Speed rose next morning with a sense of his dangers and responsibilities. He had sat up late the night before, thinking things over to the accompaniment of much whisky and soda1. Therefore, his head was heavy and his eyes were dull as he crept down late to breakfast. He was inclined to take the gloomiest view of the situation; the cheerfulness of Mr. George Dashwood irritated him.
Whatever Dashwood's faults were, he did not number dissipation of that degrading kind amongst them. He looked cheerful enough as he sat before the open window reading the paper and smoking an after-breakfast cigarette. He greeted Speed heartily2.
"Why do you smoke here?" the latter growled3. "You know I can't stand the smell of tobacco before I've had my breakfast. Go outside and finish it."
"All right, my dear fellow," Dashwood said politely. There was something almost cringing4 in his manner. "Sorry to annoy you. Fine morning."
The speaker appeared anxious to please. He wanted to ignore the unpleasant feeling that Speed despised him. There was little chance now of burning incense5 on the altar of family pride; Speed took care of that. He was at no pains to conceal6 the fact that he regarded Dashwood as a pensioner7, dependent upon his bounty8, and to be treated accordingly. Dashwood had fallen a long way indeed when he accepted the hospitality of his supplanter9.
"What a confounded nuisance that old beggar is," he muttered, heedless of the fact that Slight stood by the sideboard. "I shall have to get rid of him altogether. If he had the spirit of a man he would not stay here. And they talk of the pride of the Dashwoods. Slight, why aren't there any curried10 eggs and some devilled kidneys? Am I always to be telling you about it? What a fine thing it is to be a pampered11, lazy lout12 of a man-servant. What are you gaping13 at?"
"The eggs are under the silver cover, sir," Slight replied. "The kidneys are here over the spirit lamp, sir. The rest of your remarks are unnecessary, sir."
"Sir Ralph was a gentleman, sir. He knew how to speak to his dependents."
"Oh, did he?" Speed roared, "I suppose I don't. If I like to swear at my confounded flunkeys I'll do it. They can take it out in extra wages. If this kind of thing goes on we shall part, Slight."
"Very good, sir," Slight responded. "You have only to say the word. You may be interested to hear that only last night I had great difficulty in preventing the whole of the servants from resigning in a body."
Speed had no more to say. He was half afraid of a quarrel to the end with Slight. The latter knew too much. The studied insolence15 that underlay16 his respectful manner proved that. He moved about the room now with the air of a man who is depriving himself of the decencies of life. He poured out the coffee in a lordly way, as if under protest. Speed made advances towards conciliation17.
"Mr. Mayfield is coming down tonight," he said, "he will dine here and probably stay till tomorrow. Tell the housekeeper18 this. Mr. Darnley will dine here also. I should like the cook to be sure of something extra. I can leave you to see to the wines."
"Mr. Darnley dining here, sir?" Slight asked with a rising inflection of voice. "Coming here tonight to meet that--I mean, Mr. Mayfield?"
"Well, why not? Any objection to make, Slight? Any little alteration19 to suit you? You have only to mention it."
Slight muttered a hasty apology. He had come very near to betraying himself. As he looked into Speed's bloodshot eyes he saw something there that filled his heart with a sudden fear. For the old man knew everything; there was not a single move in the game with which he was not acquainted.
But Speed had forgotten all about Slight and his little slip. A small liqueur and a cigarette put him on good terms with himself once more. It was a beautiful day, too, with a soft breeze and brilliant sunshine. Across the park the deer were moving in a dappled line; the fine old gardens were looking their very best. As Speed paced up and down the terrace one gardener and another touched their hats to him. It filled him with a feeling of pleasure--flattered self-importance. It was worth the risk to be the head of a place like this, to feel that it was all his own. And only two years before he had been the slave of the pen, the toady20 of a sweating employer.
Speed felt that he could never give it up again. In his heart he was a murderer, so far as Ralph Darnley was concerned. He had read somewhere that there were several different kinds of poisons that left no trace behind. One of these was the virus of the cobra. No doubt that could be obtained in London, where money could procure21 anything. A drop of that, and Ralph Darnley was a dead man. Nobody would be any the wiser, it would be assumed that he had died of heart failure. A comparatively small outlay22 might procure the poison. It would be worth while going to London to see.
In these circumstances Speed knew that he would not have hesitated. He really could not give up the place. He had always naturally been of extravagant23, luxurious24 tastes, and now he was in a position to gratify them to the full. The new West End tailor grovelled25 before him; jewellers and wine and cigar merchants laid their stocks at his feet; he had only to choose the list. If he rang the bell a score of servants were ready to wait on him; the costliest26 wines were at his disposal.
No, it would be impossible to give it up. Speed's mind kept harping27 on the matter of those poisons. He must try to find out where they could be procured28. Once Ralph Darnley was out of the way, nobody would trouble him any more. Once that event happened nobody would dispute his claim. But then perhaps Mayfield had an idea. Mayfield was a clever, long-headed chap, who was not disposed to be scrupulous29. On the whole, perhaps it would be as well to leave things to Mayfield.
There would be plenty of time to discuss matters before dinner. There was more than time as it turned out, for Mayfield arrived unexpectedly before luncheon30. He looked drawn31 and worried, Speed thought, but there was a grim determination in his eye that Speed liked. Mr. Dashwood met Mayfield in the friendliest possible manner. If he felt any disgust towards the newcomer he disguised it very effectively. He went off presently under a strong hint that his host and Mayfield had some important business to discuss. He was going as far as Longtown, he said, and should not be back before dinner.
"That's the way to get rid of him," Speed said as he lay back in his chair, a large cigar between his lips. Slight had placed the wine on the table and vanished. "What a useless old encumbrance32 he is about the house. I shall have to get rid of him, Mayfield. When I wrote my generous offer I hoped that Mary would come, too. Those confounded servants want keeping in hand, and, besides, nobody seems to care about calling here, so long as there is nothing in the shape of a mistress about the place."
"Everybody has been wise," Mayfield said cynically33. "Anyway, I am glad you have not got rid of old Dashwood yet. He is going to be a puppet in the play. We shall be able to make a very effective use of him before the day is out. Nothing happened yet, no kind of move on the part of the foe34, I suppose?"
"No," Speed explained, "nothing. I saw Lady Dashwood last night. She treated me just in the same way as usual, which is all the more strange if she knows who I really am."
"I don't suppose for a moment that she knows who you really are," Mayfield said. "She may know who you are not--and that's her grandson. But if Darnley was out of the way things would be quite different. Nobody would worry you any longer. How did you manage to get him to come and dine here tonight?"
"The thing worked out easily enough. I simply asked him and he said yes. He hesitated just for a moment, and then he smiled in a queer kind of way. But one thing you may be sure of--he would not have come had he known that he was going to meet you."
"Perhaps not," Mayfield grinned. "Shall we dine here tonight?"
The question was put so abruptly35 that Speed started. He could see that something evil was brooding in the mind of his companion. Mayfield's eyes were taking in the arrangements of the room as a general might survey a field of battle. There were three long windows in the room, leading to a kind of balcony outside. In front of one of the windows was a double screen in carved oak, which shielded the window and made it into a kind of alcove36. Mayfield noted37 all this with grim satisfaction, for a smile played about the corners of his hard mouth.
"I asked you if we dined here tonight?" he said again.
"Oh, yes. Why not? We generally dine here--it is so much more pleasant a room than the big dining hall. Why do you ask?"
"We will come to that presently," Mayfield replied. "I take it that those windows open to the terrace outside. Is there a seat behind that screen? I mean a seat that one could lounge in."
"A big armchair," Speed whispered. "What are you driving at?"
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1
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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cringing
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| adj.谄媚，奉承 | |
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incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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pensioner
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| n.领养老金的人 | |
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bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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supplanter
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| 排挤者，取代者 | |
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curried
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| adj.加了咖喱（或咖喱粉的），用咖哩粉调理的 | |
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pampered
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| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
lout
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| n.粗鄙的人；举止粗鲁的人 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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underlay
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的过去式 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起n.衬垫物 | |
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conciliation
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| n.调解，调停 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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toady
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| v.奉承；n.谄媚者，马屁精 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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outlay
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| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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grovelled
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的过去式和过去分词 )；趴 | |
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costliest
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| adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的 | |
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harping
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| n.反复述说 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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31
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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32
encumbrance
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| n.妨碍物，累赘 | |
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33
cynically
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| adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地 | |
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34
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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35
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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36
alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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