"Ah—I have dropped my scorecard."
A man in front of her turned.
"I have an extra one, madame. Will you accept it?"
Her small, modishly-gloved hand closed eagerly on it before she lifted her eyes to his face. Both started convulsively. The man turned very pale, but the woman's ripe-tinted face coloured darkly.
His lips parted in the coldly-grave smile she remembered and hated.
"You are not glad to see me," he said calmly, "but that, I suppose, was not to be expected. I did not come here to annoy you. This meeting is as unexpected to me as to you. I had no suspicion that for the last half-hour I had been standing4 next to my—"
She interrupted him by an imperious gesture. Still clutching the scorecard she half-turned from him. Again he smiled, this time with a tinge5 of scorn, and shifted his eyes to the track.
None of the people around them had noticed the little by-play. All eyes were on the track, which was being cleared for the first heat of another race. The free-for-all horses were being led away blanketed. The crowd cheered "Lu-Lu" as she went past, a shapeless oddity. The backers of "Mascot6", the rival favourite, looked gloomy.
The woman noticed nothing of all this. She was small, very pretty, still young, and gowned in a quite unmistakable way. She studied the man's profile furtively7. He looked older than when she had seen him last—there were some silver threads gleaming in his close-clipped dark hair and short, pointed8 beard. Otherwise there was little change in the quiet features and somewhat stern grey eyes. She wondered if he had cared at all.
They had not met for five years. She shut her eyes and looked in on her past. It all came back very vividly9. She had been eighteen when they were married—a gay, high-spirited girl and the season's beauty. He was much older and a quiet, serious student. Her friends had wondered why she married him—sometimes she wondered herself, but she had loved him, or thought so.
The marriage had been an unhappy one. She was fond of society and gaiety, he wanted quiet and seclusion10. She Was impulsive11 and impatient, he deliberate and grave. The strong wills clashed. After two years of an unbearable12 sort of life they had separated—quietly, and without scandal of any sort. She had wanted a divorce, but he would not agree to that, so she had taken her own independent fortune and gone back to her own way of life. In the following five years she had succeeded in burying all remembrance well out of sight. No one knew if she were satisfied or not; her world was charitable to her and she lived a gay and quite irreproachable13 life. She wished that she had not come to the races. It was such an irritating encounter. She opened her eyes wearily; the dusty track, the flying horses, the gay dresses of the women on the grandstand, the cloudless blue sky, the brilliant September sunshine, the purple distances all commingled14 in a glare that made her head ache. Before it all she saw the tall figure by her side, his face turned from her, watching the track intently.
She wondered with a vague curiosity what induced him to come to the races. Such things were not greatly in his line. Evidently their chance meeting had not disturbed him. It was a sign that he did not care. She sighed a little wearily and closed her eyes. When the heat was over he turned to her.
"May I ask how you have been since—since we met last? You are looking extremely well. Has Vanity Fair palled15 in any degree?"
She was angry at herself and him. Where had her careless society manner and well-bred composure gone? She felt weak and hysterical16. What if she should burst into tears before the whole crowd—before those coldly critical grey eyes? She almost hated him.
"No—why should it? I have found it very pleasant—and I have been well—very well. And you?"
"I? Oh, a book-worm and recluse18 always leads a placid19 life. I never cared for excitement, you know. I came down here to attend a sale of some rare editions, and a well-meaning friend dragged me out to see the races. I find it rather interesting, I must confess, much more so than I should have fancied. Sorry I can't stay until the end. I must go as soon as the free-for-all is over, if not before. I have backed 'Mascot'; you?"
"'Lu-Lu'" she answered quickly—it almost seemed defiantly20. How horribly unreal it was—this carrying on of small talk, as if they were the merest of chance-met acquaintances! "She belongs to a friend of mine, so I am naturally interested."
"She and 'Mascot' are ties now—both have won two heats. One more for either will decide it. This is a good day for the races. Excuse me."
"You are cold! This stand is draughty."
"I am not at all cold, thank you. What race is this?—oh! the three-minute one."
She bent22 forward with assumed interest to watch the scoring. She was breathing heavily. There were tears in her eyes—she bit her lips savagely23 and glared at the track until they were gone.
"This is a curious meeting, is it not?—quite a flavor of romance! By-the-way, do you read as many novels as ever?"
She fancied there was mockery in his tone. She remembered how very frivolous25 he used to consider her novel-reading. Besides, she resented the personal tinge. What right had he?
"Almost as many," she answered carelessly.
"I was very intolerant, wasn't I?" he said after a pause. "You thought so—you were right. You have been happier since you—left me?"
"Yes," she said defiantly, looking straight into his eyes.
"And you do not regret it?"
He bent down a little. His sleeve brushed against her shoulder. Something in his face arrested the answer she meant to make.
"I—I—did not say that," she murmured faintly.
There was a burst of cheering. The free-for-all horses were being brought out for the sixth heat. She turned away to watch them. The scoring began, and seemed likely to have no end. She was tired of it all. It didn't matter a pin to her whether "Lu-Lu" or "Mascot" won. What did matter! Had Vanity Fair after all been a satisfying exchange for love? He had loved her once, and they had been happy at first. She had never before said, even in her own heart: "I am sorry," but—suddenly, she felt his hand on her shoulder, and looked up. Their eyes met. He stooped and said almost in a whisper:
"Will you come back to me?"
"I don't know," she whispered breathlessly, as one half-fascinated.
"We were both to blame—but I the most. I was too hard on you—I ought to have made more allowance. We are wiser now both of us. Come back to me—my wife."
His tone was cold and his face expressionless. It was on her lips to cry out "No," passionately26.
But the slender, scholarly hand on her shoulder was trembling with the intensity27 of his repressed emotion. He did care, then. A wild caprice flashed into her brain. She sprang up.
"See," she cried, "they're off now. This heat will probably decide the race. If 'Lu-Lu' wins I will not go back to you, if 'Mascot' does I will. That is my decision."
He turned paler, but bowed in assent28. He knew by bitter experience how unchangeable her whims29 were, how obstinately30 she clung to even the most absurd.
She leaned forward breathlessly. The crowd hung silently on the track. "Lu-Lu" and "Mascot" were neck and neck, getting in splendid work. Half-way round the course "Lu-Lu" forged half a neck ahead, and her backers went mad. But one woman dropped her head in her hands and dared look no more. One man with white face and set lips watched the track unswervingly.
Again "Mascot" crawled up, inch by inch. They were on the home stretch, they were equal, the cheering broke out, then silence, then another terrific burst, shouts, yells and clappings—"Mascot" had won the free-for-all. In the front row a woman stood up, swayed and shaken as a leaf in the wind. She straightened her scarlet31 hat and readjusted her veil unsteadily. There was a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. No one noticed her. A man beside her drew her hand through his arm in a quiet proprietary32 fashion. They left the grand stand together.
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1
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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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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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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4
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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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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mascot
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| n.福神，吉祥的东西 | |
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7
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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8
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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10
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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12
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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13
irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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14
commingled
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
palled
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| v.（因过多或过久而）生厌，感到乏味，厌烦( pall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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17
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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18
recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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19
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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21
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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22
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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24
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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25
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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26
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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27
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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29
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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30
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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31
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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proprietary
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| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
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