CHAPTER 33 DONOUGH!

 

THE night of suspense—longer than a year of happiness—wore to an end, because all things end. At noon Lady Betty stood in Lady Russell’s drawing-room, leaning against the window and looking out, so wan¹ and wasted that her hostess started at the sight of her as she entered. The two women greeted each other with an affection born of sympathy, in spite of their brief acquaintance, and as they stood there with clasped hands, they heard the clatter² of hoofs³ in the street below, a noise at the door, steps on the stair.

 

Betty uttered a cry and stood rigid⁴; it had come, good or ill! The door was flung open and Devonshire’s messenger, plashed with mire⁵ from hard riding, bowed at the threshold, holding up a letter.

 

“From his grace to Lady Russell,” he said.

 

Lady Russell tore it open with shaking hands but Betty did not stir; she stood like[Pg 294] a statue; she thought her heart had stopped beating. The older woman clasped the paper to her bosom⁶, murmuring a thanksgiving.

 

“He is saved!” she cried joyfully⁷, holding out the letter to Lady Clancarty, “your husband is saved! The king grants his life, but exiles him.”

 

Lady Betty swayed and would have fallen but for her friend. The good woman caught her in her arms.

 

“That merciful king!” cried Lady Russell, tears streaming down her face; “ah, if I had been so blessed!”

 

Betty flung her arms around her neck and kissed her.

 

“I must go to the Tower!” she cried eagerly, after a moment, “I may go now.”

 

“Nay, madam,” interposed the duke’s messenger respectfully, “his grace did especially charge me to beg you to remain here until he came for you.”

 

“Ay,” said Lady Russell, glancing at the letter, “he speaks of it here.”

 

A shade of deep disappointment crossed the youthful face, but she bowed her head.

 

“I shall await the duke’s pleasure,” she said.

 

After the messenger withdrew, Lady Russell touched her friend’s frock playfully.

 

[Pg 295]“My dear,” she remarked, “you will not go to welcome him back to the world in this sombre garb⁸?”

 

Betty glanced down dolefully.

 

“I brought no other,” she replied.

 

Lady Russell smiled and sent for Alice.

 

“My child,” she said, “I heard this morning that there was strong hope—yet I dared not tell you, for fear of disappointment. But I sent Alice for a gayer gown than this for your lover.”

 

Betty blushed like a rose, for in walked Alice, carrying in her arms the flowered brocade that her mistress had worn at Newmarket, and Alice was all smiles and tears. Nothing would do but that Lady Russell and Alice must array her as for a festival.

 

“For the Tower!” protested Betty, between tears and laughter, trembling and listening for a sound.

 

“For your husband,” whispered Lady Russell, kissing her cheek, “the king has granted you a pension sufficient for you on the Continent—alas, that you must go.”

 

“Ah, but with him,” said Lady Betty smiling divinely.

 

It was while they talked that Alice came by chance upon Denis on the staircase; Denis was[Pg 296] smiling like a cherub⁹. He stood before her awkwardly.

 

“Faix,” he said, “I was afther thinking ye a sneak¹⁰, my darlint, but, shure, I misjudged ye,” he paused, shuffling¹¹ his feet with unfamiliar¹² shyness in his aspect, while Alice eyed him with prim¹³ disapproval¹⁴.

 

“My darlint,” he said, “I’m afther makin’ some aminds fer th’ batin’; will—will ye be Mrs. Dinis now?”

 

But Alice withered¹⁵ him with a look.

 

“There’s no need of ill will, my darlint,” he continued nervously¹⁶; “faix, I know a man that always bates his wife whin his affection overcomes him.”

 

“You don’t know me!” exclaimed Alice indignantly, red as a poppy.

 

Denis, not a whit¹⁷ abashed¹⁸, would have caught her hand.

 

“There’s nathing in th’ wurrld to kape us from gittin’ acquainted, me love,” he said gallantly¹⁹.

 

“Deliver me from a bloody²⁰ Papist!” said Alice piously²¹, escaping up the stair and leaving Denis grinning openly in his relief, for he had contemplated²² a noble sacrifice of his own feelings.

 

Meanwhile Lady Russell and the countess[Pg 297] had descended²³ to the drawing-room again to await my Lord of Devonshire’s arrival. Like a rose, Betty had bloomed out with joy, radiant in her beautiful gown, trembling and impatient. She paced the floor, Lady Russell watching her.

 

“Ah,” she said, “why can I not go at once to the Tower? ’Tis so hard to wait!”

 

“The duke would go with you,” Lady Russell replied quietly, “and it is best so.”

 

“He has been so good to me—to us!” Betty murmured, a break in her voice.

 

She was thinking of her father’s averted²⁴ face, her brother’s cruelty, her tittering, painted, heartless mother. “He is kinder than my own blood,” she said, “he and the king.”

 

“He remembered even the pension,” Lady Russell assented²⁵, “that good king!”

 

But Lady Betty scarcely heard her; she strained her ears to catch far other sounds. The rumble²⁶ of a heavy coach, the closing of a door, steps in the hall. She fled to the top of the staircase, like a startled bird, and looked down; through a window beside her the sun shone in. There were many below, my Lord of Devonshire, a stately figure, the Duke of Ormond, young Sir Edward Mackie, half a dozen gentlemen. But she did not see them; what were they to her?

 

[Pg 298]She saw a tall figure, a handsome, eager face, as Clancarty sprang up the stairs.

 

Lady Betty held out her arms, the sun shining in her face.

 

“Donough!” she cried, “my own true love!”

1 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

2 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

3 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

4 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

5 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

6 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

7 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

8 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

9 cherub   

n.小天使，胖娃娃

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• The cherub in the painting is very lovely.这幅画中的小天使非常可爱。

10 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

11 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

13 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

14 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

15 withered   

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

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

16 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

17 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

18 abashed   

adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He glanced at Juliet accusingly and she looked suitably abashed. 他怪罪的一瞥，朱丽叶自然显得很窘。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The girl was abashed by the laughter of her classmates. 那小姑娘因同学的哄笑而局促不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

20 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

21 piously   

adv.虔诚地

参考例句：

• Many pilgrims knelt piously at the shrine.许多朝圣者心虔意诚地在神殿跪拜。
• The priests piously consecrated the robbery with a hymn.教士们虔诚地唱了一首赞美诗，把这劫夺行为神圣化了。

22 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

23 descended   

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。

24 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

25 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

26 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。