Louise entered, and with a little cry ran forward and caught Beth in her arms, kissing her in greeting.
"You must be my new cousin—Cousin Elizabeth—and I'm awfully1 glad to see you at last!" she said, holding the younger girl a little away, that she might examine her carefully.
Beth did not respond to the caress2. She eyed her opponent sharply, for she knew well enough, even in that first moment, that they were engaged in a struggle for supremacy3 in Aunt Jane's affections, and that in the battles to come no quarter could be asked or expected.
So they stood at arm's length, facing one another and secretly forming an estimate each of the other's advantages and accomplishments4.
"She's pretty enough, but has no style whatever," was Louise's conclusion. "Neither has she tact5 nor self-possession, or even a prepossessing manner. She wears her new gown in a dowdy6 manner and one can read her face easily. There's little danger in this quarter, I'm sure, so I may as well be friends with the poor child."
As for Beth, she saw at once that her "new cousin" was older and more experienced in the ways of the world, and therefore liable to prove a dangerous antagonist7. Slender and graceful8 of form, attractive of feature and dainty in manner, Louise must be credited with many advantages; but against these might be weighed her evident insincerity—the volubility and gush9 that are so often affected10 to hide one's real nature, and which so shrewd and suspicious a woman as Aunt Jane could not fail to readily detect. Altogether, Beth was not greatly disturbed by her cousin's appearance, and suddenly realizing that they had been staring at one another rather rudely, she said, pleasantly enough:
"Won't you sit down?"
"Of course; we must get acquainted," replied Louise, gaily11, and perched herself cross-legged upon the window-seat, surrounded by a mass of cushions.
"I didn't know you were here, until an hour ago," she continued. "But as soon as Aunt Jane told me I ran to my room, unpacked12 and settled the few traps I brought with me, and here I am—prepared for a good long chat and to love you just as dearly as you will let me."
"I knew you were coming, but not until this morning," answered Beth, slowly. "Perhaps had I known, I would not have accepted our Aunt's invitation."
Beth hesitated.
"Have you known Aunt Jane before today?" she asked.
"No."
"Nor I. The letter asking me to visit her was the first I have ever received from her. Even my mother, her own sister, does not correspond with her. I was brought up to hate her very name, as a selfish, miserly old woman. But, since she asked me to visit her, we judged she had softened14 and might wish to become friendly, and so I accepted the invitation. I had no idea you were also invited."
"But why should you resent my being here?" Louise asked, smiling.
"Surely, two girls will have a better time in this lonely old place
than one could have alone. For my part, I am delighted to find you at
Elmhurst."
"Thank you," said Beth. "That's a nice thing to say, but I doubt if it's true. Don't let's beat around the bush. I hate hypocrisy15, and if we're going to be friends let's be honest with one another from the start."
"It's plain to me that Aunt Jane has invited us here to choose which one of us shall inherit her money—and Elmhurst. She's old and feeble, and she hasn't any other relations."
"Oh, yes, she has" corrected Louise.
"You mean Patricia Doyle?"
"Yes."
"What do you know of her?"
"Nothing at all."
"Where does she live?"
"I haven't the faintest idea."
Louise spoke17 as calmly as if she had not mailed Patricia's defiant18 letter to Aunt Jane, or discovered her cousin's identity in the little hair-dresser from Madame Borne's establishment.
"Has Aunt Jane mentioned her?" continued Beth.
"Not in my presence."
"Then we may conclude she's left out of the arrangement," said Beth, calmly. "And, as I said, Aunt Jane is likely to choose one of us to succeed her at Elmhurst. I hoped I had it all my own way, but it's evident I was mistaken. You'll fight for your chance and fight mighty19 hard!"
Louise laughed merrily.
"How funny!" she exclaimed, after a moment during which Beth frowned at her darkly. "Why, my dear cousin, I don't want Aunt Jane's money."
"You don't?"
"Not a penny of it; nor Elmhurst; nor anything you can possibly lay claim to, my dear. My mother and I are amply provided for, and I am only here to find rest from my social duties and to get acquainted with my dead father's sister. That is all."
"Oh!" said Beth, lying back in her chair with a sigh of relief.
"So it was really a splendid idea of yours to be frank with me at our first meeting," continued Louise, cheerfully; "for it has led to your learning the truth, and I am sure you will never again grieve me by suggesting that I wish to supplant20 you in Aunt Jane's favor. Now tell me something about yourself and your people. Are you poor?"
"Poor as poverty," said Beth, gloomily. "My father teaches music, and mother scolds him continually for not being able to earn enough money to keep out of debt."
"Hasn't Aunt Jane helped you?"
"We've never seen a cent of her money, although father has tried at times to borrow enough to help him out of his difficulties."
"I think she's horrid," answered Beth, angrily; "but I mustn't let her know it. I even kissed her, when she asked me to, and it sent a shiver all down my back."
Louise laughed with genuine amusement.
"You must dissemble, Cousin Elizabeth," she advised, "and teach our aunt to love you. For my part, I am fond of everyone, and it delights me to fuss around invalids23 and assist them. I ought to have been a trained nurse, you know; but of course there's no necessity of my earning a living."
"I suppose not," said Beth. Then, after a thoughtful silence, she resumed abruptly25; "What's to prevent Aunt Jane leaving you her property, even if you are rich, and don't need it? You say you like to care for invalids, and I don't. Suppose Aunt Jane prefers you to me, and wills you all her money?"
"Why, that would be beyond my power to prevent," answered Louise, with a little yawn.
Beth's face grew hard again.
"You're deceiving me," she declared, angrily. "You're trying to make me think you don't want Elmhurst, when you're as anxious to get it as I am."
"My dear Elizabeth—by the way, that's an awfully long name; what do they call you, Lizzie, or Bessie, or—"
"Then, my dear Beth, let me beg you not to borrow trouble, or to doubt one who wishes to be your friend. Elmhurst would be a perfect bore to me. I wouldn't know what to do with it. I couldn't live in this out-of-the-way corner of the world, you know."
"But suppose she leaves it to you?" persisted Beth. "You wouldn't refuse it, I imagine."
"Cousin," she said, at length, "I'll make a bargain with you. I can't refuse to love and pet Aunt Jane, just because she has money and my sweet cousin Beth is anxious to inherit it. But I'll not interfere28 in any way with your chances, and I'll promise to sing your praises to our aunt persistently29. Furthermore, in case she selects me as her heir, I will agree to transfer half of the estate to you—the half that consists of Elmhurst."
"Is there much more?" asked Beth.
"I haven't any list of Aunt Jane's possessions, so I don't know. But you shall have Elmhurst, if I get it, because the place would be of no use to me."
"It's a magnificent estate," said Beth, looking at her cousin doubtfully.
"It shall be yours, dear, whatever Aunt Jane decides. See, this is a compact, and I'll seal it with a kiss."
"Now shall we be friends?" she asked, lightly. "Now will you abandon all those naughty suspicions and let me love you?"
Beth hesitated. The suggestion seemed preposterous31. Such generosity32 savored33 of play acting34, and Louise's manner was too airy to be genuine. Somehow she felt that she was being laughed at by this slender, graceful girl, who was scarcely older than herself; but she was too unsophisticated to know how to resent it. Louise insisted upon warding35 off her enmity, or at least establishing a truce36, and Beth, however suspicious and ungracious, could find no way of rejecting the overtures37.
"Were I in your place," she said, "I would never promise to give up a penny of the inheritance. If I win it, I shall keep it all."
"To be sure. I should want you to, my dear."
"Then, since we have no cause to quarrel, we may as well become friends," continued Beth, her features relaxing a little their set expression.
Louise laughed again, ignoring the other's brusqueness, and was soon chatting away pleasantly upon other subjects and striving to draw Beth out of her natural reserve.
The younger girl had no power to resist such fascinations38. Louise knew the big world, and talked of it with charming naivete, and Beth listened rapturously. Such a girl friend it had never been her privilege to have before, and when her suspicions were forgotten she became fairly responsive, and brightened wonderfully.
They dressed in time for dinner, and met Aunt Jane and Silas Watson, the lawyer, in the great drawing-room. The old gentleman was very attentive39 and courteous40 during the stately dinner, and did much to relieve the girls' embarrassment41. Louise, indeed, seemed quite at home in her new surroundings, and chatted most vivaciously42 during the meal; but Aunt Jane was strangely silent, and Beth had little to say and seemed awkward and ill at ease.
The old lady retired43 to her own room shortly after dinner, and presently sent a servant to request Mr. Watson to join her.
"Silas," she said, when he entered, "what do you think of my nieces?"
"They are very charming girls," he answered, "although they are at an age when few girls show to good advantage. Why did you not invite Kenneth to dinner, Jane?"
"The boy?"
"Yes. They would be more at ease in the society of a young gentleman more nearly their own age."
"Kenneth is a bear. He is constantly saying disagreeable things. In other words, he is not gentlemanly, and the girls shall have nothing to do with him."
"Very well," said the lawyer, quietly.
"Which of my nieces do you prefer?" asked the old lady, after a pause.
"I cannot say, on so short an acquaintance," he answered, with gravity. "Which do you prefer, Jane?"
"They are equally unsatisfactory," she answered. "I cannot imagine Elmhurst belonging to either, Silas." Then she added, with an abrupt24 change of manner: "You must go to New York for me, at once."
"Tonight?"
"No; tomorrow morning. I must see that other niece—the one who defies me and refuses to answer my second letter."
"Patricia Doyle?"
"Yes. Find her and argue with her. Tell her I am a crabbed44 old woman with a whim45 to know her, and that I shall not die happy unless she comes to Elmhurst. Bribe46 her, threaten her—kidnap her if necessary, Silas; but get her to Elmhurst as quickly as possible."
"I'll do my best, Jane. But why are you so anxious?"
"My time is drawing near, old friend," she replied, less harshly than usual, "and this matter of my will lies heavily on my conscience. What if I should die tonight?"
He did not answer.
"There would be a dozen heirs to fight for my money, and dear old Elmhurst would be sold to strangers," she resumed, with bitterness. "But I don't mean to cross over just yet, Silas, even if one limb is dead already. I shall hang on until I get this matter settled, and I can't settle it properly without seeing all three of my nieces. One of these is too hard, and the other too soft. I'll see what Patricia is like."
"She may prove even more undesirable," said the lawyer.
"In that case, I'll pack her back again and choose between these two.
But you must fetch her, Silas, that I may know just what I am doing.
And you must fetch her at once!"
"I'll do the best I can, Jane," repeated the old lawyer.
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收听单词发音
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1
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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dowdy
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| adj.不整洁的；过旧的 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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8
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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12
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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13
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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14
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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15
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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17
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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18
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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24
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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28
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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29
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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32
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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33
savored
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| v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝 | |
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34
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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35
warding
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| 监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式） | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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38
fascinations
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| n.魅力( fascination的名词复数 )；有魅力的东西；迷恋；陶醉 | |
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39
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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40
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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41
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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vivaciously
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| adv.快活地；活泼地；愉快地 | |
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43
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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44
crabbed
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| adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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46
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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