It was not until late that afternoon that Darrow could claimhis postponed1 hour with Anna. When at last he found heralone in her sitting-room2 it was with a sense of liberationso great that he sought no logical justification3 of it. Hesimply felt that all their destinies were in Miss Painter'sgrasp, and that, resistance being useless, he could onlyenjoy the sweets of surrender.
Anna herself seemed as happy, and for more explicablereasons. She had assisted, after luncheon4, at anotherdebate between Madame de Chantelle and her confidant, andhad surmised5, when she withdrew from it, that victory waspermanently perched on Miss Painter's banners.
"I don't know how she does it, unless it's by the deadweight of her convictions. She detests6 the French so thatshe'd back up Owen even if she knew nothing--or knew toomuch--of Miss Viner. She somehow regards the match as aprotest against the corruption7 of European morals. I toldOwen that was his great chance, and he's made the most ofit.""What a tactician8 you are! You make me feel that I hardlyknow the rudiments9 of diplomacy," Darrow smiled at her,abandoning himself to a perilous10 sense of well-being11.
She gave him back his smile. "I'm afraid I think nothingshort of my own happiness is worth wasting any diplomacyon!""That's why I mean to resign from the service of mycountry," he rejoined with a laugh of deep content.
The feeling that both resistance and apprehension12 were vainwas working like wine in his veins13. He had done what hecould to deflect14 the course of events: now he could onlystand aside and take his chance of safety. Underneath15 thisfatalistic feeling was the deep sense of relief that he had,after all, said and done nothing that could in the leastdegree affect the welfare of Sophy Viner. That fact took amillstone off his neck.
Meanwhile he gave himself up once more to the joy of Anna'spresence. They had not been alone together for two longdays, and he had the lover's sense that he had forgotten, orat least underestimated, the strength of the spell she cast.
Once more her eyes and her smile seemed to bound his world.
He felt that their light would always move with him as thesunset moves before a ship at sea.
The next day his sense of security was increased by adecisive incident. It became known to the expectanthousehold that Madame de Chantelle had yielded to thetremendous impact of Miss Painter's determination and thatSophy Viner had been "sent for" to the purple satin sitting-room.
At luncheon, Owen's radiant countenance16 proclaimed the happysequel, and Darrow, when the party had moved back to theoak-room for coffee, deemed it discreet17 to wander out aloneto the terrace with his cigar. The conclusion of Owen'sromance brought his own plans once more to the front. Annahad promised that she would consider dates and settledetails as soon as Madame de Chantelle and her grandson hadbeen reconciled, and Darrow was eager to go into thequestion at once, since it was necessary that thepreparations for his marriage should go forward as rapidlyas possible. Anna, he knew, would not seek any fartherpretext for delay; and he strolled up and down contentedlyin the sunshine, certain that she would come out andreassure him as soon as the reunited family had claimed itsdue share of her attention.
But when she finally joined him her first word was for theyounger lovers.
"I want to thank you for what you've done for Owen," shebegan, with her happiest smile.
"Who--I?" he laughed. "Are you confusing me with MissPainter?""Perhaps I ought to say for ME," she corrected herself.
"You've been even more of a help to us than Adelaide.""My dear child! What on earth have I done?""You've managed to hide from Madame de Chantelle that youdon't really like poor Sophy."Darrow felt the pallour in his cheek. "Not like her? Whatput such an idea into your head?""Oh, it's more than an idea--it's a feeling. But whatdifference does it make, after all? You saw her in such adifferent setting that it's natural you should be a littledoubtful. But when you know her better I'm sure you'll feelabout her as I do.""It's going to be hard for me not to feel about everythingas you do.""Well, then--please begin with my daughter-in-law!"He gave her back in the same tone of banter18: "Agreed: if youll agree to feel as I do about the pressing necessity of ourgetting married.""I want to talk to you about that too. You don't know whata weight is off my mind! With Sophy here for good, I shallfeel so differently about leaving Effie. I've seen muchmore accomplished19 governesses--to my cost!--but I've neverseen a young thing more gay and kind and human. You musthave noticed, though you've seen them so little together,how Effie expands when she's with her. And that, you know,is what I want. Madame de Chantelle will provide thenecessary restraint." She clasped her hands on his arm.
"Yes, I'm ready to go with you now. But first of all--thisvery moment!--you must come with me to Effie. She knows, ofcourse, nothing of what's been happening; and I want her tobe told first about YOU."Effie, sought throughout the house, was presently traced tothe school-room, and thither20 Darrow mounted with Anna. Hehad never seen her so alight with happiness, and he hadcaught her buoyancy of mood. He kept repeating to himself:
"It's over--it's over," as if some monstrous21 midnighthallucination had been routed by the return of day.
As they approached the school-room door the terrier's barkscame to them through laughing remonstrances22.
"She's giving him his dinner," Anna whispered, her hand inDarrow's.
"Don't forget the gold-fish!" they heard another voice callout.
Darrow halted on the threshold. "Oh--not now!""Not now?""I mean--she'd rather have you tell her first. I'll waitfor you both downstairs."He was aware that she glanced at him intently. "As youplease. I'll bring her down at once."She opened the door, and as she went in he heard her say:
"No, Sophy, don't go! I want you both."The rest of Darrow's day was a succession of empty andagitating scenes. On his way down to Givre, before he hadseen Effie Leath, he had pictured somewhat sentimentally24 thejoy of the moment when he should take her in his arms andreceive her first filial kiss. Everything in him thategotistically craved25 for rest, stability, a comfortablyorganized middle-age, all the home-building instincts of theman who has sufficiently26 wooed and wandered, combined tothrow a charm about the figure of the child who might--whoshould--have been his. Effie came to him trailing the cloudof glory of his first romance, giving him back the magichour he had missed and mourned. And how different therealization of his dream had been! The child's radiantwelcome, her unquestioning acceptance of, this new figure inthe family group, had been all that he had hoped andfancied. If Mother was so awfully27 happy about it, and Owenand Granny, too, how nice and cosy28 and comfortable it wasgoing to be for all of them, her beaming look seemed to say;and then, suddenly, the small pink fingers he had beenkissing were laid on the one flaw in the circle, on the onepoint which must be settled before Effie could, withcomplete unqualified assurance, admit the new-comer to fullequality with the other gods of her Olympus.
"And is Sophy awfully happy about it too?" she had asked,loosening her hold on Darrow's neck to tilt29 back her headand include her mother in her questioning look.
"Why, dearest, didn't you see she was?" Anna had exclaimed,leaning to the group with radiant eyes.
"I think I should like to ask her," the child rejoined,after a minute's shy consideration; and as Darrow set herdown her mother laughed: "Do, darling, do! Run off at once,and tell her we expect her to be awfully happy too."The scene had been succeeded by others less poignant30 butalmost as trying. Darrow cursed his luck in having, at sucha moment, to run the gauntlet of a houseful of interestedobservers. The state of being "engaged", in itself anabsurd enough predicament, even to a man only intermittentlyexposed, became intolerable under the continuous scrutiny31 ofa small circle quivering with participation32. Darrow wasfurthermore aware that, though the case of the other coupleought to have made his own less conspicuous33, it was ratherthey who found a refuge in the shadow of his prominence34.
Madame de Chantelle, though she had consented to Owen'sengagement and formally welcomed his betrothed35, wasnevertheless not sorry to show, by her reception of Darrow,of what finely-shaded degrees of cordiality she was capable.
Miss Painter, having won the day for Owen, was also free toturn her attention to the newer candidate for her sympathy;and Darrow and Anna found themselves immersed in a warm bathof sentimental23 curiosity.
It was a relief to Darrow that he was under a positiveobligation to end his visit within the next forty-eighthours. When he left London, his Ambassador had accorded hima ten days' leave. His fate being definitely settled andopenly published he had no reason for asking to have thetime prolonged, and when it was over he was to return to hispost till the time fixed36 for taking up his new duties. Annaand he had therefore decided37 to be married, in Paris, a dayor two before the departure of the steamer which was to takethem to South America; and Anna, shortly after his return toEngland, was to go up to Paris and begin her ownpreparations.
In honour of the double betrothal38 Effie and Miss Viner wereto appear that evening at dinner; and Darrow, on leaving hisroom, met the little girl springing down the stairs, herwhite ruffles39 and coral-coloured bows making her look like adaisy with her yellow hair for its centre. Sophy Viner wasbehind her pupil, and as she came into the light Darrownoticed a change in her appearance and wondered vaguely40 whyshe looked suddenly younger, more vivid, more like thelittle luminous41 ghost of his Paris memories. Then itoccurred to him that it was the first time she had appearedat dinner since his arrival at Givre, and the first time,consequently, that he had seen her in evening dress. Shewas still at the age when the least adornment42 embellishes;and no doubt the mere43 uncovering of her young throat andneck had given her back her former brightness. But a secondglance showed a more precise reason for his impression.
Vaguely though he retained such details, he felt sure shewas wearing the dress he had seen her in every evening inParis. It was a simple enough dress, black, and transparenton the arms and shoulders, and he would probably not haverecognized it if she had not called his attention to it inParis by confessing that she hadn't any other. "The samedress? That proves that she's forgotten!" was his firsthalf-ironic thought; but the next moment, with a pang44 ofcompunction, he said to himself that she had probably put iton for the same reason as before: simply because she hadn'tany other.
He looked at her in silence, and for an instant, aboveEffie's bobbing head, she gave him back his look in a fullbright gaze.
"Oh, there's Owen!" Effie cried, and whirled away down thegallery to the door from which her step-brother wasemerging. As Owen bent45 to catch her, Sophy Viner turnedabruptly back to Darrow.
"You, too?" she said with a quick laugh. "I didn't know----" And as Owen came up to them she added, in a tone thatmight have been meant to reach his ear: "I wish you all theluck that we can spare!"About the dinner-table, which Effie, with Miss Viner's aid,had lavishly46 garlanded, the little party had an air ofsomewhat self-conscious festivity. In spite of flowers,champagne and a unanimous attempt at ease, there werefrequent lapses47 in the talk, and moments of nervous gropingfor new subjects. Miss Painter alone seemed not onlyunaffected by the general perturbation but as tightly sealedup in her unconsciousness of it as a diver in his bell. ToDarrow's strained attention even Owen's gusts48 of gaietyseemed to betray an inward sense of insecurity. Afterdinner, however, at the piano, he broke into a mood ofextravagant hilarity49 and flooded the room with the splashand ripple50 of his music.
Darrow, sunk in a sofa corner in the lee of Miss Painter'sgranite bulk, smoked and listened in silence, his eyesmoving from one figure to another. Madame de Chantelle, inher armchair near the fire, clasped her little granddaughterto her with the gesture of a drawing-room Niobe, and Anna,seated near them, had fallen into one of the attitudes ofvivid calm which seemed to Darrow to express her inmostquality. Sophy Viner, after moving uncertainly about theroom, had placed herself beyond Mrs. Leath, in a chair nearthe piano, where she sat with head thrown back and eyesattached to the musician, in the same rapt fixity ofattention with which she had followed the players at theFrancais. The accident of her having fallen into the sameattitude, and of her wearing the same dress, gave Darrow, ashe watched her, a strange sense of double consciousness. Toescape from it, his glance turned back to Anna; but from thepoint at which he was placed his eyes could not take in theone face without the other, and that renewed the disturbingduality of the impression. Suddenly Owen broke off with acrash of chords and jumped to his feet.
"What's the use of this, with such a moon to say it for us?"Behind the uncurtained window a low golden orb51 hung like aripe fruit against the glass.
"Yes--let's go out and listen," Anna answered. Owen threwopen the window, and with his gesture a fold of the heavystar-sprinkled sky seemed to droop52 into the room like adrawn-in curtain. The air that entered with it had a frostyedge, and Anna bade Effie run to the hall for wraps.
Darrow said: "You must have one too," and started toward thedoor; but Sophy, following her pupil, cried back: "We'llbring things for everybody."Owen had followed her, and in a moment the three reappeared,and the party went out on the terrace. The deep blue purityof the night was unveiled by mist, and the moonlight rimmedthe edges of the trees with a silver blur53 and blanched54 tounnatural whiteness the statues against their walls ofshade.
Darrow and Anna, with Effie between them, strolled to thefarther corner of the terrace. Below them, between thefringes of the park, the lawn sloped dimly to the fieldsabove the river. For a few minutes they stood silently sideby side, touched to peace beneath the trembling beauty ofthe sky. When they turned back, Darrow saw that Owen andSophy Viner, who had gone down the steps to the garden, werealso walking in the direction of the house. As theyadvanced, Sophy paused in a patch of moonlight, between thesharp shadows of the yews55, and Darrow noticed that she hadthrown over her shoulders a long cloak of some light colour,which suddenly evoked56 her image as she had entered therestaurant at his side on the night of their first dinner inParis. A moment later they were all together again on theterrace, and when they re-entered the drawing-room the olderladies were on their way to bed.
Effie, emboldened57 by the privileges of the evening, was forcoaxing Owen to round it off with a game of forfeits58 or somesuch reckless climax59; but Sophy, resuming her professionalrole, sounded the summons to bed. In her pupil's wake shemade her round of good-nights; but when she proffered60 herhand to Anna, the latter ignoring the gesture held out botharms.
"Good-night, dear child," she said impulsively61, and drew thegirl to her kiss.
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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detests
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的第三人称单数 ) | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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tactician
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| n. 战术家, 策士 | |
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rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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deflect
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| v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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sentimentally
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| adv.富情感地 | |
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craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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betrothal
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| n. 婚约, 订婚 | |
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ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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lapses
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| n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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yews
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| n.紫杉( yew的名词复数 ) | |
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evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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emboldened
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
forfeits
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| 罚物游戏 | |
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climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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