AT least you'll take a turn?" Heuston said; and Nona, yielding, joined the dancers balancing with slow steps about the shining floor.
Dancing meant nothing; it was like breathing; what would one be doing if one weren't dancing? She could not refuse without seeming singular; it was simpler to acquiesce1, and lose one's self among the couples absorbed in the same complicated ritual.
The floor was full, but not crowded: Pauline always saw to that. It was easy to calculate in advance, for every one she asked always accepted, and she and Maisie Bruss, in making out the list, allotted2 the requisite3 space per couple as carefully as if they had been counting cubic feet in a hospital. The ventilation was perfect too; neither draughts4 nor stuffiness5. One had almost the sense of dancing out of doors, under some equable southern sky. Nona, aware of what it cost to produce this illusion, marvelled6 once more at her tireless mother.
"Isn't she wonderful?"
Mrs. Manford, fresh, erect7, a faint line of diamonds in her hair, stood in the doorway8, her slim foot advanced toward the dancers.
"Perennially9! Ah—she's going to dance. With Cosby."
"Yes. I wish she wouldn't."
"Wouldn't with Cosby?"
"Dear, no. In general."
Nona and Heuston had seated themselves, and were watching from their corner the weaving of hallucinatory patterns by interjoined revolving10 feet.
"I see. You think she dances with a Purpose?"
The girl smiled. "Awfully11 well—like everything else she does. But as if it were something between going to church and drilling a scout12 brigade. Mother's too—too tidy to dance."
"Well—this is different," murmured Heuston.
The floor had cleared as if by magic before the advance of a long slim pair: Lita Wyant and Tommy Ardwin. The decorator, tall and supple13, had the conventional dancer's silhouette14; but he was no more than a silhouette, a shadow on the wall. All the light and music in the room had passed into the translucent15 creature in his arms. He seemed to Nona like some one who has gone into a spring wood and come back carrying a long branch of silver blossom.
"Good heavens! Quelle plastique!" piped the Marchesa over Nona's shoulder.
The two had the floor to themselves: every one else had stopped dancing. But Lita and her partner seemed unaware16 of it. Her sole affair was to shower radiance, his to attune17 his lines to hers. Her face was a small still flower on a swaying stalk; all her expression was in her body, in that long legato movement like a weaving of grasses under a breeze, a looping of little waves on the shore.
"Look at Jim!" Heuston laughed. Jim Wyant, from a doorway, drank the vision thirstily. "Surely," his eyes seemed to triumph, "this justifies18 the Cubist Cabaret, and all the rest of her crazes."
Abruptly20 the music stopped. Nona glanced across the room and saw Mrs. Manford move away from the musicians' balcony, over which the conductor had just leaned down to speak to her.
There was a short interval21; then the orchestra broke into a fox-trot and the floor filled again. Mrs. Manford swept by with a set smile—"the kind she snaps on with her tiara," Nona thought. Well, perhaps it was rather bad form of Lita to monopolize22 the floor at her mother-in-law's ball; but was it the poor girl's fault if she danced so well that all the others stopped to gaze?
Ardwin came up to Nona. "Oh, no," Heuston protested under his breath. "I wanted—"
The girl's arm was already on Ardwin's shoulder. As they circled toward the middle of the room, Nona said: "You show off Lita's dancing marvellously."
He replied, in his high-pitched confident voice: "Oh, it's only a question of giving her her head and not butting24 in. She and I each have our own line of self-expression: it would be stupid to mix them. If only I could get her to dance just once for Serge Klawhammer; he's scouring25 the globe to find somebody to do the new 'Herodias' they're going to turn at Hollywood. People are fed up with the odalisque style, and with my help Lita could evolve something different. She's half promised to come round to my place tonight after supper and see Klawhammer. Just six or seven of the enlightened—wonder if you'd join us? He's tearing back to Hollywood tomorrow."
"Is Lita really coming?"
"Well, she said yes and no, and ended on yes."
"All right—I will." Nona hated Ardwin, his sleekness27, suppleness28, assurance, the group he ruled, the fashions he set, the doctrines29 he professed—hated them so passionately30 and undiscerningly that it seemed to her that at last she had her hand on her clue. That was it, of course! Ardwin and his crew were trying to persuade Lita to go into the movies; that accounted for her restlessness and irritability31, her growing distaste for her humdrum32 life. Nona drew a breath of relief. After all, if it were only that—!
The dance over, she freed herself and slipped through the throng33 in quest of Jim. Should she ask him to take her to Ardwin's? No: simply tell him that she and Lita were off for a final spin at the decorator's studio, where there would be more room and less fuss than at Pauline's. Jim would laugh and approve, provided she and Lita went together; no use saying anything about Klawhammer and his absurd "Herodias."
"Jim? But, my dear, Jim went home long ago. I don't blame the poor boy," Mrs. Manford sighed, waylaid34 by her daughter, "because I know he has to be at the office so early; and it must be awfully boring, standing35 about all night and not dancing. But, darling, you must really help me to find your father. Supper's ready, and I can't imagine..."
"Dear Dexter? I saw him not five minutes ago, seeing off that wonderful Lita—"
"Lita? Lita gone too?" Nona watched the struggle between her mother's disciplined features and twitching38 nerves. "What impossible children I have!" A smile triumphed over her discomfiture39. "I do hope there's nothing wrong with the baby? Nona, slip down and tell your father he must come up. Oh, Stanley, dear, all my men seem to have deserted40 me. Do find Mrs. Toy and take her in to supper..."
In the hall below there was no Dexter. Nona cast about a glance for Powder, the pale resigned butler, who had followed Mrs. Manford through all her vicissitudes41 and triumphs, seemingly concerned about nothing but the condition of his plate and the discipline of his footmen. Powder knew everything, and had an answer to everything; but he was engaged at the moment in the vast operation of making terrapin42 and champagne43 appear simultaneously44 on eighty-five small tables, and was not to be found in the hall. Nona ran her eye along the line of footmen behind the piled-up furs, found one who belonged to the house, and heard that Mr. Manford had left a few minutes earlier. His motor had been waiting for him, and was now gone. Mrs. James Wyant was with him, the man thought. "He's taken her to Ardwin's, of course. Poor father! After an evening of Mrs. Toy and Amalasuntha—who can wonder? If only mother would see how her big parties bore him!" But Nona's mother would never see that.
"It's just my indestructible faith in my own genius—nothing else," Ardwin was proclaiming in his jumpy falsetto as Nona entered the high-perched studio where he gathered his group of the enlightened. These privileged persons, in the absence of chairs, had disposed themselves on the cushions and mattresses45 scattered46 about a floor painted to imitate a cunning perspective of black and white marble. Tall lamps under black domes47 shed their light on bare shoulders, heads sleek26 or tousled, and a lavish48 show of flesh-coloured legs and sandalled feet. Ardwin, unbosoming himself to a devotee, held up a guttering49 church-candle to a canvas which simulated a window open on a geometrical representation of brick walls, fire escapes and back-yards. "Sham50? Oh, of course. I had the real window blocked up. It looked out on that stupid old 'night-piece' of Brooklyn Bridge and the East River. Everybody who came here said: 'A Whistler nocturne!' and I got so bored. Besides, it was really there: and I hate things that are really where you think they are. They're as tiresome51 as truthful52 people. Everything in art should be false. Everything in life should be art. Ergo, everything in life should be false: complexions53, teeth, hair, wives ... specially54 wives. Oh, Miss Manford, that you? Do come in. Mislaid Lita?"
"Isn't she here?"
"Is she?" He pivoted55 about on the company. When he was not dancing he looked, with his small snaky head and too square shoulders, like a cross between a Japanese waiter and a full-page advertisement for silk underwear. "Is Lita here? Any of you fellows got her dissembled about your persons? Now, then, out with her! Jossie Keiler, you're not Mrs. James Wyant disguised as a dryad, are you?" There was a general guffaw56 as Miss Jossie Keiler, the octoroon pianist, scrambled57 to her pudgy feet and assembled a series of sausage arms and bolster58 legs in a provocative59 pose. "Knew I'd get found out," she lisped.
A short man with a deceptively blond head, thick lips under a stubby blond moustache, and eyes like needles behind tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, stood before the fire, bulging60 a glossy61 shirtfront and solitaire pearl toward the company. "Don't this lady dance?" he enquired62, in a voice like melted butter, a few drops of which seemed to trickle63 down his lips and be licked back at intervals64 behind a thickly ringed hand.
"Miss Manford? Bet she does! Come along, Nona; shed your togs and let's show Mr. Klawhammer here present that Lita's not the only peb—"
"Gracious! Wait till I get into the saddle!" screamed Miss Keiler, tiny hands like blueish mice darting65 out at the keyboard from the end of her bludgeon arms.
Nona perched herself on the edge of a refectory table. "Thanks. I'm not a candidate for 'Herodias.' My sister-in-law is sure to turn up in a minute."
Even Mrs. Dexter Manford's perfectly66 run house was not a particularly appetizing place to return to at four o'clock on the morning after a dance. The last motor was gone, the last overcoat and opera cloak had vanished from hall and dressing-rooms, and only one hanging lamp lit the dusky tapestries67 and the monumental balustrade of the staircase. But empty cocktail68 glasses and ravaged69 cigar-boxes littered the hall tables, wisps of torn tulle and trampled70 orchids71 strewed72 the stair-carpet, and the thicket73 of forced lilacs and Japanese plums in front of the lift drooped74 mournfully in the hot air. Nona, letting herself in with her latch-key, scanned the scene with a feeling of disgust. What was it all for, and what was left when it was over? Only a huge clearing-up for Maisie and the servants, and a new list to make out for the next time... She remembered mild spring nights at Cedarledge, when she was a little girl, and she and Jim used to slip downstairs in stocking feet, go to the lake, loose the canoe, and drift on a silver path among islets fringed with budding dogwood. She hurried on past the desecrated75 shrubs76.
Above, the house was dark but for a line of light under the library door. Funny—at that hour; her father must still be up. Very likely he too had just come in. She was passing on when the door opened and Manford called her.
"'Pon my soul, Nona! That you? I supposed you were in bed long ago."
One of the green-shaded lamps lit the big writing-table. Manford's armchair was drawn77 up to it, an empty glass and half-consumed cigarette near by, the evening paper sprawled78 on the floor.
"Was that you I heard coming in? Do you know what time it is?"
"Yes; worse luck! I've been scouring the town after Lita."
"Lita?"
"Waiting for her for hours at Tommy Ardwin's. Such a crew! He told me she was going there to dance for Klawhammer, the Hollywood man, and I didn't want her to go alone—"
Manford's face darkened. He lit another cigarette and turned to his daughter impatiently.
"I believed it because, just afterward81, the servants told me that Lita had left, and as they said you'd gone with her I supposed you'd taken her to Ardwin's, not knowing that I meant to join her there."
"Ah; I see." He lit the cigarette and puffed82 at it for a moment or two, deliberately83. "You're quite right to think she needs looking after," he began again, in a changed tone. "Somebody's got to take on the job, since her husband seems to have washed his hands of it."
"Father! You know perfectly well that if Jim took on that job—running after Lita all night from one cabaret to another—he'd lose the other, the one that keeps them going. Nobody could carry on both."
"Hullo, spitfire! Hands off our brother!"
"Rather." She leaned against the table, her eyes still on him. "And when Ardwin told me about this Klawhammer film—didn't Lita mention it to you?"
He appeared to consider. "She did say Ardwin was bothering her about something of the kind; so when I found Jim had gone I took her home myself."
"Ah—you took her home?"
Manford, settling himself back in his armchair, met the surprise in her voice unconcernedly. "Why, of course. Did you really see me letting her make a show of herself? Sorry you think that's my way of looking after her."
Nona, perched on the arm of his chair, enclosed him in a happy hug. "You goose, you!" she sighed; but the epithet84 was not for her father.
She poured herself a glass of cherry brandy, dropped a kiss on his thinning hair, and ran up to her room humming Miss Jossie Keiler's jazz-tune. Perhaps after all it wasn't such a rotten world.
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1
acquiesce
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| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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stuffiness
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| n.不通风，闷热；不通气 | |
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6
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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8
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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perennially
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| adv.经常出现地；长期地；持久地；永久地 | |
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10
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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11
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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12
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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14
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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15
translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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16
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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17
attune
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| v.使调和 | |
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18
justifies
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| 证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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monopolize
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| v.垄断，独占，专营 | |
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aggie
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| n.农校，农科大学生 | |
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24
butting
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| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
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scouring
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| 擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤 | |
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sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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sleekness
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| 油滑； 油光发亮； 时髦阔气； 线条明快 | |
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28
suppleness
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| 柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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irritability
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| n.易怒 | |
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humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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commodious
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| adj.宽敞的；使用方便的 | |
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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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41
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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terrapin
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| n.泥龟；鳖 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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48
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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49
guttering
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| n.用于建排水系统的材料；沟状切除术；开沟 | |
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50
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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51
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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52
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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53
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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pivoted
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| adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开 | |
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56
guffaw
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| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
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57
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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58
bolster
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| n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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provocative
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| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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63
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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64
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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65
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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66
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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67
tapestries
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| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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68
cocktail
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| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
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69
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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orchids
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| n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 ) | |
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72
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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73
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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74
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
desecrated
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| 毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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77
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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78
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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80
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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81
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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82
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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83
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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84
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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