A HOUSE
G wenda Reed stood, shivering a little, on the quayside.
The docks and the custom sheds and all of England that she could see, were gently waving up and down.
And it was in that moment that she made her decision—the decision that was to lead to such very momentousevents.
She wouldn’t go by the boat train to London as she had planned.
After all, why should she? No one was waiting for her, nobody expected her. She had only just got off that heavingcreaking boat (it had been an exceptionally rough three days through the Bay and up to Plymouth) and the last thingshe wanted was to get into a heaving swaying train. She would go to a hotel, a nice firm steady hotel standing1 on goodsolid ground. And she would get into a nice steady bed that didn’t creak and roll. And she would go to sleep, and thenext morning—why, of course—what a splendid idea! She would hire a car and she would drive slowly and withouthurrying herself all through the South of England looking about for a house—a nice house—the house that she andGiles had planned she should find. Yes, that was a splendid idea.
In that way she would see something of England—of the England that Giles had told her about and which she hadnever seen; although, like most New Zealanders, she called it Home. At the moment, England was not lookingparticularly attractive. It was a grey day with rain imminent2 and a sharp irritating wind blowing. Plymouth, Gwendathought, as she moved forward obediently in the queue for Passports and Customs, was probably not the best ofEngland.
On the following morning, however, her feelings were entirely3 different. The sun was shining. The view from herwindow was attractive. And the universe in general was no longer waving and wobbling. It had steadied down. Thiswas England at last and here she was, Gwenda Reed, young married woman of twenty-one, on her travels. Giles’sreturn to England was uncertain. He might follow her in a few weeks. It might be as long as six months. Hissuggestion had been that Gwenda should precede him to England and should look about for a suitable house. Theyboth thought it would be nice to have, somewhere, a permanency. Giles’s job would always entail4 a certain amount oftravelling. Sometimes Gwenda would come too, sometimes the conditions would not be suitable. But they both likedthe idea of having a home—some place of their own. Giles had inherited some furniture from an aunt recently, so thateverything combined to make the idea a sensible and practical one.
Since Gwenda and Giles were reasonably well-off the prospect5 presented no difficulties.
Gwenda had demurred6 at first at choosing a house on her own. “We ought to do it together,” she had said. ButGiles had said laughingly: “I’m not much of a hand at houses. If you like it, I shall. A bit of a garden, of course, andnot some brand-new horror—and not too big. Somewhere on the south coast was my idea. At any rate, not too farinland.”
“Was there any particular place?” Gwenda asked. But Giles said No. He’d been left an orphan7 young (they wereboth orphans) and had been passed around to various relations for holidays, and no particular spot had any particularassociation for him. It was to be Gwenda’s house—and as for waiting until they could choose it together, suppose hewere held up for six months? What would Gwenda do with herself all that time? Hang about in hotels? No, she was tofind a house and get settled in.
“What you mean is,” said Gwenda, “do all the work!”
But she liked the idea of finding a home and having it all ready, cosy8 and lived in, for when Giles came back.
They had been married just three months and she loved him very much.
After sending for breakfast in bed, Gwenda got up and arranged her plans. She spent a day seeing Plymouth whichshe enjoyed and on the following day she hired a comfortable Daimler car and chauffeur9 and set off on her journeythrough England.
The weather was good and she enjoyed her tour very much. She saw several possible residences in Devonshire butnothing that she felt was exactly right. There was no hurry. She would go on looking. She learned to read between thelines of the house agents’ enthusiastic descriptions and saved herself a certain number of fruitless errands.
It was on a Tuesday evening about a week later that the car came gently down the curving hill road into Dillmouthand on the outskirts10 of that still charming seaside resort, passed a For Sale board where, through the trees, a glimpse ofa small white Victorian villa11 could be seen.
Immediately Gwenda felt a throb12 of appreciation—almost of recognition. This was her house! Already she wassure of it. She could picture the garden, the long windows—she was sure that the house was just what she wanted.
It was late in the day, so she put up at the Royal Clarence Hotel and went to the house agents whose name she hadnoted on the board the following morning.
Presently, armed with an order to view, she was standing in the old-fashioned long drawing room with its twofrench windows giving on to a flagged terrace in front of which a kind of rockery interspersed14 with flowering shrubsfell sharply to a stretch of lawn below. Through the trees at the bottom of the garden the sea could be seen.
This is my house, thought Gwenda. It’s home. I feel already as though I know every bit of it.
The door opened and a tall melancholy16 woman with a cold in the head entered, sniffing17. “Mrs. Hengrave? I have anorder from Messrs. Galbraith and Penderley. I’m afraid it’s rather early in the day—”
Mrs. Hengrave, blowing her nose, said sadly that that didn’t matter at all. The tour of the house began.
Yes, it was just right. Not too large. A bit old-fashioned, but she and Giles could put in another bathroom or two.
The kitchen could be modernized19. It already had an Aga, fortunately. With a new sink and up-to-date equipment—Through all Gwenda’s plans and preoccupations, the voice of Mrs. Hengrave droned thinly on recounting thedetails of the late Major Hengrave’s last illness. Half of Gwenda attended to making the requisite20 noises ofcondolence, sympathy and understanding. Mrs. Hengrave’s people all lived in Kent—anxious she should come andsettle near them … the Major had been very fond of Dillmouth, secretary for many years of the Golf Club, but sheherself….
“Yes … Of course … Dreadful for you … Most natural … Yes, nursing homes are like that … Of course … Youmust be….”
And the other half of Gwenda raced along in thought: Linen21 cupboard here, I expect … Yes. Double room—niceview of sea—Giles will like that. Quite a useful little room here—Giles might have it as a dressing22 room … Bathroom—I expect the bath has a mahogany surround—Oh yes, it has! How lovely—and standing in the middle of the floor! Ishan’t change that—it’s a period piece!
Such an enormous bath!
One could have apples on the surround. And sail boats—and painted ducks. You could pretend you were in the sea… I know: we’ll make that dark back spare room into a couple of really up-to-date green and chromium bathrooms—the pipes ought to be all right over the kitchen—and keep this just as it is….
“Pleurisy,” said Mrs. Hengrave. “Turning to double pneumonia23 on the third day—”
“Terrible,” said Gwenda. “Isn’t there another bedroom at the end of this passage?”
There was—and it was just the sort of room she had imagined it would be—almost round, with a big bow window.
She’d have to do it up, of course. It was in quite good condition, but why were people like Mrs. Hengrave so fond ofthat mustard-cum-biscuit shade of wall paint?
They retraced24 their steps along the corridor. Gwenda murmured, conscientiously25, “Six, no, seven bedrooms,counting the little one and the attic26.”
The boards creaked faintly under her feet. Already she felt that it was she and not Mrs. Hengrave who lived here!
Mrs. Hengrave was an interloper—a woman who did up rooms in mustard-cum-biscuit colour and liked a frieze27 ofwisteria in her drawing room. Gwenda glanced down at the typewritten paper in her hand on which the details of theproperty and the price asked were given.
In the course of a few days Gwenda had become fairly conversant28 with house values. The sum asked was not large—of course the house needed a certain amount of modernization—but even then … And she noted13 the words “Open tooffer.” Mrs. Hengrave must be very anxious to go to Kent and live near “her people”….
They were starting down the stairs when quite suddenly Gwenda felt a wave of irrational29 terror sweep over her. Itwas a sickening sensation, and it passed almost as quickly as it came. Yet it left behind it a new idea.
“The house isn’t—haunted, is it?” demanded Gwenda.
Mrs. Hengrave, a step below, and having just got to the moment in her narrative30 when Major Hengrave was sinkingfast, looked up in an affronted31 manner.
“Not that I am aware of, Mrs. Reed. Why—has anyone—been saying something of the kind?”
“You’ve never felt or seen anything yourself? Nobody’s died here?”
Rather an unfortunate question, she thought, a split second of a moment too late, because presumably MajorHengrave—
“My husband died in the St. Monica’s Nursing Home,” said Mrs. Hengrave stiffly.
“Oh, of course. You told me so.”
Mrs. Hengrave continued in the same rather glacial manner: “In a house which was presumably built about ahundred years ago, there would normally be deaths during that period. Miss Elworthy from whom my dear husbandacquired this house seven years ago, was in excellent health, and indeed planning to go abroad and do missionarywork, and she did not mention any recent demises32 in her family.”
Gwenda hastened to soothe33 the melancholy Mrs. Hengrave down. They were now once more in the drawing room.
It was a peaceful and charming room, with exactly the kind of atmosphere that Gwenda coveted34. Her momentary35 panicjust now seemed quite incomprehensible. What had come over her? There was nothing wrong with the house.
Asking Mrs. Hengrave if she could take a look at the garden, she went out through the french windows onto theterrace.
There should be steps here, thought Gwenda, going down to the lawn.
But instead there was a vast uprising of forsythia which at this particular place seemed to have got above itself andeffectually shut out all view of the sea.
Gwenda nodded to herself. She would alter all that.
Following Mrs. Hengrave, she went along the terrace and down some steps at the far side onto the lawn. She notedthat the rockery was neglected and overgrown, and that most of the flowering shrubs15 needed pruning36.
Mrs. Hengrave murmured apologetically that the garden had been rather neglected. Only able to afford a man twicea week. And quite often he never turned up.
They inspected the small but adequate kitchen garden and returned to the house. Gwenda explained that she hadother houses to see, and that though she liked Hillside (what a commonplace name!) very much, she could not decideimmediately.
Mrs. Hengrave parted from her with a somewhat wistful look and a last long lingering sniff18.
Gwenda returned to the agents, made a firm offer subject to surveyor’s report and spent the rest of the morningwalking round Dillmouth. It was a charming and old-fashioned little seaside town. At the far, “modern” end, therewere a couple of new-looking hotels and some raw-looking bungalows37, but the geographical38 formation of the coastwith the hills behind had saved Dillmouth from undue39 expansion.
After lunch Gwenda received a telephone call from the agents saying that Mrs. Hengrave accepted her offer. With amischievous smile on her lips Gwenda made her way to the post office and despatched a cable to Giles.
Have bought a house. Love. Gwenda.
“That’ll tickle40 him up,” said Gwenda to herself. “Show him that the grass doesn’t grow under my feet!”
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1
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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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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entail
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| vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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6
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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8
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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10
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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13
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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15
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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17
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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19
modernized
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| 使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法 | |
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20
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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21
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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23
pneumonia
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| n.肺炎 | |
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24
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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frieze
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| n.(墙上的)横饰带，雕带 | |
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28
conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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30
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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31
affronted
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| adj.被侮辱的，被冒犯的v.勇敢地面对( affront的过去式和过去分词 )；相遇 | |
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32
demises
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| v.遗赠（demise的第三人称单数形式） | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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34
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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36
pruning
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| n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分 | |
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bungalows
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| n.平房( bungalow的名词复数 )；单层小屋，多于一层的小屋 | |
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38
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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39
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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40
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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