CHAPTER THE THIRD Lady Harman at Home 7

 She reopened it herself in the long drawing-room into which they both drifted after Sir Isaac had washed the mould from his hands. She went to a French window, gathered courage, it seemed, by a brief contemplation of the garden, and turned with a little effort.

 

"I don't agree," she said, "with you about Lady Beach-Mandarin."

 

Sir Isaac appeared surprised. He had assumed the incident was closed. "How?" he asked compactly.

 

"I don't agree," said Lady Harman. "She seems friendly and jolly."

 

"She's a Holy Terror," said Sir Isaac. "I've seen her twice, Lady Harman."

 

"A call of that kind," his wife went on, "—when there are cards left and so on—has to be returned."

 

"You won't," said Sir Isaac.

 

Lady Harman took a blind-tassel¹ in her hand,—she felt she had to hold on to something. "In any case," she said, "I should have to do that."

 

"In any case?"

 

She nodded. "It would be ridiculous not to. We——It is why we know so few people—because we don't return calls...."

 

Sir Isaac paused before answering. "We don't want to know a lot of people," he said. "And, besides——Why! anybody could make us go running about all over London calling on them, by just coming and calling on us. No sense in it. She's come and she's gone, and there's an end of it."

 

"No," said Lady Harman, gripping her tassel more firmly. "I shall have to return that call."

 

"I tell you, you won't."

 

"It isn't only a call," said Lady Harman. "You see, I promised to go there to lunch."

 

"Lunch!"

 

"And to go to a meeting with her."

 

"Go to a meeting!"

 

"—of a society called the Social Friends. And something else. Oh! to go to the committee meetings of her Shakespear Dinners Movement."

 

"I've heard of that."

 

"She said you supported it—or else of course...."

 

Sir Isaac restrained himself with difficulty.

 

"Well," he said at last, "you'd better write and tell her you can't do any of these things; that's all."

 

He thrust his hands into his trousers pockets and walked to the French window next to the one in which she stood, with an air of having settled this business completely, and being now free for the tranquil² contemplation of horticulture. But Lady Harman had still something to say.

 

"I am going to all these things," she said. "I said I would, and I will."

 

He didn't seem immediately to hear her. He made the little noise with his teeth that was habitual³ to him. Then he came towards her. "This is your infernal sister," he said.

 

Lady Harman reflected. "No," she decided⁴. "It's myself."

 

"I might have known when we asked her here," said Sir Isaac with an habitual disregard of her judgments⁵ that was beginning to irritate her more and more. "You can't take on all these people. They're not the sort of people we want to know."

 

"I want to know them," said Lady Harman.

 

"I don't."

 

"I find them interesting," Lady Harman said. "And I've promised."

 

"Well you oughtn't to have promised without consulting me."

 

Her reply was the material of much subsequent reflection on the part of Sir Isaac. There was something in her manner....

 

"You see, Isaac," she said, "you kept so out of the way...."

 

In the pause that followed her words, Mrs. Sawbridge appeared from the garden smiling with a determined⁶ amiability⁷, and bearing a great bunch of the best roses (which Sir Isaac hated to have picked) in her hands.

1 tassel   

n.流苏，穗；v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须

参考例句：

• The corn has begun to tassel.玉米开始长出穗状雄花。
• There are blue tassels on my curtains.我的窗帘上有蓝色的流苏。

2 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

3 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 amiability   

n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的

参考例句：

• His amiability condemns him to being a constant advisor to other people's troubles. 他那和蔼可亲的性格使他成为经常为他人排忧解难的开导者。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness. 我瞧着老师的脸上从和蔼变成严峻。 来自辞典例句