During that time Richard spent many evenings with Adeline, at the theatre, at concerts, and at Carteret Street. When they were going up to town, he called for her in a hansom. She usually kept him waiting a few minutes. He sat in the sitting-room1, listening to the rattle2 of harness and the occasional stamp of a hoof3 outside. At length he heard her light step on the stairs, and she entered the room, smiling proudly. She was wonderfully well dressed, with modish4 simplicity5 and exact finish, and she gave him her fan to hold while she buttoned her long gloves. Where she ordered her gowns he never had the least notion. They followed one another in rapid succession, and each seemed more beautiful than the last. All were sober in tint6; the bodices were V-shaped, and cut rather low.
Lottie carefully placed a white wrap over her mistress's head, and then they were off. In the hansom there was but little conversation, and that of a trivial character. In vain he endeavoured to entice7 her into discussions. He mentioned books which he had read; she showed only a perfunctory interest. He explained why, in his opinion, a particular play was good and another bad; generally she preferred the wrong one, or at least maintained that she liked all plays, and therefore would not draw comparisons. Sometimes she would argue briefly8 about the conduct of certain characters in a piece, but he seldom found himself genuinely in agreement with her, though as a rule he verbally concurred9. In music she was a little less unsympathetic towards his ideals. They had tried over several of his favourite classical songs, and he had seen in her face, as she listened, or hummed the air, a glow answering to his own enthusiasm. She had said that she would learn one of them, but the promise had not been kept, though he had reminded her of it several times.
These chagrins10, however, were but infinitesimal ripples11 upon the smooth surface of his happiness. All of them together were as nothing compared to the sensations which he experienced in helping12 her out of the cab, in the full glare of a theatre façade. Invariably he overpaid the driver, handing him the silver with an inattentive gesture, while Adeline waited on the steps,—dainty food for the eyes of loiterers and passers-by. He offered his arm, and they passed down the vestibule and into the auditorium13. With what artless enjoyment14 she settled herself in her seat, breathing the atmosphere of luxury and display as if it had been ozone15, smiling radiantly at Richard, and then eagerly examining the occupants of the boxes through a small, silver-mounted glass! She was never moved by the events on the stage, and whether it happened to be tragedy or burlesque16 at which they were assisting, she turned to Richard at the end of every act with the same happy, contented17 smile, and usually began to make remarks upon the men and women around her. It was the play-house and not the play of which she was really fond.
After the fall of the curtain, they lingered till most of the audience had gone. Sometimes they supped at a restaurant. "It is my turn," she would say now and then, when the obsequious18 waiter presented the bill, and would give Richard her purse. At first, for form's sake, he insisted on his right to pay, but she would not listen. He wondered where she had caught the pretty trick of handing over her purse instead of putting down the coins, and he traced it to a play which they had seen at the Vaudeville19 theatre. Yet she did it with such naturalness that it did not seem to have been copied. The purse was small, and always contained several pounds in gold, with a little silver. The bill paid, he gave it back to her with a bow.
Then came the long, rapid drive home, through interminable lamp-lined streets, peopled now only by hansoms and private carriages, past all the insolent20 and garish21 splendours of Piccadilly clubs, into whose unveiled windows Adeline eagerly gazed; past the mysterious, night-ridden Park; past the dim, solemn squares and crescents of Kensington and Chelsea, and so into the meaner vicinage of Fulham. It was during these midnight journeys, more than at any other time, that Richard felt himself to be a veritable inhabitant of the City of Pleasure. Adeline, flushed with the evening's enjoyment, talked of many things, in her low, even voice, which was never raised. Richard answered briefly; an occasional reply was all she seemed to expect.
Immediately, on getting out of the cab, she said good-night, and entered the house alone, while Richard directed the driver back to Raphael Street. Returning thus, solitary22, he endeavoured to define what she was to him, and he to her. Often, when actually in her presence, he ventured to ask himself, "Am I happy? Is this pleasure?" But as soon as he had left her, his doubtfulness vanished, and he began to long for their next meeting. Little phrases of hers, unimportant gestures, came back vividly23 to his memory; he thought how instinct with charm they were. And yet, was he really, truly in love? Was she in love? Had there been a growth of feeling since that night at Carteret Street after the holiday at Littlehampton? He uncomfortably suspected that their hearts had come nearer to each other that night than at any time since.
He tried to look forward to the moment when he should invite her to be his wife. But was that moment approaching? At the back of his mind lay an apprehension24 that it was not. She satisfied one part of his nature. She was the very spirit of grace; she was full of aplomb25 and a delicate tact26; she had money. Moreover, her constant reliance upon him, her clinging womanishness, the caressing27, humouring tone which her voice could assume, powerfully affected28 him. He divined darkly that he was clay in her hands; that all the future, even the future of his own heart, depended entirely29 upon her. If she chose, she might be his goddess.... And yet she had sharp limitations....
Again, was she in love?
When he woke up of a morning he wondered how long his present happiness would continue, and whither it was leading him. A scrap30 of conversation which he had had with Adeline recurred31 to him frequently. He had asked her, once when she had complained of ennui32, why she did not become acquainted with some of her neighbours.
"But you can't live without acquaintances all your life."
"No, not all my life," she said with significant emphasis.
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1
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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2
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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3
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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4
modish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的 | |
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5
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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6
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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7
entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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8
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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9
concurred
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| 同意（concur的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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10
chagrins
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| v.使懊恼，使懊丧，使悔恨( chagrin的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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12
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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13
auditorium
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| n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂 | |
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14
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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15
ozone
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| n.臭氧，新鲜空气 | |
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16
burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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17
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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18
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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19
vaudeville
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| n.歌舞杂耍表演 | |
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20
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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21
garish
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| adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的 | |
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22
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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23
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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24
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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aplomb
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| n.沉着，镇静 | |
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26
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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27
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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28
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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29
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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30
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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31
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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32
ennui
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| n.怠倦，无聊 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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