Then there was Margaret Halley to consider. Rita had never hitherto given her confidence to anyone who was not addicted7 to the same practices as herself, and she frequently experienced embarrassment8 beneath the grave scrutiny9 of Margaret's watchful10 eyes. In another this attitude of gentle disapproval11 would have been irritating, but Rita loved and admired Margaret, and suffered accordingly.
As for Sir Lucien, she had ceased to understand him. An impalpable barrier seemed to have arisen between them. The inner man had became inaccessible12. Her mind was not subtle enough to grasp the real explanation of this change in her old lover. Being based upon wrong premises13, her inferences were necessarily wide of the truth, and she believed that Sir Lucien was jealous of Margaret's cousin, Quentin Gray.
Gray met Rita at Margaret Halley's flat shortly after he had returned home from service in the East, and he immediately conceived a violent infatuation for this pretty friend of his cousin's. In this respect his conduct was in no way peculiar14. Few men were proof against the seductive Mrs. Monte Irvin, not because she designedly encouraged admiration15, but because she was one of those fortunately rare characters who inspire it without conscious effort. Her appeal to men was sweetly feminine and quite lacking in that self-assertive and masculine “take me or leave me” attitude which characterizes some of the beauties of today. There was nothing abstract about her delicate loveliness, yet her charm was not wholly physical. Many women disliked her.
At dance, theatre, and concert Quentin Gray played the doting16 cavalier; and Rita, who was used to at least one such adoring attendant, accepted his homage17 without demur18. Monte Irvin returned to civil life, but Rita showed no disposition19 to dispense20 with her new admirer. Both Gray and Sir Lucien had become frequent visitors at Prince's Gate, and Irvin, who understood his wife's character up to a point, made them his friends.
Shortly after Monte Irvin's return Sir Lucien taxed Rita again with her increasing subjection to drugs. She was in a particularly gay humor, as the supplies from Kazmah had been regular, and she laughingly fenced with him when he reminded her of her declared intention to reform when her husband should return.
“You are really as bad as Margaret,” she declared. “There is nothing the matter with me. You talk of 'curing' me as though I were ill. Physician, heal thyself.”
“I know when and where to pull up, Rita,” he said. “A woman never knows this. If I were deprived of opium22 tomorrow I could get along without it.”
“I have given up opium,” replied Rita. “It's too much trouble, and the last time Mollie and I went—”
She paused, glancing quickly at Sir Lucien.
“Go on,” he said grimly. “I know you have been to Sin Sin Wa's. What happened the last time?”
“Well,” continued Rita hurriedly, “Monte seemed to be vaguely23 suspicious. Besides, Mrs. Sin charged me most preposterously24. I really cannot afford it, Lucy.”
“I am glad you cannot. But what I was about to say was this: Suppose you were to be deprived, not of 'chard', but of cocaine25 and veronal, do you know what would happen to you?”
“Oh!” whispered Rita, “why will you persist in trying to frighten me! I am not going to be deprived of them.”
“I persist, dear, because I want you to try, gradually, to depend less upon drugs, so that if the worst should happen you would have a chance.”
Rita stood up and faced him, biting her lip.
“Lucy,” she said, “do you mean that Kazmah—”
“I mean that anything might happen, Rita. After all, we do possess a police service in London, and one day there might be an accident. Kazmah has certain influence, but it may be withdrawn26. Rita, won't you try?”
“You know something,” she said slowly, “which you are keeping from me.”
He laughed and turned aside.
“I know that I am compelled to leave England again, Rita, for a time; and I should be a happier man if I knew that you were not so utterly28 dependent upon Kazmah.”
“Oh, Lucy, are you going away again?”
“I must. But I shall not be absent long, I hope.”
Rita sank down upon the settee from which she had risen, and was silent for some time; then:
“I will try, Lucy,” she promised. “I will go to Margaret Halley, as she is always asking me to do.”
“Good girl,” said Pyne quietly. “It is just a question of making the effort, Rita. You will succeed, with Margaret's help.”
A short time later Sir Lucien left England, but throughout the last week that he remained in London Rita spent a great part of every day in his company. She had latterly begun to experience an odd kind of remorse29 for her treatment of the inscrutably reserved baronet. His earlier intentions she had not forgotten, but she had long ago forgiven them, and now she often felt sorry for this man whom she had deliberately30 used as a stepping-stone to fortune.
Gray was quite unable to conceal31 his jealousy32. He seemed to think that he had a proprietary33 right to Mrs. Monte Irvin's society, and during the week preceding Sir Lucien's departure Gray came perilously34 near to making himself ridiculous on more than one occasion.
One night, on leaving a theatre, Rita suggested to Pyne that they should proceed to a supper club for an hour. “It will be like old times,” she said.
“But your husband is expecting you,” protested Sir Lucien.
“Let's ring him up and ask him to join us. He won't, but he cannot very well object then.”
As a result they presently found themselves descending35 a broad carpeted stairway. From the rooms below arose the strains of an American melody. Dancing was in progress, or, rather, one of those orgiastic ceremonies which passed for dancing during this pagan period. Just by the foot of the stairs they paused and surveyed the scene.
“Why,” said Rita, “there is Quentin—glaring insanely, silly boy.”
“Do you see whom he is with?” asked Sir Lucien.
“Mollie Gretna.”
“But I mean the woman sitting down.”
Rita stood on tiptoe, trying to obtain a view, and suddenly:
“Oh!” she exclaimed, “Mrs. Sin!”
The dance at that moment concluding, they crossed the floor and joined the party. Mrs. Sin greeted them with one of her rapid, mirthless smiles. She was wearing a gown noticeable, but not for quantity, even in that semi-draped assembly. Mollie Gretna giggled36 rapturously. But Gray's swiftly changing color betrayed a mood which he tried in vain to conceal by his manner. Having exchanged a few words with the new arrivals, he evidently realized that he could not trust himself to remain longer, and:
“Now I must be off,” he said awkwardly. “I have an appointment—important business. Good night, everybody.”
He turned away and hurried from the room. Rita flushed slightly and exchanged a glance with Sir Lucien. Mrs. Sin, who had been watching the three intently, did not fail to perceive this glance. Mollie Gretna characteristically said a silly thing.
“Oh!” she cried. “I wonder whatever is the matter with him! He looks as though he had gone mad!”
“It is perhaps his heart,” said Mrs. Sin harshly, and she raised her bold dark eyes to Sir Lucien's face.
“Oh, please don't talk about hearts,” cried Rita, willfully misunderstanding. “Monte has a weak heart, and it frightens me.”
“So?” murmured Mrs. Sin. “Poor fellow.”
“I think a weak heart is most romantic,” declared Mollie Gretna.
But Gray's behavior had cast a shadow upon the party which even Mollie's empty light-hearted chatter38 was powerless to dispel39, and when, shortly after midnight, Sir Lucien drove Rita home to Prince's Gate, they were very silent throughout the journey. Just before the car reached the house:
“Where does Mrs. Sin live?” asked Rita, although it was not of Mrs. Sin that she had been thinking.
“In Limehouse, I believe,” replied Sir Lucien; “at The House. But I fancy she has rooms somewhere in town also.”
He stayed only a few minutes at Prince's Gate, and as the car returned along Piccadilly, Sir Lucien, glancing upward towards the windows of a tall block of chambers40 facing the Green Park, observed a light in one of them. Acting41 upon a sudden impulse, he raised the speaking-tube.
“Pull up, Fraser,” he directed.
The chauffeur42 stopped the car and Sir Lucien alighted, glancing at the clock inside as he did so, and smiling at his own quixotic behavior. He entered an imposing43 doorway44 and rang one of the bells. There was an interval45 of two minutes or so, when the door opened and a man looked out.
“Is that you, Willis?” asked Pyne.
“Oh, I beg pardon, Sir Lucien. I didn't know you in the dark.”
“Not yet. Will you please follow me, Sir Lucien. The stairway lights are off.”
A few moments later Sir Lucien was shown into the apartment of Gray's which oddly combined the atmosphere of a gymnasium with that of a study. Gray, wearing a dressing-gown and having a pipe in his mouth, was standing37 up to receive his visitor, his face rather pale and the expression of his lips at variance47 with that in his eyes. But:
“Hello, Pyne,” he said quietly. “Anything wrong—or have you just looked in for a smoke?”
Sir Lucien smiled a trifle sadly.
“I wanted a chat, Gray,” he replied. “I'm leaving town tomorrow, or I should not have intruded48 at such an unearthly hour.”
“No intrusion,” muttered Gray; “try the armchair, no, the big one. It's more comfortable.” He raised his voice: “Willis, bring some fluid!”
Sir Lucien sat down, and from the pocket of his dinner jacket took out a plain brown packet of cigarettes and selected one.
“Here,” said Gray, “have a cigar!”
“No, thanks,” replied Pyne. “I rarely smoke anything but these.”
“Never seen that kind of packet before,” declared Gray. “What brand are they?”
“No particular brand. They are imported from Buenos Ayres, I believe.”
Willis having brought in a tray of refreshments49 and departed again, Sir Lucien came at once to the point.
“I really called, Gray,” he said, “to clear up any misunderstanding there may be in regard to Rita Irvin.”
Quentin Gray looked up suddenly when he heard Rita's name, and:
“What misunderstanding?” he asked.
“Regarding the nature of my friendship with her,” answered Sir Lucien coolly. “Now, I am going to speak quite bluntly, Gray, because I like Rita and I respect her. I also like and respect Monte Irvin; and I don't want you, or anybody else, to think that Rita and I are, or ever have been, anything more than pals50. I have known her long enough to have learned that she sails straight, and has always sailed straight. Now—listen, Gray, please. You embarrassed me tonight, old chap, and you embarrassed Rita. It was unnecessary.” He paused, and then added slowly: “She is as sacred to me, Gray, as she is to you—and we are both friends of Monte Irvin.”
For a moment Quentin Gray's fiery51 temper flickered52 up, as his heightened color showed, but the coolness of the older and cleverer man prevailed. Gray laughed, stood up, and held out his hand.
“You're right, Pyne!” he said. “But she's damn pretty!” He uttered a loud sigh. “If only she were not married!”
“If only she were not, Gray,” he echoed.
He took his departure shortly afterwards, absently leaving a brown packet of cigarettes upon the table. It was an accident. Yet there were few, when the truth respecting Sir Lucien Pyne became known, who did not believe it to have been a deliberate act, designed to lure54 Quentin Gray into the path of the poppy.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
intervention
|
|
| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
halcyon
|
|
| n.平静的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
subterfuge
|
|
| n.诡计；藉口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
expenditures
|
|
| n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
outlay
|
|
| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
expedient
|
|
| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
addicted
|
|
| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
disapproval
|
|
| n.反对，不赞成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
premises
|
|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
doting
|
|
| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
homage
|
|
| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
demur
|
|
| v．表示异议，反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
disposition
|
|
| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
dispense
|
|
| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
sardonic
|
|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
opium
|
|
| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
preposterously
|
|
| adv.反常地；荒谬地；荒谬可笑地；不合理地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
cocaine
|
|
| n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
withdrawn
|
|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
dilated
|
|
| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
remorse
|
|
| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
proprietary
|
|
| n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
perilously
|
|
| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
giggled
|
|
| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
chatter
|
|
| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
dispel
|
|
| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
chambers
|
|
| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
chauffeur
|
|
| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
variance
|
|
| n.矛盾，不同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
intruded
|
|
| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
refreshments
|
|
| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
pals
|
|
| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
flickered
|
|
| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
pathos
|
|
| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
lure
|
|
| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |