Dhé! And was this the way most families were behaving toward one another? Kelpie found it baffling and achingly strange, and vaguely3 annoying; and on the whole she was glad enough to have been forgotten for the moment while she recovered her usual cool head.
Talk rose and surged in a mixture of Gaelic and English. Cameron of Glenfern paced back and forth4, the rusty-red and green of his kilt swinging about strong knees. Lady Glenfern, smiling and anxious at once, sat in a carved oak chair, her harebell-blue skirts billowing about her feet. Two small kilted lads pranced5 with excitement, a bittie
[37]
lass clamored to be away up in Ian’s arms, and a bonnie lass in green, perhaps near Kelpie’s age, clung affectionately to both Ian and Alex at once.
Through the open window Kelpie could see Lachlan standing6 in a ring of laughing and chattering7 clansmen, and it began to dawn on her that this was no ordinary homecoming. The lads had been away to school in a far-off place in England and had returned quite unexpectedly with important news.
“We knew that King Charles had fled London and set up his court at Oxford,” said Glenfern. “And you wrote that Montrose was there, awaiting permission to come and raise an army in Scotland for the King. Now you say he’s coming?”
“Aye so,” said Alex cynically9, “but a bit late, now that Argyll has got all the Lowlands and some of the Highlands well under the thumb of the cursed Covenant11! Were you knowing that the Covenant army has crossed the border into England and will be fighting along with the Parliament army against the King?”
“Dhé!” exclaimed Glenfern in dismay. “Is it too late, then? Why was the King waiting so long?”
Alex shrugged12. “Och, King Charles has a grand talent for not seeing what he doesn’t like, and for doing the wrong thing altogether or the right thing too late.”
Ian, whose loyalty13 was a simple and wholehearted thing, frowned at his foster brother. “He’s our king and
[38]
a Stewart,” he reminded him and then turned to his father. “At any rate, we were thinking we’d best come home while we still could—and perhaps join Montrose when he arrives.”
None of this meant a great deal to Kelpie, so she began looking around with greedy wonder at the drawing room. Och, the glowing fine old silver on the sideboard, the great portraits on the tapestry-hung walls, the grand, massive carved furniture worn smooth as silk by time and polish, and the damask draperies at real glass windows! It wasn’t fair that some people should have so much! They should be sharing it, they should, and it was up to Kelpie, she felt, to see to the sharing.
A small silver snuff box was lying on a table near her; an instant later, it wasn’t. Kelpie’s long slanted14 eyes flickered15 with satisfaction, but before she could so much as thrust her loot under her rags, a redheaded figure bent16 over her and a sinewy17 long hand grasped her wrist gently but with great strength.
“Really, Ian,” observed Alex lazily, “you must be paying more attention to your guest.”
“Ssssss!” said Kelpie, again wishing she could cast the Evil Eye on him. But instead the eyes of the entire family were now on her.
“My sorrow!” said Ian ruefully. “I was forgetting!”
“A shame to all of us, and she injured!” declared his mother, standing up. “’Tis only for the night, you were
[39]
saying, Ian? Well, so, we will see to the shoulder—but not in the house, I think,” she added, looking at Kelpie’s filthy18 clothes.
“No,” agreed her husband. “Come away out to the wee room in the stable, which will do nicely, I think.”
And Kelpie, who had expected to be beaten and turned out for her theft, stared. They were daft, all of them! But presently she forgot their daftness because of the surprisingly painful business of having her shoulder tended. She gritted19 her teeth and cursed vigorously, and after it was over she was glad enough to lie down on the small cot in the stable-room and be left alone to sleep.
Kelpie awoke with an oppressive sense of being trapped. Blindly hostile walls and ceiling surrounded her, shutting out sky and wind. In sudden panic she would have leaped up and fled to the safety of outside, but the first movement brought the sharp, forgotten pain of her shoulder. She gasped20 slightly, blinked, and noticed a pair of dark eyes regarding her from a flower face. It was the wee bit of a lassie she had seen in the big house, who stood watching Kelpie with grave sympathy. She was a tiny thing, her body slight as it rose from the primrose21 bulk of her long skirts, but Kelpie was disconcerted. The gaze seemed to understand too much.
“Poor lady!” said the mite22, shaking her honey-brown head sorrowfully. “Is it a sore bad hurt, then?”
[40]
Kelpie said nothing.
Light danced into the dark eyes. “Wee Mairi will kiss it and make it well.” Quite undeterred by thoughts of cleanliness, the child leaned over the cot and dropped a soft kiss on the bandages covering Kelpie’s shoulder, and then another on her cheek. “Now it will stop hurting, just, and you can be happy,” she announced. Crooking23 a small finger in the old gesture of calling down a blessing24 from heaven, she turned and trotted25 out, leaving a shaken Kelpie behind her.
Nothing like this had ever happened to her before! Children had always clung to their mothers, frightened of the witch’s lass. No one at all had ever kissed her and Kelpie, to her dismay, found that her eyes had filled with tears. Och, this would never do at all! She must be hard and strong, or else how would she ever survive in the world she knew? She closed her treacherous26 eyes and concentrated on subduing27 the weakness.
The weakness was just about subdued28 when she became aware of more company in the room. This time it was a pair of seven or eight-year-old lads with penetrating29 blue eyes set in identical tanned faces which were alight with passionate30 curiosity.
Kelpie, still shaken and very much on the defensive31 from her encounter with Wee Mairi, glared at them with frank hostility32. They went on staring at her with unwavering interest. Dhé! They were nearly as disconcerting as
[41]
Wee Mairi—and there were two of them. Kelpie decided33 to take the offensive.
“Ssssss!” she hissed34, baring her teeth and beetling35 her thick eyebrows36 menacingly. The bright eyes rounded slightly, but with increased curiosity rather than alarm.
“Were you crying?” asked one boy candidly37.
“Are you a witch?” demanded the other.
Kelpie considered. It wasn’t in the least safe to be thought a witch. It could lead to all sorts of uncomfortable and fatal things. On the other hand, she had never known real safety in any case, and it would be pleasant to impress, or even frighten, these complacent38 lads.
“I am so,” she said with an intimidating39 scowl40. “I can put curses on ye, or the Evil Eye whatever.”
They were unintimidated. “Show us!” suggested one hopefully.
“Alex was saying you cannot,” challenged the other.
“Och, just you wait!” said Kelpie darkly. “I will be fixing that Alex as ever was!”
“What will you do to him?” persisted the skeptic41 with morbid42 curiosity.
“What is your name?” asked his twin.
“Kelpie!” said she in triumph, and at last she had impressed them. For every Highland10 child knew that a Kelpie was a kind of fairy person, a water witch who wails43 at night by lochs and rivers for a victim, or cries for admittance at shuttered windows.
[42]
“I don’t believe it,” said the skeptical44 twin, but he said it halfheartedly.
“Ronald! Donald!” The green-frocked lass who was Kelpie’s age stood in the doorway45, with a big-boned young woman behind her carrying a tray. “Och, naughty lads! Ye shouldn’t be bothering in here, and well ye know it!”
“She’s a witch, and a kelpie too,” reported one of them, unabashed.
“At least she says so, but we haven’t seen her put a spell yet,” added the other. “When will you be showing us one?”
The young woman nearly dropped her tray as she hastily tried to make the sign of the cross. Her young mistress looked faintly alarmed but stood her ground. “Be away, now,” she told the twins. “I’ll take that, Fiona.” She took the tray from the quaking Fiona and set it on a stool beside Kelpie’s cot.
“We thought you’d be waking up hungry,” she said and then looked at Kelpie apologetically, as if ashamed of her own good fortune and pretty clothes. “My name is Eithne,” she added, pronouncing it “Ay-na,” with the Highland lilt in her voice. “And the twins must not be saying such things—about your being a witch, I mean. Are you?” she asked, overcome by curiosity.
Kelpie already had hand and mouth full of cold venison
[43]
pie and new-baked bannocks and had no intention of risking the rest of the food. She shook her head firmly and put on her most innocent and helpless expression.
“Och, no!” she mumbled46 truthfully around her bannock. “Not I!”
At this moment a gaunt black cat sidled through the open door, spat47 at Fiona, and with a joyful48 yowl leaped right on top of Kelpie. This was unfortunate, since black cats were known to have a fondness for witches.
Fiona backed up to the door, crossing herself furiously, and Eithne looked awed49. “Dhé!” she whispered. “Dubh has never done that before for anyone!”
Kelpie looked at Dubh with a mixture of pleasure and irritation50. She liked cats, but this one had timed his appearance poorly.
Dubh looked back at her, great topaz eyes glowing into hers steadily51 and inscrutably, and his purring filled the room.
“He is wanting some food,” suggested Kelpie lamely52. But Dubh didn’t show the slightest interest in her meal. Instead, he arranged himself comfortably on top of her legs.
“Animals are always liking53 me,” Kelpie went on with better success. Eithne’s face brightened and cleared. Of course! And if animals liked a person, it was a sure sign that the person was to be trusted. Eithne, like her brother,
[44]
wanted to think the best of everyone, especially of those whom life seemed to have treated unfairly. Besides, Kelpie interested her.
Presently she was seated on the edge of the cot, listening to the lurid54 tale of Kelpie’s life and even being shown some of the scars and bruises55 on the thin shoulders and back. Eithne was hot and shaking with shocked indignation. It was perfectly56 dreadful, appalling57!
And Kelpie, rising to great tragic58 heights, played up to the most sympathetic audience she had ever had. The long ringed eyes fixed59 on Eithne’s brown ones were soft and luminous60 and oh, so innocent.
But the “innocent” eyes reminded Alex of Dubh’s, as he entered the room and got a good view of both pairs. He hadn’t been easy in his mind about Eithne’s being in here so long. Ringed eyes like that weren’t canny61. The lass might well be a witch, at that, though likely too young to be very dangerous. All the same, his foster sister must be protected.
“Come away from her and out of here!” he ordered Eithne brusquely.
He should have known better. She whirled on him, round chin jutting62 out indignantly. “And will you be judging her unfairly, like all the villagers and all?” Eithne demanded. “Don’t deny it, Alex MacDonald! You’re thinking hard, suspicious things about her this very minute!”
Alex’s sunburned face looked disconcerted at this sudden
[45]
attack, but only for an instant. “Oh, aye,” he agreed cheerfully. “I am that. And why wouldn’t I be, with the many reasons she’s given me already? Has she put a spell on you, m’eudail? Best be away to the house and see if Catriona can break it.”
Eithne stamped her foot, but it wasn’t easy to find a retort. “You—you talk like a Covenanter!” she finally flung at him scathingly and flounced out in a swirl63 of petticoats, Fiona behind her.
Alex scratched his red head, more confounded by her passion than by her rather shaky logic64. He grinned wryly65 at Kelpie, who looked back at him in triumph.
“Poor innocent waif!” he jeered66, putting one foot up on the edge of the cot, where Dubh spat at it. He rested an elbow on his kilted knee and stared at Kelpie with interest. She stared back through slitted eyes.
“Before you’re up and away again,” he said, casually67, “I’ve a wee word to be saying to you, and it is this. Unlike Ian and Eithne, I’ve a nasty suspicious mind, I have.” He wagged his head sadly. “And I’ve a picture in my head of you away off tomorrow bearing every movable thing in the glen hid in your rags, and we sitting here without so much as a stick of furniture left to us.”
“Indeed, and I would never be doing such a thing!” cried Kelpie indignantly. “How could I be carrying it all?”
Alex laughed outright68. Kelpie scowled69. She had been
[46]
cursed and beaten often enough, but she had never before been laughed at, and she didn’t like it.
Alex stopped laughing and grinned at her. “Well, so, and I’ve a soft heart in me, so I’ll be doing nothing about such matters as pocket-picking or a certain snuff box, nor will anyone else, I think. But”—and he leaned forward a little—“should anything else just happen to be missing when you leave, then you’ll be finding the hand of every Cameron and MacDonald, all through the Great Glen and Lochaber from Loch Leven to Loch Ness, turned against you.”
Kelpie showed sharp white teeth in a defiant70 laugh. “Are you thinking I’ve never heard threats before?”
“Aye, I’m sure you have, and most unpleasant ones,” retorted Alex. “But have you ever had one like this carried out, and two entire clans8 arrayed against you, and every ghillie on the watch?”
Kelpie narrowed her eyes. He had her, just! And to have the Great Glen and Lochaber closed against them would be a sore handicap indeed.
“Sssss!” said Kelpie with deep sincerity71.
Alex grinned again. “I’m not done,” he said briskly. “It seems that my foster sister has given you her friendship. You’re not deserving it, of course, but for Eithne that’s good enough reason for giving it. Now, I am fond of Eithne, and if you should be taking advantage of her or hurting her in any way, I shall see to it that you are punished—even
[47]
if I must denounce you as a witch. Do you understand?”
It was a fearful threat, and Kelpie, used to bluster72 and invective73, was unnerved by his very calm.
“Nathrach!” She spat “Remember, witches can curse! Shall I be putting the Evil Eye on you?” And she widened her slanted eyes until the dark and light rings were smoldering74 circles.
Alex laughed again, infuriatingly. “And if you haven’t already put the Evil Eye on me at least three times today, it must be that you have not got it at all. For you’ve wanted to, haven’t you? No, I’ll wager75 you cannot do it.”
“Mina can,” muttered Kelpie sulkily.
“Now that I’ll believe,” he agreed readily. “But even the Evil Eye wouldn’t save the two of you from being burned as witches, would it?”
Och, and he was so sure of himself! Kelpie saw suddenly that great cunning and apparent submission76 were her best weapons. “And if I am keeping the bargain?” she hinted, looking at his pocket.
“We’ve no bargain.” Alex corrected her mildly. “I’m no such fool. It’s just that I’ve been telling you in a friendly way what will happen if you should be stealing anything or hurting Eithne, that’s all.” And he sauntered out, his kilt swinging jauntily77 about his brown knees.
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收听单词发音
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1
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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pranced
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance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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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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cynically
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| adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地 | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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gritted
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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crooking
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| n.弯曲（木材等的缺陷）v.弯成钩形( crook的现在分词 ) | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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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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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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subduing
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| 征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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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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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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beetling
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| adj.突出的，悬垂的v.快速移动( beetle的现在分词 ) | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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intimidating
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| vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词) | |
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scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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skeptic
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| n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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skeptical
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| adj.怀疑的，多疑的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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51
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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lamely
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| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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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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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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canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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62
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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64
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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65
wryly
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| adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地 | |
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66
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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67
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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68
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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69
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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71
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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72
bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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73
invective
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| n.痛骂，恶意抨击 | |
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74
smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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75
wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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76
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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77
jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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