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