They implored8 me to snatch them and one or two friends from the unbearable9 heat of the city, if only for a few days, appending the sad information that they were swiftly being reduced to grease spots. Dear Elsie added a postscript11 of unusual briefness and clarity in which she spelt grease with an e instead of an a, but managed to consign12 me to purgatory13 if I permitted her to become a spot no larger than the inky blot14 she naively15 deposited beside her signature, for all the world like the seal on a death warrant.
I sat down and looked about me in gloomy despair. No words can describe the scene, unless we devote a whole page to repeating the word "dismal16." Devastation17 always appears to be more complete of a morning I have observed in my years of experience. A plasterer's scaffolding that looks fairly nobby at sunset is a grim, unsightly skeleton at breakfast-time. A couple of joiners' horses, a matrix or two, a pile of shavings and some sawed-off blocks scattered18 over the floor produce a matutinal conception of chaos19 that hangs over one like a pall20 until his aesthetic21 sense is beaten into subjection by the hammers of a million demons23 in the guise of carpenters. Morning in the midst of repairs is an awful thing! I looked, despaired and then dictated24 a letter to the Hazzards, urging them to come at once with all their sweltering friends!
I needed some one to make me forget.
At eleven o'clock, Poopendyke brought me a note from the chatelaine of the east wing. It had been dropped into the courtyard from one of the upper windows. The reading of it transformed me into a stern, relentless25 demon22. She very calmly announced that she had a headache and couldn't think of being disturbed that day and probably not the next.
My mind was made up in an instant. I would not be put off by a headache,—which was doubtless assumed for the occasion,—and I would be master of my castle or know the reason why, etc.
In the courtyard I found a score or more of idle artisans, banished27 by the on-sweeping tourists and completely forgotten by me in the excitement of the hour. Commanding them to fetch their files, saws, broad-axes and augurs28, I led the way to the mighty29 doors that barred my entrance to the other side. Utterly30 ignoring the supplications of Conrad Schmick and the ominous31 frowns of his two sons, we set about filing off the padlocks, and chiselling32 through the wooden panels. I stood over my toiling33 minions34 and I venture to say that they never worked harder or faster in their lives. By twelve o'clock we had the great doors open and swept on to the next obstruction35.
At two o'clock the last door in the east ante-chamber gave way before our resolute36 advance and I stood victorious37 and dusty in the little recess38 at the top of the last stairway. Beyond the twentieth century portieres of a thirteenth century doorway39 lay the goal we sought. I hesitated briefly40 before drawing them apart and taking the final plunge41. As a matter of fact, I was beginning to feel ashamed of myself. Suppose that she really had a headache! What an uncouth42, pusillanimous43 brute44 I—
Just then, even as my hand fell upon the curtains, they were snatched aside and I found myself staring into the vivid, uptilted face of the lady who had defied me and would continue to do so if my suddenly active perceptions counted for anything.
In some haste, attended by the most disheartening nervousness, I tried to find my cap to remove it in the presence of royalty47. Unfortunately I was obliged to release the somewhat cumbersome48 crowbar I had been carrying about with me, and it dropped with a sullen49 thwack upon my toes. In moments of gravity I am always doing something like that. The pain was terrific, but I clutched at the forlorn hope that she might at least smile over my agony.
"I beg your pardon," I began, and then discovered that I was not wearing a cap. It was most disconcerting.
"So you would come," she said, very coldly and very levelly. I have a distinct recollection of shrinking. If you have ever tried to stand flatly upon a foot whose toes are crimped by an excruciating pain you may understand something of the added discomfiture50 that afflicted51 me.
"It—it was necessary, madam," I replied as best I could. "You defied me. I think you should have appreciated my position—my motives—er—my—"
"Your position! It is intensely Napoleonic," said she with fine irony53. Her gaze swept my horde54 of panting, wide-eyed house-breakers. "What a noble victory!"
It was quite time for me to assert myself. Bowing very stiffly, I remarked:
"I regret exceedingly to have been forced to devastate55 my own property in such a trifling56 enterprise, madam. The physical loss is apparent,—you can see that for yourself,—but of course you have no means of estimating the mental destruction that has been going on for days and days. You have been hacking57 away at my poor, distracted brain so persistently58 that it really had to give way. In a measure, this should account for my present lapse59 of sanity60. Weak-mindedness is not a crime, but an affliction."
She did not smile.
"Well, now that you are here, Mr. Smart, may I be so bold as to inquire what you are going to do about it?"
I reflected. "I think, if you don't mind, I'll come in and sit down. That was a deuce of a rap I got across the toes. I am sure to be a great deal more lenient61 and agreeable if I'm asked to come in and see you. Incidentally, I thought I'd step up to inquire how your headache is getting on. Better, I hope?"
She turned her face away. I suspected a smile.
"If you choose to bang your old castle to pieces, in order to satisfy a masculine curiosity, Mr. Smart, I have nothing more to say," she said, facing me again—still ominously62, to my despair. Confound it all, she was such a slim, helpless little thing—and all alone against a mob of burly ruffians! I could have kicked myself, but even that would have been an aimless enterprise in view of the fact that Poopendyke or any of the others could have done it more accurately63 than I and perhaps with greater respect. "Will you be good enough to send your—your army away, or do you prefer to have it on hand in case I should take it into my head to attack you?"
"Take 'em away, Mr. Poopendyke," I commanded hurriedly. I didn't mind Poopendyke hearing what she said, but it would be just like one of those beggars to understand English—and also to misunderstand it. "And take this beastly crowbar with you, too. It has served its purpose nobly."
Poopendyke looked his disappointment, and I was compelled to repeat the order. As they crowded down the short, narrow stairway, I remarked old Conrad and his two sons standing64 over against the wall, three very sinister65 figures. They remained motionless.
"Oh, you dear old Conrad!" she cried, catching68 sight of the hitherto submerged Schmicks. The three of them bobbed and scraped and grinned from ear to ear. There could be no mistaking the intensity69 of their joy. "Don't look so sad, Conrad. I know you are blameless. You poor old dear!"
I have never seen any one who looked less sad than Conrad Schmick. Or could it be possible that he was crying instead of laughing? In either case I could not afford to have him doing it with such brazen70 discourtesy to me, so I rather peremptorily71 ordered him below.
"I will attend to you presently,—all of you," said I. They did not move. "Do you hear me?" I snapped angrily. They looked stolidly72 at the slim young lady.
She smiled, rather proudly, I thought. "You may go, Conrad. I shall not need you. Max, will you fetch up another scuttle73 of coal?"
They took their orders from her! It even seemed to me that Max moved swiftly, although it was doubtless a hallucination on my part, brought about by nervous excitement.
"By Jove!" I said, looking after my trusty men-servants as they descended74. "I like this! Are they my servants or yours?"
"Oh, I suppose they are yours, Mr. Smart," she said carelessly. "Will you come in now, and make yourself quite at home?"
"Perhaps I'd better wait for a day or two," said I, wavering. "Your headache, you know. I can wait just as well as—"
"Oh, no. Since you've gone to all the trouble I suppose you ought to have something for your pains."
"Pains?" I murmured, and I declare to heaven I limped as I followed her through the door into a tiny hall.
"You are a most unreasonable75 man," she said, throwing open a small door at the end of the hall. "I am terribly disappointed in you. You looked to be so nice and sensible and amiable76."
"Oh, I'm not such a nincompoop as you might suspect, madam," said I, testily77, far from complimented. I dislike being called nice, and sometimes I think it a mistake to be sensible. A sensible person never gets anything out of life because he has to avoid so much of it.
"And now, Mr. Smart, will you be kind enough to explain this incomprehensible proceeding78 on your part?" she said, facing me sternly.
But I was dumb. I stood just inside the door of the most remarkable79 apartment it has ever been my good fortune to look upon. My senses reeled. Was I awake? Was this a part of the bleak80, sinister, weather-racked castle in which I was striving so hard to find a comfortable corner?
"Well?" she demanded relentlessly81.
"By the Lord Harry82," I began, finding my tongue only to lose it again. My bewilderment increased, and for an excellent reason.
The room was completely furnished, bedecked and rendered habitable by an hundred and one articles that were mysteriously missing from my side of the castle. Rugs, tapestries83, curtains of the rarest quality; chairs, couches, and cushions; tables, cabinets and chests that would have caused the eyes of the most conservative collector of antiques to bulge84 with—not wonder—but greed; stands, pedestals, brasses85, bronzes, porcelains—but why enumerate86? On the massive oaken centre table stood the priceless silver vase we had missed on the second day of our occupancy, and it was filled with fresh yellow roses. I sniffed87. Their fragrance88 filled the room.
And so complete had been the rifling of my rooms by the devoted89 vandals in their efforts to make this lady cosy90 and comfortable that they did not overlook a silver-framed photograph of my dear mother! Her sweet face met my gaze as it swept the mantel-piece, beneath which a coal fire crackled merrily. I am not quite sure, but I think I repeated "by the Lord Harry" once if not twice before I caught myself up.
I tried to smile. "How—how cosy you are here," I said.
"You couldn't expect me to live in this awful place without some of the comforts and conveniences of life, Mr. Smart," she said defiantly91.
"Certainly not," I said, promptly92. "I am sure that you will excuse me, however, if I gloat. I was afraid we had lost all these things. You've no idea how relieved I am to find them all safe and sound in my—in their proper place. I was beginning to distrust the Schmicks. Now I am convinced of their integrity."
"I suppose you mean to be sarcastic."
Crossing to the fireplace, I selected a lump of coal from the scuttle and examined it with great care. She watched me curiously94.
"Do you recognise it?" she asked.
"I do," said I, looking up. "It has been in our family for generations. My favourite chunk95, believe me. Still, I part with it cheerfully." Thereupon I tossed it into the fire. "Don't be shocked! I shan't miss it. We have coals to burn, madam!"
She looked at me soberly for a moment. There was something hurt and wistful in her dark eyes.
"Of course, Mr. Smart, I shall pay you for everything—down to the smallest trifle—when the time comes for me to leave this place. I have kept strict account of—"
She turned away, with a beaten droop96 of the proud little head, and again I was shamed. Never have I felt so grotesquely97 out of proportion with myself as at that moment. My stature98 seemed to increase from an even six feet to something like twelve, and my bulk became elephantine. She was so slender, so lissom99, so weak, and I so gargantuan100, so gorilla-like, so heavy-handed! And I had come gaily101 up to crush her! What a fine figure of a man I was!
She did not complete the sentence, but walked slowly toward the window. I had a faint glimpse of a dainty lace handkerchief fiercely clutched in a little hand.
By nature I am chivalrous102, even gallant103. You may have reason to doubt it, but it is quite true. As I've never had a chance to be chivalrous except in my dreams or my imagination, I made haste to seize this opportunity before it was too late. "Madam," I said, with considerable feeling. "I have behaved like a downright rotter to-day. I do not know who you are, nor why you are here, but I assure you it is of no real consequence if you will but condescend104 to overlook my insufferable—"
She turned towards me. The wistful, appealing look still lingered in her eyes. The soft red nether105 lip seemed a bit tremulous.
"I am an intruder," she interrupted, smiling faintly. "You have every right to put me out of your—your home, Mr. Smart. I was a horrid106 pig to deprive you of all your nice comfortable chairs and—"
"I—I haven't missed them."
"Don't you ever sit down?"
"I will sit down if you'll let me," said I, feeling that I wouldn't appear quite so gigantic if I was sitting.
"Please do. The chairs all belong to you."
"I'm sorry you put it in that way. They are yours as long as you choose to—to occupy a furnished apartment here."
"I have been very selfish, and cattish, and inconsiderate, Mr. Smart. You see, I'm a spoilt child. I've always had my own way in everything. You must look upon me as a very horrid, sneaking107, conspiring108 person, and I—I really think you ought to turn me out."
She came a few steps nearer. Under the circumstances I could not sit down. So I stood towering above her, but somehow going through a process of physical and mental shrinkage the longer I remained confronting her.
Suddenly it was revealed to me that she was the loveliest woman I had ever seen in all my life! How could I have been so slow in grasping this great, bewildering truth? The prettiest woman I had ever looked upon! Of course I had known it from the first instant that I looked into her eyes, but I must have been existing in a state of stupefaction up to this illuminating109 moment.
I am afraid that I stared.
"Turn you out?" I cried. "Turn you out of this delightful110 room after you've had so much trouble getting it into shape? Never!"
"Oh, you don't know how I've imposed upon you!" she cried plaintively111. "You don't know how I've robbed you, and bothered you—"
"Yes, I do," said I promptly. "I know all about it. You've been stealing my coals, my milk, my ice, my potatoes, my servants, my sleep and "—here I gave a comprehensive sweep of my hand—"everything in sight. And you've made us walk on tip-toe to keep from waking the baby, and—" I stopped suddenly. "By the way, whose baby is it? Not yours, I'm sure."
To my surprise her eyes filled with tears.
"Yes. She is my baby, Mr. Smart."
My face fell. "Oh!" said I, and got no further for a moment or two. "I—I—please don't tell me you are married!"
"What would you think of me if I were to tell you I'm not?" she cried indignantly.
Crossing to the fireplace, she stood looking down into the coals for a long time, while I remained where I was, an awkward, gauche113 spectator, conscious of having put my clumsiest foot into my mouth every time I opened it and wondering whether I could now safely get it out again without further disaster.
Her back was toward me. She was dressed in a dainty, pinkish house gown—or maybe it was light blue. At any rate it was a very pretty gown and she was wonderfully graceful114 in it. Ordinarily in my fiction I am quite clever at describing gowns that do not exist; but when it comes to telling what a real woman is wearing, I am not only as vague as a savage115, but painfully stupid about colors. Still, I think it was pink. I recall the way her soft brown hair grew above the slender neck, and the lovely white skin; the smooth, delicate contour of her half-averted cheek and the firm little chin with the trembling red lips above it; the shapely back and shoulders and the graceful curves of her hips116, suggestive of a secret perfection. She was taller than I had thought at first sight, or was it that I seemed to be getting smaller myself? A hasty bit of comparison placed her height at five feet six, using my own as something to go by. She couldn't have been a day over twenty-two. But she had a baby!
Facing me once more she said: "If you will sit down, Mr. Smart, and be patient and generous with me, I shall try to explain everything. You have a right to demand it of me, and I shall feel more comfortable after it is done."
I drew up a chair beside the table and sat down. She sank gracefully117 into another, facing me. A delicate frown appeared on her brow.
"Doubtless you are very much puzzled by my presence in this gloomy old castle. You have been asking yourself a thousand questions about me, and you have been shocked by my outrageous118 impositions upon your good nature. I confess I have been shockingly impudent119 and—"
"Pardon me; you are the only sauce I've had for an excessively bad bargain."
"Please do not interrupt me," she said coldly. "I am here, Mr. Smart, because it is the last place in the world where my husband would be likely to look for me."
"Your husband? Look for you?"
"Yes. I shall be quite frank with you. My husband and I have separated. A provisional divorce was granted, however, just seven months ago. The final decree cannot be issued for one year."
"But why should you hide from him?"
"The—the court gave him the custody120 of our child during the probationary121 year. I—I have run away with her. They are looking for me everywhere. That is why I came here. Do you understand?"
I was stunned122. "Then, I take it, the court granted him the divorce and not you," I said, experiencing a sudden chill about the heart. "You were deprived of the child, I see. Dear me!"
"You are mistaken," she said, a flash in her eyes. "It was an Austrian court. The Count—my husband, I should say—is an Austrian subject. His interests must be protected." She said this with a sneer123 on her pretty lips. "You see, my father, knowing him now for what he really is, has refused to pay over to him something like a million dollars, still due for the marriage settlement. The Count contends that it is a just and legal debt and the court supports him to this extent: the child is to be his until the debt is cleared up, or something to that effect. I really don't understand the legal complications involved. Perhaps it were better if I did."
"I see," said I, scornful in spite of myself. "One of those happy international marriages where a bride is thrown in for good measure with a couple of millions. Won't we ever learn!"
"That's it precisely," she said, with the utmost calmness and candour. "American dollars and an American girl in exchange for a title, a lot of debts and a ruined life."
"And they always turn out just this way. What a lot of blithering fools we have in the land of the free and the home of the knave124!"
"My father objected to the whole arrangement from the first, so you must not speak of him as a knave," she protested. "He doesn't like Counts and such things."
"I don't see that it helps matters. I can hardly substitute the word 'brave' for the one I used," said I, trying to conceal125 my disgust.
"Please don't misunderstand me, Mr. Smart," she said haughtily126. "I am not asking for pity. I made my bed and I shall lie in it. The only thing I ask of you is—well, kindness."
She shook her head ruefully. "You poor man! You don't know what you are in for, I fear. Wait till I have told you everything. Three weeks ago, I laid myself liable to imprisonment130 and heaven knows what else by abducting131 my little girl. That is really what it comes to—abduction. The court has ordered my arrest, and all sorts of police persons are searching high and low for me. Now don't you see your peril? If they find me here, you will be in a dreadful predicament. You will be charged with criminal complicity, or whatever it is called, and—Oh, it will be frightfully unpleasant for you, Mr. Smart."
My expression must have convicted me. She couldn't help seeing the dismay in my face. So she went on, quite humbly132.
"Of course you have but to act at once and all may be well for you. I—I will go if you—if you command me to—"
I struck my knee forcibly. "What do you take me for, madam? Hang the consequences! If you feel that you are safe here—that is, comparatively safe,—stay!"
"It will be terrible if you get into trouble with the law," she murmured in distress. "I—I really don't know what might happen to you." Still her eyes brightened. Like all the rest of her ilk, she was selfish.
I tried to laugh, but it was a dismal failure. After all, wasn't it likely to prove a most unpleasant matter? I felt the chill moisture breaking out on my forehead.
"Pray do not consider my position at all," I managed to say, with a resolute assumption of gallantry. "I—I shall be perfectly133 able to look out for myself,—that is, to explain everything if it should come to the worst." I could not help adding, however: "I certainly hope, however, that they don't get on to your trail and—" I stopped in confusion.
"And find me here?" she completed gloomily.
"And take the child away from you," I made haste to explain.
A fierce light flamed in her eyes. "I should—kill—some one before that could happen," she cried out, clenching134 her hands.
"I—I beg of you, madam, don't work yourself into a—a state," I implored, in considerable trepidation135. "Nothing like that can happen, believe me. I—"
"Oh, what do you know about it?" she exclaimed, with most unnecessary vehemence136, I thought. "He wants the child and—and—well, you can see why he wants her, can't you? He is making the most desperate efforts to recover her. Max says the newspapers are full of the—the scandal. They are depicting137 me as a brainless, law-defying American without sense of love, honour or respect. I don't mind that, however. It is to be expected. They all describe the Count as a long-suffering, honourable138, dreadfully maltreated person, and are doing what they can to help him in the prosecution139 of the search. My mother, who is in Paris, is being shadowed; my two big brothers are being watched; my lawyers in Vienna are being trailed everywhere—oh, it is really a most dreadful thing. But—but I will not give her up! She is mine. He doesn't love her. He doesn't love me. He doesn't love anything in the world but himself and his cigarettes. I know, for I've paid for his cigarettes for nearly three years. He has actually ridiculed140 me in court circles, he has defamed me, snubbed me, humiliated141 me, cursed me. You cannot imagine what it has been like. Once he struck me in—"
"Struck you!" I cried.
"—in the presence of his sister and her husband. But I must not distress you with sordid142 details. Suffice it to say, I turned at last like the proverbial worm. I applied143 for a divorce ten months ago. It was granted, provisionally as I say. He is a degenerate144. He was unfaithful to me in every sense of the word. But in spite of all that, the court in granting me the separation, took occasion to placate145 national honour by giving him the child during the year, pending10 the final disposition146 of the case. Of course, everything depends on father's attitude in respect to the money. You see what I mean? A month ago I heard from friends in Vienna that he was shamefully147 neglecting our—my baby, so I took this awful, this perfectly bizarre way of getting her out of his hands. Possession is nine points in the law, you see. I—'
"Alas148!" interrupted I, shaking my head. "There is more than one way to look at the law. I'm afraid you have got yourself into a serious—er—pickle."'
"I don't care," she said defiantly. "It is the law's fault for not prohibiting such marriages as ours. Oh, I know I must seem awfully149 foolish and idiotic150 to you, but—but it's too late now to back out, isn't it?"
I did not mean to say it, but I did—and I said it with some conviction: "It is! You must be protected."
"Thank you, thank you!" she cried, clasping and unclasping her little hands. I found myself wondering if the brute had dared to strike her on that soft, pink cheek!
"Don't tell me that your—your husband is the man who owned this castle up to a week ago," I cried. "Count James Hohendahl?"
She shook her head. "No. He is not the man." Seeing that I waited for her to go on, she resumed: "I know Count James quite well, however. He is my husband's closest friend."
"Good heaven," said I, in quick alarm. "That complicates152 matters, doesn't it? He may come here at any time."
"It isn't likely, Mr. Smart. To be perfectly honest with you, I waited until I heard you had bought the castle before coming here myself. We were in hiding at the house of a friend in Linz up to a week ago. I did not think it right or fair to subject them to the notoriety or the peril that was sure to follow if the officers took it into their heads to look for me there. The day you bought the castle, I decided153 that it was the safest place for me to stay until the danger blows over, or until father can arrange to smuggle154 me out of this awful country. That very night we were brought here in a motor. Dear old Conrad and Mrs. Schmick took me in. They have been perfectly adorable, all of them."
"May I enquire155, madam," said I stiffly, "how you came to select my abode156 as your hiding place?"
"Oh, I have forgotten to tell you that we lived here one whole summer just after we were married. Count Hohendahl let us have the castle for our—our honey-moon. He was here a great deal of the time. All sorts of horrid, nasty, snobbish157 people were here to help us enjoy our honeymoon158. I shall never forget that dreadful summer. My only friends were the Schmicks. Every one else ignored and despised me, and they all borrowed, won or stole money from me. I was compelled to play bridge for atrociously high stakes without knowing one card from the other. But, as I say, the Schmicks loved me. You see they were in the family ages and ages before I was born."
"The family? What family?"
"The Rothhoefen family. Haven't they told you that my great-grandmother was a Rothhoefen? No? Well, she was. I belong to the third generation of American-born descendants. Doesn't it simplify matters, knowing this?"
"And so I came here, Mr. Smart, where hundreds of my ancestors spent their honeymoons160, most of them perhaps as unhappily as I, and where I knew a fellow-countryman was to live for awhile in order to get a plot for a new story. You see, I thought I might be a great help to you in the shape of suggestion."
She smiled very warmly, and I thought it was a very neat way of putting it. Naturally it would be quite impossible to put her out after hearing that she had already put herself out to some extent in order to assist me.
"I can supply the villain161 for your story if you need one, and I can give you oceans of ideas about noblemen. I am sorry that I can't give you a nice, sweet heroine. People hate heroines after they are married and live unhappily. You—"
"The public taste is changing," I interrupted quickly. "Unhappy marriages are so common nowadays that the women who go into 'em are always heroines. People like to read about suffering and anguish162 among the rich, too. Besides, you are a Countess. That puts you near the first rank among heroines. Don't you think it would be proper at this point to tell me who you are?"
She regarded me steadfastly163 for a moment, and then shook her head.
"I'd rather not tell you my name, Mr. Smart. It really can't matter, you know. I've thought it all out very carefully, and I've decided that it is not best for you to know. You see if you don't know who it is you are sheltering, the courts can't hold you to account. You will be quite innocent of deliberately164 contriving165 to defeat the law. No, I shall not tell you my name, nor my husband's, nor my father's. If you'd like to know, however, I will tell you my baby's name. She's two years old and I think she'll like you to call her Rosemary."
By this time I was quite hypnotised by this charming, confident trespasser166 upon my physical—and I was about to say my moral estate. Never have I known a more complacent167 violater of all the proprieties168 of law and order as she appeared to be. She was a revelation; more than that, she was an inspiration. What a courageous169, independent, fascinating little buccaneer she was! Her calm tone of assurance, her overwhelming confidence in herself, despite the occasional lapse into despair, staggered me. I couldn't help being impressed. If I had had any thought of ejecting her, bag and baggage, from my castle, it had been completely knocked out of my head and I was left, you might say, in a position which gave me no other alternative than to consider myself a humble170 instrument in the furthering of her ends, whether I would or no. It was most amazing. Superior to the feeling of scorn I naturally felt for her and her kind,—the fools who make international beds and find them filled with thorns,—there was the delicious sensation of being able to rise above my prejudices and become a willing conspirator171 against that despot, Common Sense.
She was very sure of herself, that was plain; and I am positive that she was equally sure of me. It isn't altogether flattering, either, to feel that a woman is so sure of you that there isn't any doubt concerning her estimate of your offensive strength. Somehow one feels an absence of physical attractiveness.
"Rosemary," I repeated. "And what am I to call you?"
"Even my enemies call me Countess," she said coldly.
"Oh," said I, more respectfully. "I see. When am I to have the pleasure of meeting the less particular Rosemary?"
"I didn't mean to be horrid," she said plaintively. "Please overlook it, Mr. Smart. If you are very, very quiet I think you may see her now. She is asleep."
Nevertheless I was led through a couple of bare, unfurnished rooms into a sunny, perfectly adorable nursery. A nursemaid,—English, at a glance,—arose from her seat in the window and held a cautious finger to her lips. In the middle of a bed that would have accommodated an entire family, was the sleeping Rosemary—a tiny, rosy-cheeked, yellow haired atom bounded on four sides by yards of mattress173.
I stood over her timorously174 and stared. The Countess put one knee upon the mattress and, leaning far over, kissed a little paw. I blinked, like a confounded booby.
Then we stole out of the room.
"Isn't she adorable?" asked the Countess when we were at a safe distance.
"They all are," I said grudgingly175, "when they're asleep."
"You are horrid!"
"By the way," I said sternly, "how does that bedstead happen to be a yard or so lower than any other bed in this entire castle? All the rest of them are so high one has to get into them from a chair."
"Oh," she said complacently176, "it was too high for Blake to manage conveniently, so I had Rudolph saw the legs off short."
"You will let me stay on, won't you, Mr. Smart?" she said, when we were at the fireplace again. "I am really so helpless, you know."
"And we'll have a telephone in the main hall before the end of a week," I concluded beamingly.
Her face clouded. "Oh, I'd much rather have it in my hallway, if you don't mind. You see, I can't very well go downstairs every time I want to use the 'phone, and it will be a nuisance sending for me when I'm wanted."
This was rather high-handed, I thought.
"But if no one knows you're here, it seems to me you're not likely to be called."
"You never can tell," she said mysteriously.
I promised to put the instrument in her hall, and not to have an extension to my rooms for fear of creating suspicion. Also the electric bell system was to be put in just as she wanted it to be. And a lot of other things that do not seem to come to mind at this moment.
I left in a daze at half-past three, to send Britton up with all the late novels and magazines, and a big box of my special cigarettes.
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的现在分词 )；评价 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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irreproachable
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| adj.不可指责的，无过失的 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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vampires
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| n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门 | |
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implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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consign
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| vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托 | |
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purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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naively
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| adv. 天真地 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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aesthetic
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| adj.美学的，审美的，有美感 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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augurs
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| n.（古罗马的）占兆官( augur的名词复数 )；占卜师，预言者v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的第三人称单数 )；成为预兆；占卜 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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chiselling
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| n.錾v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的现在分词 ) | |
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toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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minions
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| n.奴颜婢膝的仆从( minion的名词复数 )；走狗；宠儿；受人崇拜者 | |
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obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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36
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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41
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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pusillanimous
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| adj.懦弱的，胆怯的 | |
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44
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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45
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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48
cumbersome
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| adj.笨重的，不便携带的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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54
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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55
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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56
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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57
hacking
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| n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动 | |
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58
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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59
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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60
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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61
lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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62
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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63
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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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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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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66
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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67
sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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68
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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69
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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70
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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71
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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72
stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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73
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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74
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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75
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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76
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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77
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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78
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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79
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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80
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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81
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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82
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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83
tapestries
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| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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84
bulge
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| n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀 | |
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85
brasses
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| n.黄铜( brass的名词复数 )；铜管乐器；钱；黄铜饰品（尤指马挽具上的黄铜圆片） | |
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86
enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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87
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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88
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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89
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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90
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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91
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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92
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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93
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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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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95
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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96
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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grotesquely
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| adv. 奇异地,荒诞地 | |
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98
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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99
lissom
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| adj.柔软的，轻快而优雅的 | |
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100
gargantuan
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| adj.巨大的，庞大的 | |
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101
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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102
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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103
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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104
condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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105
nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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106
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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107
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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108
conspiring
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| 密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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109
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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110
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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111
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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112
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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113
gauche
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| adj.笨拙的，粗鲁的 | |
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114
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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115
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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116
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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117
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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118
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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119
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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120
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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121
probationary
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| 试用的，缓刑的 | |
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122
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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123
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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124
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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125
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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126
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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127
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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128
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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129
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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130
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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131
abducting
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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132
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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133
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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134
clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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135
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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136
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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137
depicting
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| 描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述 | |
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138
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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139
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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140
ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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142
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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143
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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145
placate
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| v.抚慰，平息(愤怒) | |
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146
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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147
shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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148
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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149
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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150
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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151
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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152
complicates
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| 使复杂化( complicate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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153
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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154
smuggle
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| vt.私运；vi.走私 | |
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155
enquire
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| v.打听，询问；调查，查问 | |
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156
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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157
snobbish
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| adj.势利的，谄上欺下的 | |
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158
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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159
daze
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| v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏 | |
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160
honeymoons
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| 蜜月( honeymoon的名词复数 )； 短暂的和谐时期； 蜜月期； 最初的和谐时期 | |
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161
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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163
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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165
contriving
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| （不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到 | |
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166
trespasser
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| n.侵犯者；违反者 | |
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167
complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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168
proprieties
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| n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适 | |
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169
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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170
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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171
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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172
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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173
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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174
timorously
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| adv.胆怯地，羞怯地 | |
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175
grudgingly
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176
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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177
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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178
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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