Seven（2）

II
He did not rise to greet her. He merely said, and the timbre¹ of his voicewas slightly changed:
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Betterton.”
For a moment Hilary stood motionless. Astonishment² held her in itsgrip. So this—was it! She pulled herself together. This is what you’ve beenexpecting. Act as you think she would act. She came forward and saideagerly:
“You have news for me? You can help me?”
He nodded, then said reproachfully:
“I found you, Madame, somewhat obtuse³ upon the train. Perhaps youare too well accustomed to talk of the weather.”
“The weather?” She stared at him, bewildered.
What had he said about weather on the train? Cold? Fog? Snow?
Snow. That was what Olive Betterton had whispered as she lay dying.
And she had quoted a silly little jingle—what was it?
Snow, snow, beautiful snow,
You slip on a lump and over you go.
Hilary repeated it falteringly⁴ now.
“Exactly—why did you not respond with that immediately as ordered?”
“You don’t understand. I have been ill. I was in a plane crash and after-wards in hospital with concussion⁵. It’s affected⁶ my memory in all sorts ofways. Everything long ago is clear enough, but there are terrible blanks—great gaps.” She let her hands rise to her head. She found it easy enough togo on with a real tremor⁷ in her voice. “You can’t understand how frighten-ing that is. I keep feeling that I’ve forgotten important things—really im-portant things. The more I try to get them back, the less they will come.”
“Yes,” said Laurier, “the aeroplane crash was unfortunate.” He spoke⁸ ina cold businesslike way. “It is going to be a question of whether you havethe necessary stamina⁹ and courage to continue your journey.”
“Of course I’m going to continue my journey,” cried Hilary. “My hus-band—” her voice broke.
He smiled, but not a very pleasant smile. Faintly catlike.
“Your husband,” he said, “is, I understand, awaiting you with eager-ness.”
Hilary’s voice broke.
“You have no idea,” she said, “no idea what it’s been like these monthssince he went away.”
“Do you think the British authorities came to a definite conclusion as towhat you did or did not know?”
Hilary stretched out her hands with a wide gesture.
“How do I know—how can I tell? They seemed satisfied.”
“All the same .?.?.” He stopped.
“I think it quite possible,” said Hilary slowly, “that I have been followedhere. I can’t pick out any one particular person but I have had the feelingever since I left England that I am under observation.”
“Naturally,” said Laurier, coldly. “We expected no less.”
“I thought I ought to warn you.”
“My dear Mrs. Betterton, we are not children. We understand what weare doing.”
“I’m sorry,” said Hilary, humbly¹⁰. “I’m afraid I’m very ignorant.”
“It does not matter if you are ignorant so long as you are obedient.”
“I shall be obedient,” said Hilary in a low voice.
“You were closely watched in England, I have no doubt, ever since theday of your husband’s departure. Nevertheless, the message came to you,did it not?”
“Yes,” said Hilary.
“Now,” said Laurier in a businesslike manner, “I will give you your in-structions, Madame.”
“Please do.”
“From here you will proceed to Marrakesh the day after tomorrow. Thatis as you planned and in accordance with your reservations.”
“Yes.”
“The day after you arrive there you will receive a telegram from Eng-land. What it will say I do not know, but it will be sufficient for you tomake plans immediately to return to England.”
“I am to return to England?”
“Please listen. I have not finished. You will book a seat on a plane leav-ing Casablanca the following day.”
“Supposing I cannot get reservations — supposing the seats are allbooked?”
“They will not be all booked. Everything is arranged for. Now, you un-derstand your instructions?”
“I understand.”
“Then please return to where your guide is waiting. You have been longenough in this ladies’ toilet. By the way, you have become friendly with anAmerican woman and an Englishwoman who are now staying at the Pal-ais Djamai?”
“Yes. Has that been a mistake? It has been difficult to avoid.”
“Not at all. It suits our plans admirably. If you can persuade one orother of them to accompany you to Marrakesh, so much the better. Good-bye, Madame.”
“Au revoir, Monsieur.”
“It is unlikely,” Monsieur Laurier told her with a complete lack of in-terest, “that I shall meet you again.”
Hilary retraced¹¹ her steps to the ladies’ toilet. This time she found theother door unfastened. A few minutes later she had rejoined the guide inthe tearoom.
“I got very nice car waiting,” said the guide. “I take you now for verypleasant instructive drive.”
The expedition proceeded according to plan.

1 timbre   

n.音色，音质

参考例句：

• His voice had a deep timbre.他嗓音低沉。
• The timbre of the violin is far richer than that of the mouth organ.小提琴的音色远比口琴丰富。

2 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

3 obtuse   

adj.钝的；愚钝的

参考例句：

• You were too obtuse to take the hint.你太迟钝了，没有理解这种暗示。
• "Sometimes it looks more like an obtuse triangle,"Winter said.“有时候它看起来更像一个钝角三角形。”温特说。

4 falteringly   

口吃地，支吾地

参考例句：

• The German war machine had lumbered falteringly over the frontier and come to a standstill Linz. 德国的战争机器摇摇晃晃，声音隆隆地越过了边界，快到林茨时却走不动了。

5 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

8 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

10 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

11 retraced   

v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• We retraced our steps to where we started. 我们折回我们出发的地方。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We retraced our route in an attempt to get back on the right path. 我们折返，想回到正确的路上。 来自《简明英汉词典》