CHAPTER II.

IT IS ONE THING TO ADMIRE A PRETTY GIRL, QUITE ANOTHER THING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HER.

 

The next afternoon Sally Pendleton watched behind closed blinds as her sister drove off, proud and happy as a queen, in Jay Gardiner's handsome carriage. Louise Pendleton kissed her finger-tips gracefully² to the blinds, behind which she knew her rebellious³ sister was watching.

 

The drive through the country roads was delightful⁴, it was such a fine day, so bright, so sunshiny. Jay Gardiner seemed to feel the influence of it, and almost unconsciously cast aside the mantle⁵ of haughtiness⁶ and pride, in which he usually wrapped himself, in order to make it pleasant for the beautiful, graceful¹ girl whom fortune and fate had flung in his way.

 

Louise realized what a golden chance she was having, and made the best of it.

 

That was the beginning of the strangest romance that ever was written.

 

When Jay Gardiner helped his fair companion from the buggy, Louise Pendleton looked shyly into her companion's face, murmuring that she had had the most delightful drive of her life.

 

"I am glad you are so well pleased," answered Jay, raising his straw hat with a low bow; adding, gallantly⁷: "I must take your sister out and show her what beautiful roads we have here."

 

Louise was thoroughly⁸ diplomatic. A hot flush rose to her face, but she crushed back the words that sprung to her lips, saying sweetly:

 

"You are indeed thoughtful, Mr. Gardiner. I am sure Sally will appreciate it."

 

"We will arrange it for to-morrow," he said. "I would be delighted to have you accompany us. I will drop in at the hop⁹ this evening, and you can let me know."

 

Louise and her mother had a long talk that afternoon.

 

"I think she may as well go with you," said the mother. "I am positive that he will prefer you to your sister. Fair men usually like their opposites in complexion¹⁰."

 

The following afternoon the two sisters went driving with handsome Jay in his splendid T-cart, and were the envy of every girl in the village.

 

He did his best to entertain them. He drove them over to Great Barrington, and through the spacious¹¹ grounds that surrounded the Castle.

 

The eyes of both sisters glowed as they caught sight of the magnificent, palatial¹² house, and each resolved, in the depths of her heart, that this should be her home, and that she should reign¹³ mistress there.

 

Jay Gardiner divided his attentions so equally between the two sisters that neither could feel the least bit slighted.

 

The fortnight that followed flew by on golden wings.

 

There was not a day that Jay Gardiner did not take the two sisters on some sight-seeing expedition.

 

Every one began to wonder which of the sisters was the favorite.

 

Mrs. Pendleton watched affairs with the keenest interest.

 

"If he has a preference for either, it is certainly Louise," she told herself. "Sally seems content that it should be so."

 

All night long, after these afternoon excursions, both girls would seek their pillows, and dream the whole night through of handsome Jay Gardiner.

 

Louise would talk of him all the following morning, but Sally uttered no word; her secret was buried down in the depths of her heart.

 

Other young men of the village sought a pleasant word or a smile from gay, capricious Sally Pendleton. But she would have none of them.

 

"I will have a millionaire or nothing," she said, with a little laugh.

 

On two or three occasions, much to Sally's chagrin¹⁴, Mr. Gardiner invited Louise to drive without her.

 

"That shows which way the wind is beginning to blow," she thought; and she looked at her sister critically.

 

Louise and her mother often had long conferences when she came in from her rambles¹⁵ with him.

 

"Has he spoken?" Mrs. Pendleton would ask; and she always received the same answer in a disappointed tone—"No!"

 

"Any other girl would have had a declaration from the young man before this time."

 

"If I could make the man propose, I would be his betrothed¹⁶ without a day's delay," Louise would reply, quite discontentedly.

 

Sally would turn away quickly before they had time to notice the expression on her face.

 

One day, in discussing the matter, Mr. Pendleton observed his younger daughter gazing fixedly¹⁷ at her mother and Louise.

 

"Love affairs do not interest you, Sally," he said, with a laugh. "My dear," he said, suddenly, "you are not at all like your mother in disposition¹⁸. Could you ever love any one very much?"

 

"I do not know, papa," she answered. "I do not love many people. I only care for a few. In the way you mean, love would be a fire with me, not a sentiment."

 

How vividly¹⁹ the words came back to him afterward²⁰ when her love proved a devastating²¹ fire!

 

She had turned suddenly to the window, and seemed to forget his question.

 

No one knew what a depth of passion there was in the heart of this girl. If any one should have asked her what she craved²² most on earth, she would have replied, on the spur of the moment—"Love!"

1 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

2 gracefully   

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。

3 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

4 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。

5 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

6 haughtiness   

n.傲慢；傲气

参考例句：

• Haughtiness invites disaster,humility receives benefit. 满招损，谦受益。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Finally he came to realize it was his haughtiness that held people off. 他终于意识到是他的傲慢态度使人不敢同他接近。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

9 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

10 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

11 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

12 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

13 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

14 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

15 rambles   

（无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论

参考例句：

• He rambles in his talk. 他谈话时漫无中心。
• You will have such nice rambles on the moors. 你可以在旷野里好好地溜达溜达。

16 betrothed   

n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
• His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

17 fixedly   

adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地

参考例句：

• He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

18 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

19 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

20 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

21 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

22 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。