There were people in the bright and rather chilly1 studio, and none of them moved until the figure arriving out of the darkness was identified. Mr. Prince, who in the far corner was apparently2 cleaning or adjusting his press, then came forward with a quiet, shy, urbane3 welcome. Marguerite herself stood nearly under the central lamp, talking to Agg, who was seated. The somewhat celebrated4 Agg immediately rose and said in her somewhat deep voice to Marguerite:
"I must go."
Agg was the eldest5 daughter of the Agg family, a broad-minded and turbulent tribe who acknowledged the nominal6 headship of a hard-working and successful barrister. She was a painter, and lived and slept in semi-independence in a studio of her own in Manresa Road, but maintained close and constant relations with the rest of the tribe. In shape and proportions fairly tall and fairly thin, she counted in shops among the stock-sizes; but otherwise she was entitled to call herself unusual. She kept her hair about as short as the hair of a boy who has postponed7 going to the barber's for a month after the proper time, and she incompletely covered the hair with the smallest possible hat. Her coat was long and straight and her skirt short. Her boots were high, reaching well up the calf8, but they had high heels and were laced in some hundreds of holes. She carried a cane9 in a neatly10 gloved hand. She was twenty-seven. In style Marguerite and Agg made a great contrast with one another. Each was fully11 aware of the contrast, and liked it.
George had met her once in the way of small-talk at her father's house. Having yet to learn the important truth that it takes all sorts to make a world, he did not like her and wondered why she existed. He could understand Agg being fond of Marguerite, but he could not understand Marguerite being fond of Agg; and the friendship between these two, now that he actually for the first time saw it in being, irked him.
"Is anything the matter?... Have you seen father?" asked Marguerite in a serious, calm tone, turning to him. Like George, she had run into the studio without putting on any street attire13.
George perceived that there was no secret in the studio as to the crisis in the Haim family. Clearly the topic had been under discussion. Prince as well as Agg was privy14 to it. He did not quite like that. He was vaguely15 jealous of both Prince and Agg. Indeed he was startled to find that Marguerite could confide16 such a matter to Prince—at any rate without consulting himself. While not definitely formulating17 the claim in his own mind, he had somehow expected of Marguerite that until she met him she would have existed absolutely sole, without any sentimental18 connexions of any sort, in abeyance19, waiting for his miraculous20 advent21. He was glad that Mr. Buckingham Smith was not of the conclave22; he felt that he could not have tolerated Mr. Buckingham Smith.
"Yes, I've seen him," George answered.
"Did he tell you?"
"Yes."
"What did he tell you?"
"He told me about—the marriage.... And I gathered there'd been a bit of a scene."
"Nothing else?"
"No."
Agg then interjected, fixing her blue eyes on George:
"Marguerite is coming to live with me in my studio."
And her challenging gaze met George's.
"Oh!" George could not suppress his pained inquietude at this decision having been made without his knowledge. Both girls misapprehended his feeling. "That's it, is it?"
"Well," said Agg, "what can Mr. Haim expect? Here Marguerite's been paying this woman two shillings a day and her food, and letting her take a parcel home at nights. And then all of a sudden she comes dressed up for tea, and sits down, and Mr. Haim says she's his future wife. What does he expect? Does he expect Marguerite to kiss her and call her mamma? The situation's impossible."
"But you can't stop people from falling in love, Agg, you know. It's not a crime," said Mr. Prince in his weak voice surprisingly from the press.
"I know it's not a crime," said Agg sharply. "And nobody wants to stop people from falling in love. If Mr. Haim chooses to go mad about a charwoman, when his wife, and such a wife, 's been dead barely three years, that's his concern. It's true the lady isn't much more than half his age, and that the whole business would be screamingly funny if it wasn't disgusting; but still he's a free agent. And Marguerite's a free agent too, I hope. Of course he's thunder-struck to discover that Marguerite is a free agent. He would be!"
"He certainly is in a state," said George, with an uneasy short laugh.
Agg continued:
"And why is he in a state? Because Marguerite says she shall leave the house? Not a bit. Only because of what he thinks is the scandal of her leaving. Mr. Haim is a respectable man. He's simply all respectability. Respectability's his god—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Always has been. He'd sacrifice everything to respectability—except the lovely Lobley. It's not respectable in a respectable family for a girl to leave home on account of her stepmother. And so he's in a state, if you please!... If he wanted to carry on with Mrs. Lobley, let him carry on with her. But no! That's not respectable. He's just got to marry her!" Agg sneered25.
George was startled, perhaps excusably, at the monstrous26 doctrine27 implied in Agg's remarks. He had thought himself a man of the world, experienced, unshockable. But he blenched28, and all his presence of mind was needed to preserve a casual, cool demeanour. The worst of the trial was Marguerite's tranquil29 acceptance of the attitude of her friend. She glanced at Agg in silent, admiring approval. He surmised30 that until that moment he had been perfectly31 ignorant of what girls really were.
"I see," said George courageously32. And then, strangely, he began to admire too. And he pulled himself together.
"I think I shall leave to-morrow," Marguerite announced. "Morning. It will be much better. She can look after him. I don't see that I owe any duty ..."
"Yes, you do, dear," Agg corrected her impressively. "You owe a duty to your mother—to her memory. That's the duty you owe. I'll come round for you to-morrow myself in a four-wheeler—let me see, about eleven."
George hated the sound of the word 'duty.'
"Thank you, dear," Marguerite murmured, and the girls shook hands; they did not kiss.
" Bye-bye, Princey."
"Bye-bye, Agg."
"Good night, Mr. Cannon."
Agg departed, slightly banging the door.
"I think I'll go back home now," said Marguerite, in a sweet, firm tone. "Had they gone out?"
"Who? Your father and What's-her-name? She's gone, but he hasn't. If you don't want to meet him to-night again, hadn't you better——"
"Oh! If she's gone, he'll be gone too by this time. Trust him!"
Mr. Prince approached them, urging Marguerite soothingly33 to stay as long as she liked. She shook her head, and pressed his hand affectionately.
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1
chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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2
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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3
urbane
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| adj.温文尔雅的，懂礼的 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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6
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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7
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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8
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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10
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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11
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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12
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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13
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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14
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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15
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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16
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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17
formulating
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| v.构想出( formulate的现在分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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18
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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19
abeyance
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| n.搁置，缓办，中止，产权未定 | |
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20
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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21
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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22
conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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23
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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24
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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25
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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27
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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28
blenched
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| v.（因惊吓而）退缩，惊悸( blench的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变白，（使）变苍白 | |
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29
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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30
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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31
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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32
courageously
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| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
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33
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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