CHAPTER 30 ELIZABETH ARRIVES ON THE SCENE

“Ruralizing,” quoth Elizabeth, “agrees with you.”

 

They were driving in a vehicle politely termed a Victoria. It was not unlike a good-sized bath-chair. It was driven by a one-armed boy. Seeing the driver, Elizabeth had had a moment’s qualm of heart. Then she had seen the horse.

 

“Oh, it’s a pleasant enough spot,” responded John, “and—and restful.” He coloured the merest trifle beneath his tan.

 

“Restfulness,” said Elizabeth gravely, “is delightful².”

 

But she wasn’t deceived, not a bit of it. Neither the pleasantness of Malford, nor its restfulness was accountable for that particular exuberance³ in John. It was a subtle, indefinable exuberance, which no amount of mere¹ bodily health could cause. It emanated⁴ from his mind, his spirit; [Pg 223]it surrounded him; he was bathed in it. He might pretend to its non-existence; he might pretend—allowing it—that it was the mere outcome of a country life, but Elizabeth was not deceived.

 

“Have you met the Delanceys?” she demanded.

 

“Oh, yes,” he responded airily enough. “They’re—you’ll like them. That rumour⁵ you got hold of was correct enough, by the way. There is a claimant. He’s proved his claim. It’s a mere matter of courtesy on his part that he is not already in possession. He will be by the end of the autumn.”

 

Elizabeth sat up.

 

“An American?” she said.

 

“An American,” said John. “At least he hailed originally from the States. He has been living in Africa since his boyhood.”

 

“I suppose he’s quite impossible?” said Elizabeth frowning.

 

“On the contrary,” owned John reluctantly, “he isn’t at all impossible, at any rate not in one way. Of course he’ll be entirely⁶ unsuited to his surroundings, but he is quite a decent fellow in himself.”

 

“Brr!” breathed Elizabeth, and there was a [Pg 224]hint of impatience⁷ in the sound. “A kangaroo is a decent animal in itself, but you don’t want it in your drawing-room. What do the Delanceys think about it?”

 

“Oh,” quoth John, “they accept the inevitable⁸. There’s a strong hint of the French aristocrats’ attitude towards the guillotine, in their manner; lacking, however, the scorn.”

 

“I see.” Elizabeth fell into meditation⁹.

 

“I don’t think even you can reconstruct matters,” said John smiling. “You see, the whole thing turns on that missing document.”

 

“The whole thing,” said Elizabeth, “is so blatantly¹⁰ melodramatic as to be barely respectable.”

 

John laughed.

 

“Wait till you see Lady Mary,” he said. “She saves the situation completely.”

 

Elizabeth was silent. Then:

 

“Where is the man now?” she asked.

 

“Staying at the Green Man,” said John. “I’ve had to take a room there for you. You’ll breakfast at the inn, and have the rest of your meals with us. I am sorry there isn’t another room at the White Cottage.”

 

[Pg 225]

 

“Don’t apologize,” said Elizabeth gaily¹¹. “I came down to picnic. It’s I who should apologize for thrusting myself upon you.”

 

“That,” said John decidedly, “is pure nonsense.”

 

They were ascending¹² a hill by now. Twilight¹³ was falling rapidly. Bats flew through the dusk, their shrill¹⁴ queer note breaking the silence. A great white owl¹⁵ flew noiselessly, like a huge moth¹⁶, across a field. The road was a white line between dark hedges.

 

Coming to the top of the hill, wide stretches of moorland lay around them. Far off on the horizon was a strip of silver-grey sea. In the middle distance was a hill, wood-covered, dark towers rising among the trees.

 

“Delancey Castle,” said John.

 

1 mere   

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。

2 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

3 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

4 emanated   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Do you know where these rumours emanated from? 你知道谣言出自何处吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rumor emanated from Chicago. 谣言来自芝加哥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 rumour   

n.谣言，谣传，传闻

参考例句：

• I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
• There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来，一直有谣言产生，对他进行中伤。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

10 blatantly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• Safety guidelines had been blatantly ignored. 安全规章被公然置之不顾。
• They walked grandly through the lobby, blatantly arm in arm, pretending they were not defeated. 他们大大方方地穿过门厅，故意炫耀地挎着胳膊，假装他们没有被打败。

11 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

12 ascending   

adj.上升的，向上的

参考例句：

• Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。

13 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

14 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

15 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

16 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。