The two were standing6 on the back veranda7 one moonlight night, and Annie was engaged in pointing out to Peter the lady in the moon. Peter was either stubborn or stupid; he frankly8 declared that he saw no "loidy," and didn't believe there was one. In her zeal9 in the cause of astronomy, Annie unwarily bent10 her head too near, and while her eyes were turned to the moon, Peter kissed her. She slapped him smartly, as a well-brought-up young woman should, and fled into the house before he could catch her. Peter, strong in his new-found courage, waited about in the hope that she would reappear; but she did not, and he finally took himself off to his room over the [Pg 245]carriage-house, where he sat by the window gazing out at the moonlight for two hours or more before he remembered to go to bed. The slap had hurt neither him nor his feelings; he liked her the better for it. She wasn't really mad, he reflected happily, for she had laughed as she banged the door in his face.
The next morning Peter went about his work with a singing heart and many a glance toward the kitchen windows. He swashed water over the stable floor and rubbed down the horses with a mind happily intent upon what he would say to Annie when he saw her. About ten o'clock Mrs. Carter ordered the victoria, but as the carriage horses were at the shop being shod, Joe sent Peter in to ask if Trixy and the phaeton would do as well.
Peter dropped his sponge and started for the house at exactly the wrong moment for his future peace of mind. He arrived at the kitchen door just in time to see the man from the grocery put his packages on the table and[Pg 246] his arms around Annie, and kiss her with a smack11 that resounded12 through the room and would, to Peter's outraged14 senses, resound13 through all time. Annie turned with a startled cry, and as her gaze fell upon Peter, her face paled before the look in his eyes. Without a word he whirled about and strode back to the stables with white lips and clenched15 fists, and murder in his heart for the grocer's man. He did not hear what Annie said to him, nor did he know that she locked herself in her room and cried; what he did know was that she had been making a fool of him, and that she flirted17 with every man who came along, and that that wasn't the kind of a girl he wanted to do with.
Several days before, as Peter was driving Mr. Lane, who was visiting at Willowbrook again, and Master Bobby to the village, Annie had been sweeping18 the front veranda as they passed, and had thrown a friendly smile in the direction of the cart. The smile was intended for[Pg 247] Peter, but Mr. Lane had caught it, and had remarked to Bobby:
"That's a deuced pretty maid you've got there."
"Annie's the bulliest maid we ever had," Bobby had returned appreciatively. "She swipes cake for me when Nora isn't looking."
But Peter had frowned angrily, as he longingly20 sized up Mr. Lane, and wished he were not a gentleman so that he could punch him. It was none of Mr. Lane's business whether Annie was pretty or not.
At that time Annie could do no wrong, and Peter had not thought of blaming her for Mr. Lane's too-open admiration21, but now he wrathfully accused her of trying to flirt16 with gentlemen, than which, in Peter's estimation, she could do no worse. As he could take it out of neither of them in blood—which his soul thirsted for—he added it to the grocer's score, and his fingers fairly itched22 to be at work. The grocer was just the sort of man that he most enjoyed pummelling—big and florid, with curling hair, a black moustache, and a dimple in his chin.
Annie, after her contretemps with the grocer, passed a miserable23 day. In vain she tried to get a word with Peter; he was not to be seen. Billy was the groom who came to the house on all further errands from the stables. That evening she put on her prettiest frock and sat for two hours on the top step of the back veranda with her eyes turned expectantly toward the carriage-house, and then she went to bed and cried. Had she but known it, Peter was in a vacant lot back of Paddy Callahan's saloon, blissfully remodelling24 the features of the grocer's man.
Annie passed a wakeful night, and the next morning she swallowed her pride and went to the stables in the hope of seeing Peter alone. Peter, too, in spite of his victory of the evening, had kept vigil through the night. He was listlessly currying25 one of the carriage horses[Pg 249] when he saw Annie leave the house and come slowly down the walk toward the stables. His heart suddenly leaped to his mouth, but a moment later he was bending over the horse with his back to the door, whistling as merrily as though he had not a care in the world. He heard Annie's hesitating step on the threshold, and he smiled grimly to himself and whistled the louder.
"Pete, I'm wantin' to speak to you, if ye're not busy."
Peter glanced up with a well-assumed start of surprise. He looked Annie over, slowly and deliberately26, and then turned back to the horse.
"Aw, but I am busy," he returned. "Lift up!" he added to the horse, and he solicitously27 examined her foot.
Annie waited patiently, struggling between a sense of pride which urged her to go back and never speak to Peter again, and a sense of shame which told her that she owed him an explanation.
"Pete," she began, and there was a little catch in her voice which went to Peter's heart; in his effort to resist it and mete28 out due punishment for all the misery29 she had caused him, he was harder than he otherwise would have been. "Pete, I wanted to be tellin' ye that it wasn't my fault. He—he niver kissed me before, and I didn't know he was goin' to then."
"Ye needn't be apologizin' to me. I ain't interested in yer amoors. If ye wants to be apologizin' to any one go an' do it to his wife."
"His wife?" asked Annie.
"Aye, his wife an' his three childern."
"I didn't know he was married," said Annie, flushing again, "but 'tis no difference, for it weren't my fault. I niver acted a bit nicer to him than to anny other man, an' that's the truth."
"Oh, ye're a lovely girl, ye are! Flirtin'[Pg 251] around with other women's husbands, and lettin' every fool that comes along kiss ye if he wants to."
"Ye needn't talk," cried Annie. "Ye did it yerself, an' ye're no better than the grocer man."
"An' do ye think I'd a-done it if I hadn't knowed ye was willin?"
Annie backed against the wall, and with flushed cheeks and blazing eyes, stared at him speechlessly, angry with herself at her powerlessness to say anything that would hurt him enough. As she stood there, Master Bobby and Mr. Lane came in on their way to visit the kennels32. Mr. Lane looked curiously33 from the angry girl to the nonchalant groom, who had resumed his work, and was softly whistling under his breath. Master Bobby, being intent only upon puppies, passed on without noticing the two, but Mr. Lane glanced back over his shoulder at Annie's pretty flushed face, and paused to ask:
"My dear girl, has that fellow been annoying you?"
"No, no!" Annie said wildly. "Go away, Mr. Lane, please."
Mr. Lane glanced from one to the other with a laugh. "Ah, I see! A lovers' quarrel," and he followed Master Bobby.
Peter echoed his laugh, and in a tone which would have justified34 Mr. Lane in knocking him down had he heard.
"So ye're his dear girl too, are ye? He's a nice gentleman, he is! Ye ought to be proud o' him."
Annie straightened herself with her head thrown back.
"Peter Malone," she burst out, "I came here to 'pologize, 'cause, without meanin' any harm, I thought as I'd hurt yer feelin's an' was owin' an explanation. I niver had anything to do with that groc'ry man nor any other man, an' ye know it as true as ye're standin' there. Instead o' believin' what I say like a gentleman would, ye insult me worse than anybody's iver done in the whole o' me life, an' I'll niver speak to ye again as long as I live." She choked down a sob35, and with head erect36 turned and walked back to the house.
The two had had differences before, but never anything like this. Peter, his arms dropped limply at his side, stood watching her go, while the words she had spoken rang in his ears. Suddenly a lump rose in his throat, and he leaned his head against the horse's neck.
"Lord!" he whispered. "What have I done?"
The week which followed was one of outward indifference38 and inward misery to both. Annie mourned when alone, but under the eyes of the stables she flirted openly and without conscience with one of the painters who was opportunely39 engaged in re-staining the shingle40 roof of the Jasper house. Peter watched her with a heavy heart, and formed a brave determination never to think of her again, and[Pg 254] ended by thinking of her every minute of the day. He made one awkward attempt at reconciliation41 which was spurned42, whereupon he, too, plunged43 into a reckless flirtation44 with Mary, the chambermaid, who was fat, and every day of thirty-five. As neither Peter nor Annie had any means of knowing how wretched this treatment was making the other, they got very little comfort from it.
Annie sat at the kitchen table polishing silver with a sober face. It was six days since the grocery man's historic visit, and the war clouds showed no sign of lifting. There was a houseful of company at Willowbrook, and the work was mercifully distracting. Mary, this morning, had hung a long row of blankets and curtains on the line to air, for the sole purpose, Annie knew, of being near the stables. Peter was visible through the open window, greasing harness in the carriage-house doorway45, and exchanging jocular remarks with Mary. Annie's eyes were out of doors oftener than upon her work. Nora, who was sitting on the back veranda shelling peas, remarked on Peter's newly awakened46 interest in the chambermaid, but as Annie did not answer, she very wisely changed the subject.
"I guess that Mr. Lane what's visitin' here has got a heap o' money," she called in tentatively.
"He seems to be pretty taken up with Miss Ethel. That was an awful becomin' pink dress she had on last night. Mrs. Carter would be pleased all right."
Annie received this remark in silence, but Nora was not to be discouraged. She felt that this new freak of taciturnity on Annie's part was defrauding48 her of her rights. A maid whose duties call her to the front part of the house is in a position to supply more accurate gossip than it is given a cook to know, and it is her business to supply it.
"Mr. Harry49 would feel awful, havin' growed up with her like," Nora continued. "He's a sight the best lookin' o' the two, and I'm thinkin' Miss Ethel knows it. It ud be convenient, too, havin' the places joined. The Jaspers has got money enough, an' him the only son. I guess they wouldn't starve if she did marry him. I've always noticed 'tis the people who has the most money as needs the most. I don't think much o' that Mr. Lane," she added.
Annie suddenly woke up.
"I don't neither. 'Tis too fresh he is."
"That's what I'm thinkin' meself," said Nora, cordially. "An' I guess so does Mr. Harry. I'm after observin' that he hasn't been around much since Mr. Lane's been here."
Annie's mind had wandered again. Her own affairs were requiring so much attention lately that Miss Ethel's were no longer a source of interest. Out in the stable Peter was proclaiming, in tones calculated to reach the[Pg 257] kitchen, "There's only one girl in this world for me." Annie's lip quivered slightly as she heard him; a week before she had laughed at the same song, but as affairs stood now, it was insulting.
The peas finished, Nora gathered the yellow bowl under her arm and returned to the kitchen, where she concentrated her attention upon Annie and the silver.
"I'm thinkin' ye must be in love!" she declared. "Ye've cleaned that same spoon three times while I've been watchin', an' ye didn't count the plates right last night for dinner, an' ye forgot to give 'em any butter for breakfast."
Annie blushed guiltily at this damning array of evidence, and then she laughed. "If it's in love I am whiniver I forget things, then I must a-been in love since I was out o' the cradle."
"An' there's him as would be in love with you, if ye'd only act dacent to him—and I'm not meanin' the painter."
Annie chose to overlook this remark, and Nora's sociability50 was suppressed by the entrance of Mrs. Carter.
"We have decided to have a picnic supper at the beach to-night, Nora," she said. "You will not have to get dinner for anyone but Mr. Carter."
"Very well, ma'am."
"I am sorry that it happens on your afternoon out, Annie," she added, turning to the maid, "but I shall need you at the picnic to help about serving."
"Certainly, ma'am," said Annie. "I don't care about goin' out anyway."
"We shall start early in the afternoon, but I want you to wait and help Nora with the sandwiches, and then Peter can drive you out about six o'clock in the dog-cart."
Annie's face clouded precipitously.
"Please, ma'am," she stammered51, "I think—that is, if ye please——" she hesitated and looked about desperately52. "I'm afraid if ye're after wantin' coffee, I can't make it right. I'm niver sure o' me coffee two times runnin', and I should hate to be spoilin' it when there's company. If ye could take Nora instead o' me, ma'am, I could just be gettin' the lovely dinner for Mr. Carter when he comes."
"Why, Annie," she remonstrated53, "you've always made excellent coffee before, and Nora doesn't wait on the table. Is it because you want to go out this afternoon? I am sorry, but you will have to wait until Miss Ethel's guests have gone."
"No, ma'am," said Annie, hastily, "I'm not wantin' the afternoon, an' it's willin' I am to help Miss Ethel, only—only—will you tell Peter, ma'am, about the cart?" she finished lamely54, "'cause if I tell him he's likely to be late."
Mrs. Carter passed out of the kitchen door and crossed the lawn toward the stables, casting meanwhile a sharp eye about the premises55 to be sure that all was as it should be. Mary[Pg 260] was shaking blankets with an air of deep absorption; Peter was industriously56 cleaning the already clean harness, and Joe could be heard inside officiously telling Billy to grease the other wheel and be quick about it. Unless Mrs. Carter approached very quietly indeed, she always found her servants oblivious57 to everything but their several duties. As she drew near the doorway, Peter rose from the harness and respectfully touched his cap with a very dirty hand, while the coachman, with a final order over his shoulder to a brow-beaten stable-boy, came forward hastily, and stood at attention.
"Joe, we are going to have a picnic at the beach this afternoon, and I want you to have the horses ready at three o'clock. Miss Ethel, Mr. Lane, and Master Bobby will ride, and you will drive the rest of us in the waggonette."
"Very well, ma'am," said Joe.
"And Peter," she added, turning to the groom, "I want you to bring out the supper with Trixy and the dog-cart at five o'clock."
"Be sure to be on time," she warned. "Stop at the kitchen for Annie and the hampers59 promptly60 at five."
Peter's face suddenly darkened. He drew his mouth into a straight line, and looked sullenly61 down at the harness. "Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am," he mumbled62, "I don't think—that is——" He scowled63 defiance64 at Joe, who grinned back appreciatively. "If it's just the same to ye, ma'am, I'd like to drive the waggonette an' let Joe fetch the lunch. If I'm to be coachman, ma'am, I'd sort o' like to get used to me dooties before he goes."
Mrs. Carter was frankly puzzled; she could not imagine what had suddenly got into her servants this morning. A lady who has a grown daughter, of some attractions and many admirers, to chaperone, cannot be expected to keep au courant of her servants' love affairs.
"You have had a month in which to get used to your duties while Joe was in the hospital; that is sufficient for the present. Joe will drive the waggonette and you will follow with the supper—I wish you to help Tom put new netting in the screen-doors this afternoon."
Her tone precluded65 argument. As soon as she was out of hearing, Joe remarked softly, "Now, if she'd only said Mary instead of Annie I 'spose——"
"Aw, let up," Peter growled66, and he fell to rubbing in the grease with unnecessary vehemence67. His misunderstanding with Annie was a subject he would stand no fooling about, even from his chief.
At five o'clock, Peter, in a spotless top-hat and shining boots, looking as stiff as if he were clothed in steel armour68, drew up before the kitchen door and piled the hampers and pails he found on the back veranda onto the seat beside him. He climbed to the box again with an air of finality, and gathering69 his reins70 together made a feint of starting.
"Peter!" Nora called from the kitchen window. "Where is it ye're goin'? Wait for Annie."
"Annie?" Peter looked as if he had never heard the name before.
"Yes, Annie. Did ye think ye was to cook the supper yerself?"
"I didn't think nothin'," said Peter. "Me orders was to stop for the lunch at five o'clock, an' I done it. If she wants to come along she'll have to sit on the back seat. I ain't a goin' to change these baskets again."
Annie appeared in the doorway in time to hear this ungracious speech; she clambered up to the somewhat uncomfortable footman's seat in silence, and they drove off back to back, as stiff as twin ramrods.
The cart rolled along over the smooth roads, past country clubs and summer cottages, and the only sign either of the two gave of being alive was an occasional vicious crack of the whip from Peter when patient little Trixy showed signs of wishing to take a quieter pace. At such times Annie would instinctively71 stretch out a deterring72 hand and form her mouth as if to say, "Please, Pete, don't whip her; she's doin' her best," and then suddenly remembering that formidable vow73, would straighten up again and stare ahead with flushed cheeks.
The beach was five miles away, and there is an element of ludicrousness in the spectacle of two people in one small dog-cart riding five miles without speaking. Annie's sense of humour was keen; it struggled hard with her sense of wrong. She was never an Indian to cherish vengeance74; her anger could be fierce at the moment, but it rarely lasted. And Peter was sorry for what he had said, she reminded herself; he had already tried to make up. By the end of the second mile two dimples appeared in her cheeks. At the third mile she shut her mouth tight to keep a laugh from escaping. At the fourth mile she spoke37.
"Say, Pete, why don't ye talk to me? Are ye mad?"
Peter had been gazing at Trixy's ears with an air of deep preoccupation, and he came back to the present with a start of surprise, apparently75 amazed at finding that he had a companion in the cart.
"Ma'am?" he said.
Annie glanced around at his uncompromising back.
"Why don't ye say somethin'?" she repeated more faintly.
"I ain't got nothin' to say."
Annie's dimples gave way to an angry flush. Never, never, never again would she say a thing to him as long as she lived. The remainder of the drive was passed in a tumultuous silence. Peter, with grim mouth, kept his unseeing eyes on the road in front, and Annie, with burning cheeks, stared behind at the cloud of dust.
When the cart arrived among the straggling cedar76 trees which bordered the beach, they found drawn77 up beside the Carter horses, Mr. Harry's hunter and a strange drag which betokened78 impromptu79 guests. Annie had barely time to wonder if the plates would go around and if there would be salad enough, when the cart was welcomed with joyful80 shouts by a crowd of hungry picnickers. She caught a glimpse on the edge of the group of Miss Ethel, debonair81 and smiling, in another new dress, with Mr. Lane scowling82 on one side of her and Mr. Harry on the other. Ordinarily, she would have taken a lively interest in such a situation, and would have had an appreciative19 fellow-feeling for Miss Ethel; but she saw it now with an unhappy sense that the blessings83 of this world in the shape of dresses and men are unevenly84 distributed.
Annie usually accepted the pranks85 of the young ladies and gentlemen in good part, no matter how much extra trouble they caused; but to-day as she caught a plundering86 hand on one of the hampers, she called out sharply:
"Master Bobby, you let that cake alone! Them olives are for supper."
A general laugh greeted this outburst, and she turned away and began unpacking87 dishes with a bitter feeling of rebellion. Mrs. Carter bustled88 up, and having driven off the marauders, briskly took command.
"Now, Peter, as soon as you have hitched89 Trixy, come back and help about the supper. Annie will tell you what to do."
Annie cheered up slightly at this, and for the moment waived90 the letter of her vow. As Peter reluctantly reappeared, she ordered: "Get a pile o' drift wood and fix a place for the fire. Them are too big," she commented, as he returned with an armful of sticks. "Get some little pieces and be quick about it; you're too slow."
"Now, take those two pails and go to the farm-house for water," Annie ordered.
When he returned with the two heavy pails, cross and splashed, she fished out a bug92 or two with an air of dissatisfaction, and told him to build the fire. Peter built the fire, and, at Annie's suggestion, held the coffee-pot to keep it steady. He burnt his hands, and swore softly under his breath, and Annie laughed. Mrs. Carter, having started preparations, suddenly recalled her duties as hostess and hurried off again, leaving Annie to superintend the remainder alone.
Peter looked after the retreating figure of Mrs. Carter. She was well out of hearing; he took from his pocket a cigarette and leisurely94 regarded it.
"I want these cans opened," Annie repeated more sharply.
Peter lighted his cigarette.
"I'll tell Mrs. Carter if ye don't."
Peter threw himself down on the grass, and blowing a ring of smoke, looked dreamily off toward the ocean.
Mrs. Carter showed no signs of coming back, and Annie saw that her brief dominion95 was over. She picked up the can-opener and jabbed it viciously into the tin. It slipped and cut an ugly gash96 in her finger. She uttered a little cry of pain, and turned pale at sight of the blood, and Peter laughed. She turned her back to keep him from seeing the tears of anger that filled her eyes, and for the third time she solemnly swore never, never, never to speak to him again.
The two served the supper with the same grim silence behind the scenes that they exhibited before the guests. When it was over, instead of eating with Joe and Peter, Annie commenced gathering up the dishes and repacking them in the hampers ready for departure. The two men laughed and joked between themselves, without taking any notice of her absence, and Annie angrily told herself that she wouldn't speak to Joe any more, either. Just as she had everything packed and was comforting herself with the thought that she would soon be back home, and the miserable day would be ended, Mrs. Carter reappeared.
"Your coffee was excellent, Annie," she said, pleasantly, "and you and Peter served very nicely indeed. And now, instead of going home, I should like to have you wait and make some lemonade to be served later in the evening. It will be a beautiful moonlight night, and you and Peter can stay and enjoy yourselves."
"Very well, ma'am," said Annie, dully.
Peter, at this news, lighted another cigarette and strolled off with Joe, while Annie, who was growing apathetic97 under a culmination98 of troubles, busied herself in making the lemonade, and then sat down by her baskets to wait. She could see through the gathering dusk the merry crowd upon the beach, as they scattered99 about gathering driftwood for a fire. She heard every now and then, above the sound of the waves, a gay shout of laughter, and, nearer at hand, the restless stamping of the horses. She turned her back to the beach half pettishly100, and sat watching Mr. Harry's sorrel as he nervously101 tossed his head and switched his tail, trying to keep off the sand flies. From that she fell to wondering how Mr. Harry happened to be there, and what Mr. Lane thought about it, and if there would be a fight. There probably would not, she reflected, with some regret, for gentlemen did not always fight when they should. (She had heard through the butcher's boy the story of Peter's prowess, and the knowledge had given some slight comfort.) Her reflections were suddenly interrupted by the sound of steps crashing toward her through the underbrush, and she looked up with a fast-beating heart. Her first thought was that it was Peter coming to make up, and she resolutely102 stiffened103 herself to withstand him, but a second glance showed her that it was Mr. Lane.
"Where's Joe?" he demanded.
"I don't know, Mr. Lane."
"Where's Peter, then?"
"I don't know. The two o' them hasn't been here since supper."
"Well, damn it! I've got to find some one." Mr. Lane was evidently excited. "See here, Annie," he said, "you're a good girl. Just give a message to Mrs. Carter from me, will you, please? Tell her a boy rode out on a bicycle with a telegram calling me back to New York immediately, and I had to ride back to the house without finding her in order to catch the ten-o'clock train. Don't say anything to Miss Ethel, and here's something to buy a new dress. Good-bye."
"Thank you, sir. Good-bye."
He hastily rebuckled his horse's bridle104, led him into the lane out of sight of the beach, and mounted and galloped105 off. Annie looked after him with wide eyes; his bearing was not very jaunty106; she wondered if Mr. Harry had whipped him. It did not seem likely, for Mr. Lane was the larger of the two; but for the matter of that, she reflected, so was the grocer's man larger than Peter. She did not understand it, but she slipped the bill into her pocket with a shrug31 of her shoulders. She could afford to be philosophic107 over other people's troubles.
It was growing dark in among the trees and she was beginning to feel very lonely. A big red moon was rising over the water, and a bright fire was crackling on the beach. The sound of singing was mingled108 with the beating of the surf. Annie wandered out from the shadow of the trees and strolled up the beach away from the camp-fire and the singers. Presently she dropped down in the shadow of a sand dune109 and sat with her chin in her hands pensively110 watching the black silhouettes111 against the fire. By and by she saw two figures strolling along the beach in her direction. She recognized them as Miss Ethel and Mr. Harry, and she crouched112 down behind the dune until they passed. She felt lonelier than ever as she watched them disappear, and the first thing she knew, she had buried her head in her arms and was crying to herself—but not very hard, for she was mindful of the ride home, and she did not wish to make her eyes red. Not for the world would she have let Peter know that she felt unhappy.
Suddenly into the midst of her misery came the sound of scrunching113 sand and the smell of cigarette smoke. Then, without looking up, she felt that some one was standing over her and that that some one was Peter. She held her breath and waited like a little ostrich114, with her head burrowed115 into the sand.
Peter it was, and a mighty116 struggle was going on within his breast, but love is stronger than pride, and his Irish heart conquered in the end.
He bent over and touched her shoulder lightly.
"Annie!" he whispered.
She held her breath and kept her face hidden.
He dropped on his knee in the sand beside her. "Annie, darlin', don't be cryin'. Tell me what's the trouble." He forcibly transferred her head from the sand bank to his shoulder, and her tears trickled117 down his neck. "Is it yer finger that's hurtin' ye?"
She raised a tear-stained face with a quick smile quivering through at this purely118 masculine suggestion.
"It's not me finger; it's me feelin's," she breathed into his ear. Peter tightened119 his arms around her. "But they're not hurtin' any more," she added with a little laugh.
"An' this time we'll be friends f'r always?"
She nodded.
"Gee120!" he whispered. "I've been spendin' the week in hell thinkin' ye didn't care nothin' for me."
"So uv I," said Annie.
As they sat watching the rippling121 path of moonlight on the water, from far down the beach they could hear the voices singing, "It's the spring time of life and the world is all before us." Annie laughed happily as she listened.
"I was wishin' a while ago that I was Miss Ethel 'cause she has everything she wants, but I don't wish it any more. She hasn't got you, Petey."
"And I'm thinkin' she isn't wantin' me," said Peter, with his eyes on the beach above them, where Miss Ethel and Mr. Harry were coming toward them hand in hand. The two stopped suddenly as they caught sight of Annie and Peter and hastily dropped each others' hands. Then Miss Ethel ran forward with a conscious little laugh.
"Annie, you shall be the first to congratulate me—but it's a secret; you mustn't tell a soul."
Annie looked back with shining eyes. "I'm engaged, too," she whispered.
"You dear!" said Miss Ethel, and she put her arm around her and kissed her.
Peter and Mr. Harry stood a moment eyeing each other awkwardly, then they reached out across the gulf122 that separated them and shook hands.
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incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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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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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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frankly
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zeal
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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13
resound
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| v.回响 | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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flirted
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| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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19
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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22
itched
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| v.发痒( itch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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24
remodelling
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| v.改变…的结构[形状]( remodel的现在分词 ) | |
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25
currying
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| 加脂操作 | |
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26
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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solicitously
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| adv.热心地，热切地 | |
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28
mete
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| v.分配；给予 | |
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29
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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30
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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31
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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32
kennels
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| n.主人外出时的小动物寄养处，养狗场；狗窝( kennel的名词复数 )；养狗场 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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34
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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35
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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36
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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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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38
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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39
opportunely
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| adv.恰好地，适时地 | |
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40
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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41
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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42
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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44
flirtation
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| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
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45
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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46
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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47
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
defrauding
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 ) | |
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49
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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50
sociability
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| n.好交际，社交性，善于交际 | |
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51
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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53
remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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54
lamely
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| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
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55
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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56
industriously
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57
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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59
hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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61
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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62
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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65
precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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66
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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67
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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68
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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69
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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70
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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71
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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72
deterring
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 ) | |
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73
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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74
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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75
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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76
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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77
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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78
betokened
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79
impromptu
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| adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地) | |
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80
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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81
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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82
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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83
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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84
unevenly
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| adv.不均匀的 | |
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85
pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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86
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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87
unpacking
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| n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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88
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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89
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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90
waived
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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91
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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92
bug
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| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
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93
sardines
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| n. 沙丁鱼 | |
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94
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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95
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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96
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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97
apathetic
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| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
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98
culmination
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| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
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99
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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100
pettishly
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101
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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102
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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103
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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104
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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105
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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106
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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107
philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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108
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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109
dune
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| n.(由风吹积而成的)沙丘 | |
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110
pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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111
silhouettes
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| 轮廓( silhouette的名词复数 )； （人的）体形； （事物的）形状； 剪影 | |
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112
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
scrunching
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| v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的现在分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压 | |
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114
ostrich
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| n.鸵鸟 | |
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115
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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116
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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117
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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118
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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119
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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120
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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121
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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122
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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