It is quite half-past six; and though there is no light in the room, save the glorious flames given forth1 by the pine logs that lie on the top of the coals, still one can see that the occupants of the apartment are dressed for dinner.
Miss Darling—Sir Nicholas's fiancee—and her brother are expected to night; and so the household generally has dressed itself earlier than usual to be in full readiness to receive them.
Lady Rodney and Violet are sitting over the fire, and now Mona joins them, gowned in the blue satin dress in which she had come to meet Geoffrey, not so many months ago, in the old wood behind the farm.
"Very nice," she says, in answer to Violet's question, sinking into the chair that Miss Mansergh, by a small gesture, half languid, half kindly2, has pushed towards her, and which is close to Violet's own. "I went up the avenue, and then out on the road for about half a mile."
"It is a very late hour for any one to be on the public road," says Lady Rodney, unpleasantly, quite forgetting that people, as a rule, do not go abroad in pale-blue satin gowns, and that therefore some time must have elapsed between Mona's return from her walk and the donning of her present attire3. And so she overreaches herself, as clever people will do, at times.
"It was two hours ago," says Mona, gently. "And then it was quite daylight, or at least"—truthfully—"only the beginning of dusk."
"I think the days are lengthening," says Violet, quietly, defending Mona unconsciously, and almost without knowing why. Yet in her heart—against her will as it were—she is making room for this Irish girl, who, with her great appealing eyes and tender ways, is not to be resisted.
"I had a small adventure," says Mona, presently, with suppressed gayety. All her gayety of late has been suppressed. "Just as I came back to the gate here, some one came riding by, and I turned to see who it was, at which his horse—as though frightened by my sudden movement—shied viciously, and then reared so near me as almost to strike me with his fore-paws. I was frightened rather, because it was all so sudden, and sprang to one side. Then the gentleman got down, and, coming to me, begged my pardon. I said it didn't matter, because I was really uninjured, and it was all my fault. But he seemed very sorry, and (it was dusk as I told you, and I believe he is short sighted) stared at me a great deal."
"Well?" says Violet, who is smiling, and seems to see a joke where Mona fails to see anything amusing.
"When he was tired of staring, he said, 'I suppose I am speaking to——' and then he stopped. 'Mrs. Rodney,' replied I; and then he raised his hat, and bowed, and gave me his card. After that he mounted again, and rode away."
"But who was this gentleman?" says Lady Rodney, superciliously5. "No doubt some draper from the town."
"No; he was not a draper," says Mona, gently, and without haste.
"Whoever he was, he hardly excelled in breeding," says Lady Rodney; "to ask your name without an introduction! I never heard of such a thing. Very execrable form, indeed. In your place I should not have given it. And to manage his horse so badly that he nearly ran you down. He could hardly be any one we know. Some petty squire6, no doubt."
"No; not a petty squire," says Mona; "and I think you do know him. And why should I be ashamed to tell my name to any one?"
"The question was strictly7 in bad taste," says Lady Rodney again. "No well-bred man would ask it. I can hardly believe I know him. He must have been some impossible person."
"He was the Duke of Lauderdale," says Mona, simply. "Here is his card."
A pause.
Lady Rodney is plainly disconcerted, but says nothing. Violet follows suit, but more because she is thoroughly8 amused and on the point of laughter, than from a desire to make matters worse.
"I hope you had your hat on," says Lady Rodney, presently, in a severe tone, meant to cover the defeat. She had once seen Mona with the crimson9 silk handkerchief on her head,—Irish fashion,—and had expressed her disapproval10 of all such uncivilized headdresses.
"Yes; I wore my big Rubens hat, the one with——"
"I don't care to hear about the contents of your wardrobe," interrupts Lady Rodney, with a slight but unkind shrug11. "I am glad, at least, you were not seen in that objectionable headdress you so often affect."
"Was it the Rubens hat with the long brown feather?" asks Violet, sweetly, turning to Mona, as though compelled by some unknown force to say anything that shall restore the girl to evenness of mind once more.
"Yes; the one with the brown feather," returns Mona, quickly, and with a smile radiant and grateful, that sinks into Violet's heart and rests there.
"You told the duke who you were?" breaks in Lady Rodney at this moment, who is in one of her worst moods.
"Yes; I said I was Mrs. Rodney."
"Mrs. Geoffrey Rodney, would have been more correct. You forget your husband is the youngest son. When Captain Rodney marries, his wife will be Mrs. Rodney."
"But surely until then Mona may lay claim to the title," says Violet, quickly.
"I do not wish to lay claim to anything," says Mona, throwing up her head with a little proud gesture,—"least of all to what does not by right belong to me. To be Mrs. Geoffrey is all I ask."
She leans back in her chair, and brings her fingers together, clasping them so closely that her very nails grow white. Her thin nostrils12 dilate13 a little, and her breath comes quickly, but no angry word escapes her. How can her lips give utterance14 to a speech that may wound the mother of the man she loves!
Violet, watching her, notes the tumult15 in her mind, and, seeing how her will gains mastery over her desire, honors her for her self-control.
"No one can say we are not in time," says Jack, gayly. "It is exactly"—examining closely the ormolu-clock upon the mantelpiece—"one hour before we can reasonably expect dinner."
"And three-quarters. Don't deceive yourself, my dear fellow: they can't be here one moment before a quarter to eight."
"Then, in the meantime, Violet, I shall eat you," says Captain Rodney, amiably17, "just to take the edge off my appetite. You would be hardly sufficient for a good meal!" He laughs and glances significantly at her slight but charming figure, which is petite but perfect, and then sinks into a low chair near her.
"I hear this dance at the Chetwoodes' is to be rather a large affair," says Geoffrey, indifferently. "I met Gore18 to-day, and he says the duchess is going, and half the county."
"Does he mean going himself?" says Nicholas, idly. "He is here to-day, I know, but one never knows where he may be to-morrow, he is so erratic19."
"He is a little difficult; but, on the whole, I think I like Sir Mark better than most men," says Violet, slowly.
Whereupon Jack Rodney instantly conceives a sudden and uncalled for dislike towards the man in question.
"Lilian is such a dear girl," says Lady Rodney; "she is a very general favorite. I have no doubt her dance will be a great success."
"You are speaking of Lady Chetwoode? Was it her that called last week?" asks Mona, timidly, forgetting grammar in her nervousness.
"Yes; it was her that called last week," returns her amiable20 mother-in-law, laying an unmistakable stress upon the pronoun.
No one is listening, fortunately, to this gratuitous21 correction, or hot words might have been the result. Sir Nicholas and Geoffrey are laughing over some old story that has been brought to their recollection by this idle chattering23 about the Chetwoodes' ball; Jack and Violet are deep in some topic of their own.
"Well, she danced like a fairy, at all events, in spite of her size," says Sir Nicholas, alluding24 to the person the funny story had been about.
"You dance, of course," says Lady Rodney, turning to Mona, a little ashamed, perhaps, of her late rudeness.
"Oh, yes," says Mona, brightening even under this small touch of friendliness25. "I'm very fond of it, too. I can get through all the steps without a mistake."
At this extraordinary speech, Lady Rodney stares in bewilderment.
"Ah! Walzes and polkas, you mean?" she says, in a puzzled tone.
"Eh?" says Mrs. Geoffrey.
"You can waltz?"
"Oh, no!" shaking her lovely head emphatically, with a smile. "It's country dances I mean. Up the middle and down again, and all that," moving her hand in a soft undulating way as though keeping it in accord with some music that is ringing in her brain. Then, sweetly, "Did you ever dance a country dance?"
"No?" arching her brows, and looking really sorry for her. "What a pity! They all come quite naturally to me. I don't remember ever being taught them. The music seemed to inspire me, and I really dance them very well. Don't I Geoff?"
"I never saw your equal," says Geoffrey, who, with Sir Nicholas, has been listening to the last half of the conversation, and who is plainly suppressing a strong desire to laugh.
"Do you remember the evening you taught me the country dance that I said was like an old-fashioned minuet? And what an apt pupil I proved! I really think I could dance it now. By the by, my mother never saw one danced. She"—apologetically—"has not been out much. Let us go through one now for her benefit."
"Yes, let us," says Mona, gayly.
"Pray do not give yourselves so much trouble on my account," says Lady Rodney, with intense but subdued27 indignation.
"It won't trouble us, not a bit," says Mrs. Geoffrey, rising with alacrity28. "I shall love it, the floor is so nice and slippery. Can any one whistle?"
At this Sir Nicholas gives way and laughs out loud, whereon Mona laughs too, though she reddens slightly, and says, "Well, of course the piano will do, though the fiddle29 is best of all."
"Violet, play us something," says Geoffrey, who has quite entered into the spirit of the thing, and who doesn't mind his mothers "horrors" in the least, but remembers how sweet Mona used to look when going slowly and with that quaint30 solemn dignity of hers "through her steps."
"I shall be charmed," says Violet; "but what is a country dance? Will 'Sir Roger' do?"
"No. Play anything monotonous31, that is slow and dignified32 besides, and it will answer; in fact, anything at all," says Geoffrey, largely, at which Violet smiles and seats herself at the piano.
"Well, just wait till I tuck up the tail of my gown," says Mrs. Geoffrey, airily flinging her pale-blue skirt over her white bare arm.
"You may as well call it a train; people like it better," says Geoffrey. "I'm sure I don't know why, but perhaps it sounds better."
"There can be scarcely any question about that," says Lady Rodney, unwilling33 to let any occasion pass that may permit a slap at Mona.
"Yet the Princess D—— always calls her train a 'tail,'" says Violet, turning on her piano-stool to make this remark, which is balm to Mona's soul: after which she once more concentrates her thoughts on the instrument before her, and plays some odd old-fashioned air that suits well the dance of which they have been speaking.
Then Geoffrey offers Mona his hand, and leads her to the centre of the polished floor. There they salute34 each other in a rather Grandisonian fashion, and then separate.
The light from the great pine fire streams over all the room, throwing a rich glow upon the scene, upon the girl's flushed and earnest face, and large happy eyes, and graceful35 rounded figure, betraying also the grace and poetry of her every movement.
She stands well back from Geoffrey, and then, without any of the foolish, unlovely bashfulness that degenerates36 so often into awkwardness in the young, begins her dance.
It is a very curious and obsolete37, if singularly charming, performance, full of strange bows, and unexpected turnings, and curtseys dignified and deep.
As she advances and retreats, with her svelte38 figure drawn39 to its fullest height, and her face eager and intent upon the business in hand, and with her whole heart thrown apparently40 into the successful accomplishment41 of her task, she is looking far lovelier than she herself is at all aware.
Even Lady Rodney for the moment has fallen a prey42 to her unpremeditated charms, and is leaning forward anxiously watching her. Jack and Sir Nicholas are enchanted43.
The shadows close them in on every side. Only the firelight illumines the room, casting its most brilliant and ruddy rays upon its central figures, until they look like beings conjured44 up from the olden times, as they flit to and fro in the slow mysterious mazes45 of the dance.
Mona's waxen arms gleam like snow in the uncertain light. Each movement of hers is full of grace and verve. Her entire action is perfect.
"Her feet beneath her petticoat
Like little mice, stole in and out,
As if they feared the light.
And, oh! she dances such a way,
No sun upon an Easter day
Is half so fine a sight."
The music, soft and almost mournful, echoes through the room; the feet keep time upon the oaken floor; weird-like the two forms move through the settled gloom.
The door at the farthest end of the room has been opened, and two people who are as yet invisible stand upon the threshold, too surprised to advance, too enthralled46, indeed, by the sight before them to do so.
Only as Mrs. Geoffrey makes her final curtesy, and Geoffrey, with a laugh, stoops forward to kiss her lips instead of her hand, as acknowledgment of her earnest and very sweet performance, thereby47 declaring the same to have come to a timely end, do the new-comers dare to show themselves.
"Oh, how pretty!" cries one of them from the shadow as though grieved the dance has come so quickly to an end "How lovely!"
At this voice every one starts! Mona, slipping her hand into Geoffrey's, draws him to one side; Lady Rodney rises from her sofa, and Sir Nicholas goes eagerly towards the door.
"You have come!" cries he, in a tone Mona has never heard before, and then—there is no mistake about the fact that he and the shadow have embraced each other heartily48.
"Yes, we have indeed," says the same sweet voice again, which is the merriest and softest voice imaginable, "and in very good time too, as it seems. Nolly and I have been here for fully4 five minutes, and have been so delighted with what we have seen that we positively49 could not stir. Dear Lady Rodney, how d'ye do?"
She is a very little girl, quite half a head shorter than Mona, and, now that one can see her more plainly as she stands on the hearthrug, something more than commonly pretty.
Her eyes are large and blue, with a shade of green in them; her lips are soft and mobile; her whole expression is debonnaire, yet full of tenderness. She is brightness itself; each inward thought, be it of grief or gladness, makes itself outwardly known in the constant changes of her face. Her hair is cut above her forehead, and is quite golden, yet perhaps it is a degree darker than the ordinary hair we hear described as yellow. To me, to think of Dorothy Darling's head is always to remind myself of that line in Milton's "Comus," where he speaks of
"The loose train of thy amber-drooping hair."
She is very sweet to look at, and attractive and lovable.
"Her angel's face
As the great eye of heaven shined bright,
And made a sunshine in the shady place."
Such is Nicholas's betrothed50, to whom, as she gazes on her, all at once, in the first little moment, Mona's whole soul goes out.
She has shaken hands with everybody, and has kissed Lady Rodney, and is now being introduced to Mona.
"Your wife, Geoffrey?" she says, holding Mona's hand all the time, and gazing at her intently. Then, as though something in Mrs. Geoffrey's beautiful face attracts her strangely, she lifts her face and presses her soft lips to Mona's cheek.
A rush of hope and gladness thrills Mona's bosom51 at this gentle touch. It is the very first caress52 she has ever received from one of Geoffrey's friends or relations.
"I think somebody might introduce me," says a plaintive53 voice from the background, and Dorothy's brother, putting Dorothy a little to one side, holds out his hand to Mona. "How d'ye do, Mrs. Rodney?" he says, pleasantly. "There's a dearth54 of etiquette55 about your husband that no doubt you have discovered before this. He has evidently forgotten that we are comparative strangers; but we sha'n't be long so, I hope?"
"I hope not, indeed," says Mona giving him her hand with a very flattering haste.
"You have come quite half an hour earlier than we expected you," says Sir Nicholas, looking with fond satisfaction into Miss Darling's eyes. "These trains are very uncertain."
"It wasn't the train so much," says Doatie, with a merry laugh, "as Nolly: we weren't any time coming, because he got out and took the reins56 from Hewson, and after that I rather think he took it out of your bays, Nicholas."
"Well, I never met such a blab! I believe you'd peach on your grandmother," says her brother, with supreme57 contempt. "I didn't do 'em a bit of harm, Rodney I give you my word."
"I'll take it," says Nicholas; "but, even if you did, I should still owe you a debt of gratitude58 for bringing Doatie here thirty minutes before we hoped for her."
"Now make him your best curtsey, Dolly," says Mr. Darling, seriously; "it isn't everyday you will get such a pretty speech as that."
"And see what we gained by our haste," says Dorothy, smiling at Mona. "You can't think what a charming sight it was. Like an old legend or a fairy-tale. Was it a minuet you were dancing?"
"Oh, no; only a country dance," says Mona, blushing.
"Well, it was perfect: wasn't it, Violet?"
"I wish I could have seen it better," returns Violet, "but, you see, I was playing."
"I wish I could have seen it forever," says Mr. Darling, gallantly59, addressing Mona; "but all good things have an end too soon. Do you remember some lines like these? they come to me just now:
When you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' the sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that."
"Yes, I recollect22; they are from the 'Winter's Tale.' I think," says Mona, shyly; "but you say too much for me."
"Not half enough," says Mr. Darling, enthusiastically.
"Don't you think, sir, you would like to get ready for dinner?" says Geoffrey, with mock severity. "You can continue your attentions to my wife later on,—at your peril60."
"I accept the risk," says Nolly, with much stateliness and forthwith retires to make himself presentable.
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1
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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superciliously
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| adv.高傲地；傲慢地 | |
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squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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7
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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8
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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dilate
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| vt.使膨胀，使扩大 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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gore
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| n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶 | |
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erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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gratuitous
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| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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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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24
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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25
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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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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28
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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29
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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35
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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36
degenerates
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| 衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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svelte
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| adj.（女人）体态苗条的 | |
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39
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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40
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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43
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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44
conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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45
mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图 | |
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46
enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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47
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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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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51
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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52
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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53
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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54
dearth
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| n.缺乏，粮食不足，饥谨 | |
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55
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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56
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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57
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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58
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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59
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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60
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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