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CHAPTER XIV THE INN GARDEN
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BETWEEN two vases that overflowed1 with scarlet2 geraniums, the worn stone steps of the inn-yard descended3 directly upon a gravel4 path in the old garden. The path—flanked on either side by tall hedges—wound completely around the garden and through the centre, in a kind of true lovers’ knot, in the loops of which were all old-fashioned flowers; pale tea roses—the last of September’s bloom—and mignonette; pansies and rosemary grew there, and the blue of larkspur. Only a few windows looked out upon it, and it was a secluded5 spot where the sun shone and the pigeons flocked. So still was it, in the farther corners, that there was scarcely a sound but the soft “kourre, kourre!” of the feathered visitors.
 
Here Lady Betty walked slowly, her hands behind her, her head a little on one side, as she talked to Clancarty, whom she still knew only[Pg 130] as Richard Trevor. She was dressed in white, a bunch of red flowers at her belt and red plumes6 in her hat, and either its broad brim or her mood cast a shadow in her eyes. They were softer, more pensive7, and less sparkling than usual.
 
“I was only eleven years old, sir,” she said, “a mere8 baby, and I have never seen Lord Clancarty since. How should I know how he looks? Is not my curiosity pardonable? Pray, Mr. Trevor, describe him.”
 
Her companion had been watching her keenly and now he smiled.
 
“I’m poor at descriptions, my lady,” he said calmly, “but take my word for it, Clancarty’s a handsome man.”
 
“About your height, sir?” asked Lady Betty, casting a quizzical, sidelong glance at him.
 
He took time to consider. “Very nearly, I should think, Lady Clancarty,” he said, “and straight as an arrow—with a good head and keen eyes, a fine nose, a firm chin—oh, a very handsome rascal9, madam, and quite unworthy of you.”
 
“Indeed,” said Betty, amused; “you take the side, then, of my family; they too believe him unworthy.”
 
[Pg 131]“He is unworthy, madam,” said the disguised nobleman gravely, “he is unworthy; but, in spite of that, I can’t advise you to cast him off. But for his skill as a swordsman I should have lost my life; I am therefore, of necessity, his true vassal10, Lady Clancarty, and I must plead his cause.”
 
Lady Betty’s face changed and she made a petulant11 gesture.
 
“No one can plead it, sir,” she said sharply, “he should plead it himself.”
 
“He should indeed, madam,” he said earnestly, “but how? Many things keep back a proscribed12 exile and a beggar. How can he plead his cause with the heiress of an earl, a beautiful and gifted and wealthy woman? What can he offer her? A life of exile, poverty, and obscurity? My Lady Clancarty, any proud man might well pause.”
 
But Betty’s chin was elevated, her eyes scornful.
 
“The pride is, of course, all on his side, sir,” she said coolly; “there is naught13 to be said for her. How, think you, does a woman feel who is deserted14 by her husband? Ay, more, who is unacknowledged by him—unclaimed!”
 
He started and looked at her earnestly.
 
[Pg 132]“You are right, madam,” he said, “it is a grievous fault. I despise my Lord Clancarty for it, but I know that the day will come when he will sue for your forgiveness with all his heart. And he has never known you. He has been in battles, in sieges, in exile, in poverty, in illness, and he was but a lad when you were wedded15. My lady, I can say no more, even for him; I would fain say it for myself—but for him.”
 
She flashed a startled, wondering look at him; her heart stood still—after all, was he? was he not? She did not know, but his eyes held her; she blushed, palpitated, shrank like a mere child. From the first, she had thought this man her husband, but now—? An awful doubt shook her soul. Could it be that he was not? She put out her hands with a strange gesture as though she would hold him off.
 
“’Tis fourteen years, sir,” she said, “and he has never written me one word—or to my family for me.”
 
“That is not true,” he replied gravely; “I know, from Lord Clancarty’s own lips, that he has written to your father within a short time, ay, madam, twice since the Peace of Ryswick.”
 
“Ah,” said Lady Betty, for a light broke in upon her, and she thought of the tall old[Pg 133] man walking in the gallery at Althorpe, “I never knew it,” she added quietly, “my whole family opposes any mention of—of my husband.”
 
She pronounced the word with a soft adorable hesitation16, blushing rosily17 up to her very ears, and his eyes glowed as he looked at her. They turned a loop of the gravel walk and passed Melissa, who huddled18 against the hedge, courtesying low. Betty scarcely glanced at her.
 
“Then there is no one to plead my friend’s cause but your own heart, Lady Clancarty,” he said quietly, “your own heart and the tie that must plead for itself a little. I have no eloquence19 to match the occasion, willingly as I serve my benefactor20.”
 
“I tell you plainly, sir,” she retorted, “that I will hear only one suit, and that is from him; nor will I, mark you, promise to hear that favorably. Love, sir, is not cold and a laggard21 and full of excuses. If I am worth having I am worth winning.”
 
“Madam, I am constrained22 to tell the truth,” he said in a tone of deep emotion; “I believe that Lord Clancarty would die to win you.”
 
“Die, sir,” she said archly, “rather live. Dead he could not win me.”
 
[Pg 134]“Ay, and ’twould be the bitterness of death to lose you,” he said; “’tis so—even to think of it!”
 
The break in his words made her heart beat fast, but she was mistress of herself now.
 
“Especially after fourteen years of absence,” she mocked wickedly.
 
“Fourteen years in purgatory23, madam,” he replied, his tone full of pathos24, of powerful emotion under restraint; “and when the poor exile sees at last the gates of paradise!—ah, my lady, you will not close them in his face?”
 
She bowed her head a little, looking pensively25 at the ground. A thousand emotions swept across her charming face. Then she looked up, her eyes dancing with mischief,—arch, naughty, daring.
 
“A singular paradise for my Lord Clancarty,” she said, “a paradise with a Whiggish Protestant wife in it, and a Whiggish Protestant mother-in-law, and the greatest Whig in England for a brother-in-law. Sir, I need enumerate26 no more.”
 
The Irishman laughed a little bitterly.
 
“Madam,” he said, with daring tenderness in his tone, “you know not what love is! Who would count the cost—who loved? By all the saints, my lady, love burns away both[Pg 135] politics and creeds27; death itself is beaten by it—and hell! Ah, to teach you how to love. ’Twould be worth purgatory!” his gray eyes flashed, his strong face set itself sternly.
 
Lady Betty looking at him drew her breath hard; she was almost frightened. Here was a nature she could not conquer and she could not scorn. She bit her lip and looked steadily28 away, her heart beating in her throat.
 
“If Lord Clancarty came here,” he said after a moment, in a constrained voice, “would you see him? would you listen to him?”
 
She hesitated; she no longer believed that this man might be her husband; he had succeeded in misleading her, and her whole soul was tossing and burning in the fire of a new and passionate29 emotion, but she tried to think.
 
“I would see him, yes,” she said with white lips, glancing defiantly30 at him, “he is my husband.”
 
His eyes darkened and his face changed; she could not read it. They had come back to the old stone steps. At the top appeared Lady Sunderland and Lady Dacres, too far off as yet to be heard.
 
“He shall come, then, my lady,” he said very low, looking straight into her eyes, “he shall come—if he dies for it.”
 
[Pg 136]Lady Betty’s face was as white as her gown, and her fingers trembled as she swept her skirts aside on either hand and courtesied gracefully31.
 
“I bid you adieu, sir,” she said, and walked up the steps just as Lady Sunderland called out sharply,—
 
“Betty, Betty, come and take tea with us, my love, and teach Lady Dacres that old game of ‘Angel Beast’; she hath forgotten it. La, how white you are, my dear; a touch of rouge32 and a patch—you look like a ghost.”
 
“I am, madam,” said Lady Betty.
 
And the two dames33 stared.
 
That night the ruthless Lady Betty awakened34 her attendant.
 
“Alice,” she said, “hast ever heard the legend of King Arthur?”
 
The poor handmaid yawned.
 
“Nay, madam,” she replied sleepily, “who was he?”
 
“A king of long ago, Alice,” Lady Betty explained, “I have heard the legend from my old Welsh nurse, and part of it relates to his wife, his queen. She was very beautiful, and she had never seen the king when the marriage was arranged.”
 
“Oh, mercy on us, madam!” exclaimed[Pg 137] Alice, “and she didn’t know what he looked like?”
 
“Not at all,” declared her mistress, “and she set out with all her maidens35 to go to his kingdom to be married—”
 
“Indeed, my lady, couldn’t he come for her—like a decent civil gentleman?” asked Alice rousing up.
 
“No, no, he couldn’t come,” said Lady Clancarty, “but he sent his best friend, a brave and noble knight36, to meet her, and she—she thought he was the king in disguise and—and she fell in love with him, and when she found out her mistake, and that the king was wholly unlike this knight, she couldn’t love her husband—she loved instead his friend.”
 
“My goodness, Lady Betty, how improper37!” said Alice horrified38, “his friend was a false man—and no true knight!”
 
Lady Betty had been sitting on the edge of Alice’s bed but she rose now and stood quite still, her white figure showing in the darkness.
 
“But, Alice, she was so beautiful, so fascinating—he couldn’t help it, he loved her!”
 
“He could help it,” said Alice stoutly39, “he stole her love from her husband! He could help it, just as a man can help stealing a horse.”
 
[Pg 138]Betty gave a little gasp40.
 
“And the queen?” she said faintly.
 
“She was a very wicked woman, madam,” declared the moralist, shaking up her pillows vigorously. “They do say that King Charles had an awful court; perhaps it was the fashion.”
 
“Perhaps it was,” admitted Lady Betty, and crept softly back to bed and wept salt tears in solitude41.

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1 overflowed 4cc5ae8d4154672c8a8539b5a1f1842f     
溢出的
参考例句:
  • Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
  • A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 scarlet zD8zv     
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。
3 descended guQzoy     
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的
参考例句:
  • A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
  • The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
4 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
5 secluded wj8zWX     
adj.与世隔绝的;隐退的;偏僻的v.使隔开,使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时,喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑,有茅草房顶和宁静的花园,漂亮极了,简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 plumes 15625acbfa4517aa1374a6f1f44be446     
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句:
  • The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
  • The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头,那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。
7 pensive 2uTys     
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的
参考例句:
  • He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁,一副忧虑的样子。
  • He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。
8 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
9 rascal mAIzd     
n.流氓;不诚实的人
参考例句:
  • If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做,我就认为他是个恶棍。
  • The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。
10 vassal uH8y0     
n.附庸的;属下;adj.奴仆的
参考例句:
  • Wales was a vassal kingdom at that time.那时威尔士是个附庸国。
  • The vassal swore that he would be loyal to the king forever.这位封臣宣誓他将永远忠诚于国王。
11 petulant u3JzP     
adj.性急的,暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
  • The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.
12 proscribed 99c10fdb623f3dfb1e7bbfbbcac1ebb9     
v.正式宣布(某事物)有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns. 根据联邦法律的规定,他们不准拥有枪支。 来自辞典例句
  • In earlier days, the church proscribed dancing and cardplaying. 从前,教会禁止跳舞和玩牌。 来自辞典例句
13 naught wGLxx     
n.无,零 [=nought]
参考例句:
  • He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
  • I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。
14 deserted GukzoL     
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的
参考例句:
  • The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
  • The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。
15 wedded 2e49e14ebbd413bed0222654f3595c6a     
adj.正式结婚的;渴望…的,执著于…的v.嫁,娶,(与…)结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She's wedded to her job. 她专心致志于工作。
  • I was invited over by the newly wedded couple for a meal. 我被那对新婚夫妇请去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 hesitation tdsz5     
n.犹豫,踌躇
参考例句:
  • After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天,他终于直说了。
  • There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
17 rosily 1e7c9911491c398083c323cc2c9f767b     
adv.带玫瑰色地,乐观地
参考例句:
18 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
19 eloquence 6mVyM     
n.雄辩;口才,修辞
参考例句:
  • I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
  • The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。
20 benefactor ZQEy0     
n. 恩人,行善的人,捐助人
参考例句:
  • The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。
  • The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。
21 laggard w22x3     
n.落后者;adj.缓慢的,落后的
参考例句:
  • In village,the laggard living condition must be improved.在乡村落后的生活条件必须被改善。
  • Businesshas to some degree been a laggard in this process.商业在这个进程中已经慢了一拍。
22 constrained YvbzqU     
adj.束缚的,节制的
参考例句:
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
23 purgatory BS7zE     
n.炼狱;苦难;adj.净化的,清洗的
参考例句:
  • Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
  • Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园,不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。
24 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。
25 pensively 0f673d10521fb04c1a2f12fdf08f9f8c     
adv.沉思地,焦虑地
参考例句:
  • Garton pensively stirred the hotchpotch of his hair. 加顿沉思着搅动自己的乱发。 来自辞典例句
  • "Oh, me,'said Carrie, pensively. "I wish I could live in such a place." “唉,真的,"嘉莉幽幽地说,"我真想住在那种房子里。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
26 enumerate HoCxf     
v.列举,计算,枚举,数
参考例句:
  • The heroic deeds of the people's soldiers are too numerous to enumerate.人民子弟兵的英雄事迹举不胜举。
  • Its applications are too varied to enumerate.它的用途不胜枚举。
27 creeds 6087713156d7fe5873785720253dc7ab     
(尤指宗教)信条,教条( creed的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • people of all races, colours and creeds 各种种族、肤色和宗教信仰的人
  • Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds. 天主教徒对于新教教义来说,是不可知论者。
28 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
29 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
30 defiantly defiantly     
adv.挑战地,大胆对抗地
参考例句:
  • Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
31 gracefully KfYxd     
ad.大大方方地;优美地
参考例句:
  • She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
32 rouge nX7xI     
n.胭脂,口红唇膏;v.(在…上)擦口红
参考例句:
  • Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂,使脸更漂亮。
  • She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮,不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。
33 dames 0bcc1f9ca96d029b7531e0fc36ae2c5c     
n.(在英国)夫人(一种封号),夫人(爵士妻子的称号)( dame的名词复数 );女人
参考例句:
  • Dames would not comment any further. Dames将不再更多的评论。 来自互联网
  • Flowers, candy, jewelry, seemed the principal things in which the elegant dames were interested. 鲜花、糖果和珠宝看来是那些贵妇人的主要兴趣所在。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
34 awakened de71059d0b3cd8a1de21151c9166f9f0     
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到
参考例句:
  • She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
  • The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
35 maidens 85662561d697ae675e1f32743af22a69     
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功,少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
36 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
37 improper b9txi     
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的
参考例句:
  • Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
  • Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。
38 horrified 8rUzZU     
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句:
  • The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
  • We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。
39 stoutly Xhpz3l     
adv.牢固地,粗壮的
参考例句:
  • He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
  • Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难,但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。
40 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
41 solitude xF9yw     
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句:
  • People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
  • They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。


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