CHAPTER XXI — SHE PROPOSES

 She was still in her riding habit when I found her alone in the parlour of the Titus suite¹.

 

I give you my word my heart almost stopped beating. I've never seen any one so lovely as she was at that moment. Never, I repeat. Her hair, blown by the kind November winds, strayed—but no! I cannot begin to define the loveliness of her. There was a warm, rich glow in her cheeks and a light in her eyes that actually bewildered me, and more than that I am not competent to utter.

 

"You have come at last," she said, and her voice sounded very far off; although I was lifting her ungloved hand to my lips. She clenched² my fingers tightly, I remember that; and also that my hand shook violently and that my face felt pale.

 

I think I said that I had come at last. She took my other hand in hers and drawing dangerously close to me said:

 

"I do not expect to be married for at least a year, John."

 

"I—I congratulate you," I stammered³ foolishly.

 

"I have a feeling that it isn't decent for one to marry inside of two years after one has been divorced."

 

"How is Rosemary?" I murmured.

 

"You are in love with me, aren't you, John, dear?"

 

"Goo—good heaven!" I gasped⁴.

 

"I know you are. That's why I am so sure of myself. Is it asking too much of you to marry me in a year from—"

 

I haven't the faintest notion how long afterward⁵ it was that I asked her what was to become of that poor, unlucky devil, Lord Amberdale.

 

"He isn't a devil. He's a dear, and he is going to marry a bred-in-the-bone countess next January. You will like him, because he is every bit as much in love with his real countess are you are with a sham⁶ one. He is a bird of your feather. And now don't you want to come with me to see Rosemary?"

 

"Rosemary," I murmured, as in a dream—a luxurious⁷ lotus-born dream.

 

She took my arm and advanced with me into a room adjoining the parlour. As we passed through the door, she suddenly squeezed my arm very tightly and laid her head against my shoulder.

 

We were in a small sitting-room⁸, confronting Jasper Titus, his wife and his tiny grand-daughter, who was ready for bed.

 

"You won't have to worry about me any longer, daddy dear," said Aline, her voice suddenly breaking.

 

"Well, I'll be—well, well, well!" cried my late victim of the links. "Is this the way the wind blows?"

 

I was perfectly⁹ dumb. My face was scarlet¹⁰. My dazzled eyes saw nothing but the fine, aristocratic features of Aline's mother. She was leaning slightly forward in her chair, and a slow but unmistakable joyous¹¹ smile was creeping into her face.

 

"Aline!" she cried, and Aline went to her.

 

Jasper Titus led Rosemary up to me.

 

"Kiss the gentleman, kiddie," said he huskily, lifting the little one up to me.

 

She gave a sudden shriek¹² of recognition, and I took her in my arms.

 

"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed I, without the slightest idea of what I was doing or why I did it. Sometimes I wonder if there has ever been any insanity¹³ in our family. I know there have been fools, for I have my Uncle Rilas's word for it.

 

Mr. Titus picked up the newspaper he had been reading.

 

"Listen to this, Allie. It will interest you. It says here that our friend Tarnowsy is going to marry that fool of a Cincinnati girl we were talking about the other day. I know her father, but I've never met her mother. Old Bob Thackery has got millions but he's only got one daughter. What a blamed shame!"

 

It must be perfectly obvious to you, kind reader, that I am going to marry Aline Tarnowsy, in spite of all my professed¹⁴ opposition¹⁵ to marrying a divorcee. I argued the whole matter out with myself, but not until after I was irrevocably committed. She says she needs me. Well, isn't that enough? In fact, I am now trying my best to get her to shorten the probationary¹⁶ period. She has taken off three months, God bless her, but I still hope for a further and more generous reduction—for good behaviour!

1 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

2 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

6 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

7 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

8 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

11 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

12 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

13 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

14 professed   

公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的

参考例句：

• These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
• Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 probationary   

试用的，缓刑的

参考例句：

• After a six-month probationary period, she was confirmed in her post. 经过六个月的试用期之后，她获准正式任该职。
• After a three-month probationary period, she was confirmed in her post. 经过三个月的试用期后，她获准正式任职。