Anna stood looking from one to the other. It had becomeapparent to her in a flash that Owen's retort, though itstartled Sophy, did not take her by surprise; and thediscovery shot its light along dark distances of fear.
The immediate1 inference was that Owen had guessed the reasonof Darrow's disapproval2 of his marriage, or that, at least,he suspected Sophy Viner of knowing and dreading3 it. Thisconfirmation of her own obscure doubt sent a tremor4 of alarmthrough Anna. For a moment she felt like exclaiming: "Allthis is really no business of mine, and I refuse to have youmix me up in it--" but her secret fear held her fast.
Sophy Viner was the first to speak.
"I should like to go now," she said in a low voice, taking afew steps toward the door.
Her tone woke Anna to the sense of her own share in thesituation. "I quite agree with you, my dear, that it'suseless to carry on this discussion. But since Mr. Darrow'sname has been brought into it, for reasons which I fail toguess, I want to tell you that you're both mistaken if youthink he's not in sympathy with your marriage. If that'swhat Owen means to imply, the idea's a complete delusion5."She spoke6 the words deliberately7 and incisively8, as ifhoping that the sound of their utterance9 would stifle10 thewhisper in her bosom11.
Sophy's only answer was a vague murmur12, and a movement thatbrought her nearer to the door; but before she could reachit Owen had placed himself in her way.
"I don't mean to imply what you think," he said, addressinghis step-mother but keeping his eyes on the girl. "I don'tsay Darrow doesn't like our marriage; I say it's Sophy who'shated it since Darrow's been here!"He brought out the charge in a tone of forced composure, buthis lips were white and he grasped the doorknob to hide thetremor of his hand.
Anna's anger surged up with her fears. "You're absurd,Owen! I don't know why I listen to you. Why should Sophydislike Mr. Darrow, and if she does, why should that haveanything to do with her wishing to break her engagement?""I don't say she dislikes him! I don't say she likes him; Idon't know what it is they say to each other when they'reshut up together alone.""Shut up together alone?" Anna stared. Owen seemed like aman in delirium13; such an exhibition was degrading to themall. But he pushed on without seeing her look.
"Yes--the first evening she came, in the study; the nextmorning, early, in the park; yesterday, again, in thespring-house, when you were at the lodge14 with the doctor...Idon't know what they say to each other, but they've takenevery chance they could to say it...and to say it when theythought that no one saw them."Anna longed to silence him, but no words came to her. It wasas though all her confused apprehensions15 had suddenly takendefinite shape. There was "something"--yes, there was"something"...Darrow's reticences and evasions16 had been morethan a figment of her doubts.
The next instant brought a recoil17 of pride. She turnedindignantly on her step-son.
"I don't half understand what you've been saying; but whatyou seem to hint is so preposterous18, and so insulting bothto Sophy and to me, that I see no reason why we shouldlisten to you any longer."Though her tone steadied Owen, she perceived at once that itwould not deflect19 him from his purpose. He spoke lessvehemently, but with all the more precision.
"How can it be preposterous, since it's true? Or insulting,since I don't know, any more than YOU, the meaning ofwhat I've been seeing? If you'll be patient with me I'll tryto put it quietly. What I mean is that Sophy has completelychanged since she met Darrow here, and that, having noticedthe change, I'm hardly to blame for having tried to find outits cause."Anna made an effort to answer him with the same composure.
"You're to blame, at any rate, for so recklessly assumingthat you HAVE found it out. You seem to forget that,till they met here, Sophy and Mr. Darrow hardly knew eachother.""If so, it's all the stranger that they've been so oftencloseted together!""Owen, Owen--" the girl sighed out.
He turned his haggard face to her. "Can I help it, if I'veseen and known what I wasn't meant to? For God's sake giveme a reason--any reason I can decently make out with! Is itmy fault if, the day after you arrived, when I came backlate through the garden, the curtains of the study hadn'tbeen drawn20, and I saw you there alone with Darrow?"Anna laughed impatiently. "Really, Owen, if you make it agrievance that two people who are staying in the same houseshould be seen talking together----!""They were not talking. That's the point----""Not talking? How do you know? You could hardly hear themfrom the garden!""No; but I could see. HE was sitting at my desk, withhis face in his hands. SHE was standing21 in the window,looking away from him..."He waited, as if for Sophy Viner's answer; but still sheneither stirred nor spoke.
"That was the first time," he went on; "and the second wasthe next morning in the park. It was natural enough, theirmeeting there. Sophy had gone out with Effie, and Effie ranback to look for me. She told me she'd left Sophy andDarrow in the path that leads to the river, and presently wesaw them ahead of us. They didn't see us at first, becausethey were standing looking at each other; and this time theywere not speaking either. We came up close before theyheard us, and all that time they never spoke, or stoppedlooking at each other. After that I began to wonder; and soI watched them.""Oh, Owen!""Oh, I only had to wait. Yesterday, when I motored you andthe doctor back from the lodge, I saw Sophy coming out ofthe spring-house. I supposed she'd taken shelter from therain, and when you got out of the motor I strolled back downthe avenue to meet her. But she'd disappeared--she musthave taken a short cut and come into the house by the sidedoor. I don't know why I went on to the spring-house; Isuppose it was what you'd call spying. I went up the stepsand found the room empty; but two chairs had been moved outfrom the wall and were standing near the table; and one ofthe Chinese screens that lie on it had dropped to thefloor."Anna sounded a faint note of irony22. "Really? Sophy'd gonethere for shelter, and she dropped a screen and moved achair?""I said two chairs----""Two? What damning evidence--of I don't know what!""Simply of the fact that Darrow'd been there with her. As Ilooked out of the window I saw him close by, walking away.
He must have turned the corner of the spring-house just as Igot to the door."There was another silence, during which Anna paused, notonly to collect her own words but to wait for Sophy Viner's;then, as the girl made no sign, she turned to her.
"I've absolutely nothing to say to all this; but perhapsyou'd like me to wait and hear your answer?"Sophy raised her head with a quick flash of colour. "I've noanswer either--except that Owen must be mad."In the interval23 since she had last spoken she seemed to haveregained her self-control, and her voice rang clear, with acold edge of anger.
Anna looked at her step-son. He had grown extremely pale,and his hand fell from the door with a discouraged gesture.
"That's all then? You won't give me any reason?""I didn't suppose it was necessary to give you or any oneelse a reason for talking with a friend of Mrs. Leath'sunder Mrs. Leath's own roof."Owen hardly seemed to feel the retort: he kept his doggedstare on her face.
"I won't ask for one, then. I'll only ask you to give meyour assurance that your talks with Darrow have had nothingto do with your suddenly deciding to leave Givre."She hesitated, not so much with the air of weighing heranswer as of questioning his right to exact any. "I giveyou my assurance; and now I should like to go," she said.
As she turned away, Anna intervened. "My dear, I think youought to speak."The girl drew herself up with a faint laugh. "To him--or toYOU?""To him."She stiffened24. "I've said all there is to say."Anna drew back, her eyes on her step-son. He had left thethreshold and was advancing toward Sophy Viner with a motionof desperate appeal; but as he did so there was a knock onthe door. A moment's silence fell on the three; then Annasaid: "Come in!"Darrow came into the room. Seeing the three together, helooked rapidly from one to the other; then he turned to Annawith a smile.
"I came up to see if you were ready; but please send me offif I'm not wanted."His look, his voice, the simple sense of his presence,restored Anna's shaken balance. By Owen's side he looked sostrong, so urbane25, so experienced, that the lad's passionatecharges dwindled26 to mere27 boyish vapourings. A moment agoshe had dreaded28 Darrow's coming; now she was glad that hewas there.
She turned to him with sudden decision. "Come in, please; Iwant you to hear what Owen has been saying."She caught a murmur from Sophy Viner, but disregarded it.
An illuminating29 impulse urged her on. She, habitually30 soaware of her own lack of penetration31, her small skill inreading hidden motives32 and detecting secret signals, nowfelt herself mysteriously inspired. She addressed herself toSophy Viner. "It's much better for you both that thisabsurd question should be cleared up now " Then, turning toDarrow, she continued: "For some reason that I don't pretendto guess, Owen has taken it into his head that you'veinfluenced Miss Viner to break her engagement."She spoke slowly and deliberately, because she wished togive time and to gain it; time for Darrow and Sophy toreceive the full impact of what she was saying, and time toobserve its full effect on them. She had said to herself:
"If there's nothing between them, they'll look at eachother; if there IS something, they won't;" and as sheceased to speak she felt as if all her life were in hereyes.
Sophy, after a start of protest, remained motionless, hergaze on the ground. Darrow, his face grown grave, glancedslowly from Owen Leath to Anna. With his eyes on the latterhe asked: "Has Miss Viner broken her engagement?"A moment's silence followed his question; then the girllooked up and said: "Yes!"Owen, as she spoke, uttered a smothered33 exclamation34 andwalked out of the room. She continued to stand in the sameplace, without appearing to notice his departure, andwithout vouchsafing35 an additional word of explanation; then,before Anna could find a cry to detain her, she too turnedand went out.
"For God's sake, what's happened?" Darrow asked; but Anna,with a drop of the heart, was saying to herself that he andSophy Viner had not looked at each other.
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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incisively
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| adv.敏锐地，激烈地 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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evasions
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| 逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口 | |
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recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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deflect
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| v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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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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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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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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stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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urbane
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| adj.温文尔雅的，懂礼的 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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vouchsafing
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的现在分词 )；允诺 | |
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