In the end he was, and Ingeborg's wedding, being Judith's as well, was unavoidably splendid. All along the line the Bishop's hand was forced. The very wedding-dress had to be as beautiful for the one as for the other of his daughters; and, absurdly and wickedly, he was obliged to spend as much on her trousseau who was going into pauperdom6 and obscurity for the rest of her days as on hers who would no doubt be soon, though of course only in God's good time, the most magnificent of widows. He never afterwards was able to feel quite the same to the Duchess. Without knowing anything of the circumstances, of the secret disgrace of the affair, of the blank undesirability7 in any case of such a son-in-law, of the extraordinary inconvenience and pecuniary8 loss of Ingeborg's marrying at all, she had taken up Herr Dremmel to an extent that was positively9 near making her ridiculous, supposing that, humanly speaking, were possible, and had rammed10 him down the county's throat till at last it believed that of the two husbands Ingeborg had secured the better. And this gossip filtered through into the Palace, and Judith, who never did speak, spoke11 less than ever, but edging away more and more decidedly from the blandishments of the Master, who had not been invited to Coops, spent most of her time in her own room engaged in not looking at her trousseau; and the Palace became such an uncomfortable place what with one thing and another, and the strain of remaining calm and becoming in conduct to the ducally protected Herr Dremmel was so great, that at last the Bishop was as eager as any one to get the wedding over and feverishly12 furthered any scheme that would, by hastening it, deliver him.
To Ingeborg he never spoke, but turned away with the same cold horror that came over the rest of the family when from windows he or it beheld13 her being courted with what seemed a terrible German thoroughness in places like the middle of the lawn. He could no longer walk round his own garden without meeting an interlaced couple; and though he suggested to Herr Dremmel with what he felt was really admirable self-restraint that these public endearments14 might give rise to comment, Herr Dremmel merely replied that as Ingeborg was his Braut it ought to give rise to much more comment, even to justifiable15 complaints, if his manner to her were less warm.
"In England we do not—" began the Bishop; but broke off for fear of losing his self-restraint. And Herr Dremmel and Ingeborg continuing to perambulate the garden slowly, with a frequent readjusting of their steps to each other's—for it is a difficult method, the interlaced one, of getting along a path—the Bishop and Mrs. Bullivant retreated for refreshment16 and comfort to the delicacy17 of Judith, to her lovely withdrawals18. That the Master should blandish was natural, because a man is natural; but they knew that a woman, if she is to approach any ideal of true womanhood, cannot be too carefully unnatural19, and should she be persuaded or betrayed into some expression of affection for her lover, some answering caress20, at least she must not like it. And there was Ingeborg progressing round the garden as described, or in the middle of the lawn openly having her hand held, and looking pleased.
It was rank.
Ingeborg, in fact, was pleased. She was more, she was extremely happy. Here she was suddenly no longer a disgraced and boycotted21 and wicked girl, but that strangely encouraging object, that odd restorer of faith in oneself, a Little Sugar Lamb. The cosiness22 of being a Sugar Lamb! She had been so very miserable23. She had dragged through such cold, anæmic days. She had had such a horrible holiday, forced upon her on the very scene of her activities, and had had it brought home to her so freezingly, so blightingly, that she had done too dreadful a thing to be allowed apparently24 ever again to associate with the decent. And Robert—she quickly began calling him that to herself under the influence of her family's methods of reclaiming25 her—had not written a single letter.
"But he came," said Herr Dremmel, for whose enlightenment she was picturing the week she had had.
And her father would not speak to her at all, would not look at her.
"Old sheep," said Herr Dremmel good-naturedly.
But now somehow it did seem as if she needn't have been quite so miserable, and might have had more faith.
"What ought the Little One to have had more of?" asked Herr Dremmel; for his thoughts had not much time to spare, and he profitably employed them while she talked in working out the probable results of, say, the treatment of three acres of sugar-beet with sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and nitrate of soda29 respectively, all of them receiving 400 lbs. of basic slag30 as well—would not sulphate of ammonia be more effective as a nitrogenous manure31 than nitrate of soda in the case of sugar-beets, whose roots grew smaller and nearer the surface than mangels? "That is what little women should constantly have more of," he said, breaking away from sugar-beets to a zestful32 embracing; for on this occasion they were under the pear-tree, a place she seldom went to because she had not yet acquired, in spite of his assurances that she undoubtedly33 would, any real enthusiasm for embracings, keeping by preference to the only immune place in the garden, which was the middle of the lawn.
"I wonder," she thought while it was being done, "if this will really grow on me...."
And, while it was still being done, "Mother must have been kissed, too, and she's still alive...."
And presently, while it was still being done, "But mother isn't much alive—there's the sofa—perhaps that's why...."
Well, he loved her, somehow; she did not now care how. Whether it was a spiritual affection or one that would go on requiring at frequent intervals34 to enfold her capaciously did not matter any more, for it was a warm thing, a warm human thing, he was offering her, and she had been half-dead with cold. What did it matter if she herself was not in love? It was the dream of a schoolgirl to want to be in love. Life was not like that. Life was a thing full of friendliness35 and happy affection; and love, anyhow on the woman's side, was not a bit necessary. The Bishop would have been surprised if he had known how nearly she approached his ideal of womanhood. She was going to be so good, she said to herself and to Herr Dremmel, too, her heart full of gratitude36 and glad relief—oh, so good! She was never going to be dejected or beaten out of hope and courage again. She would work over there, work hard at all sorts of happy things in the parish, and among the poor and sick, and she would help Robert in his work if he would let her, and if he wouldn't then she'd help him when he had done—help him to play and rest. They would laugh together and talk together and walk together, and he would explain his experiments to her and teach her to understand. And the first thing she would do would be to learn German very thoroughly37, so as to be able to write all his letters for him, and even his sermons if needs be, and save his precious time.
"Those," said Herr Dremmel, who in the lush meadows of dalliance had forgotten that what had first attracted him to her had been a certain bright baldness of brain, "would be pretty little nonsense sermons the small snail38 would produce."
"You'll see," said Ingeborg confidently; and she suddenly flung out her arms and turned her face up to the sun and the blue through the little leaves and all the light and promise of the world, and stretched herself in an immense contentment. "Oh," she sighed, "isn't it all good—isn't it all good—"
"It is," agreed Herr Dremmel. "But it is nothing to how good it will be presently, when we are surrounded by our dear children."
"Children?" said Ingeborg.
She dropped her arms and looked at him. She had not thought of children.
"Then, indeed, my little wife will not wish to write letters or compose sermons."
"Why?" said Ingeborg.
"Because you will be a happy mother."
"But don't happy mothers—"
"You will be entirely engaged in adoring your children. Nothing else in the world will interest you."
Ingeborg stood looking at him with a surprised face. "Oh?" she said. "Shall I?" Then she added, "But I've never had any children."
"It was not to be expected," said Herr Dremmel.
"Then how do you know nothing else in the world will interest me?"
"Foolish Little One," he said, taking her in his arms, his eyes moist with tenderness, for he knew that here against his breast he held in her slender youth the mother of all the Dremmels, and the knowledge profoundly moved him. "Foolish Little One, is not throughout all nature every mother solely39 preoccupied40 by interest in her young?"
"Is she?" said Ingeborg doubtfully, quite a number of remembered family snapshots dancing before her eyes. Still, she was very willing to believe.
She looked at him a moment thinking. "But—" she said, gently pushing herself a little way from him, both hands on his chest.
"But what then, small snail?"
"Wouldn't they be German children?"
"Undoubtedly," said Herr Dremmel proudly.
"All of them?"
"All of them?" he echoed.
"It wouldn't be like Roman Catholics and Protestants marrying, and half the children be German and half English?"
"Certainly not," said Herr Dremmel emphatically.
"But Robert—"
"Continue, little hare."
"What are German children like?"
It was now Herr Dremmel's turn to say confidently, "You'll see."
A week later they were married; and the Bishop, inscrutably watching Ingeborg from the doorstep as she was being tucked by deft41 hands into the rugs of the car that was to take her to the station, observing how cushions were put in the right places at her back, how a footstool was carefully inserted under her feet, how her least movement was interpreted and instantly attended to, made his farewell remark to his daughter—the last remark, as it happened, that he ever did make to her.
"You will miss Wilson," he said; and re-entered the Palace a slightly comforted man.
She never saw him again.
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1
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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2
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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pauperdom
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| n.穷人，贫民；贫穷 | |
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7
undesirability
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| n.不受欢迎 | |
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8
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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9
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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10
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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11
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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12
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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13
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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14
endearments
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| n.表示爱慕的话语，亲热的表示( endearment的名词复数 ) | |
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15
justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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16
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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17
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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18
withdrawals
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| n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻 | |
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19
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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20
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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21
boycotted
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| 抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
cosiness
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| n.舒适，安逸 | |
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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
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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25
reclaiming
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| v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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26
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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27
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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28
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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29
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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30
slag
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| n.熔渣，铁屑，矿渣；v.使变成熔渣，变熔渣 | |
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31
manure
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| n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥 | |
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32
zestful
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| adj.有滋味 | |
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33
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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34
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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35
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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36
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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37
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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38
snail
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| n.蜗牛 | |
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39
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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40
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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41
deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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