Sixteen（3）

III
“Been enjoying yourself with your tame American?”
Tom Betterton threw the words at her as she entered their bedroom. Hewas lying on his back on his bed, smoking.
Hilary flushed slightly.
“We arrived here together,” she said, “and we seem to think alike aboutcertain things.”
He laughed.
“Oh! I don’t blame you.” For the first time he looked at her in a new andappraising way. “You’re a good-looking woman, Olive,” he said.
From the beginning Hilary had urged him always to call her by hiswife’s name.
“Yes,” he continued, his eyes raking her up and down. “You’re a damnedgood-looking woman. I’d have noticed that once. As it is, nothing of thatkind seems to register with me any more.”
“Perhaps it’s just as well,” said Hilary drily.
“I’m a perfectly¹ normal man, my dear, or I used to be. God knows what Iam now.”
Hilary sat down by him.
“What is the matter with you, Tom?” she said.
“I tell you. I can’t concentrate. As a scientist I’m shot to pieces. This place—”
“The others—or most of them—don’t seem to feel like you?”
“Because they’re a damned insensitive crowd, I suppose.”
“Some of them are temperamental enough,” said Hilary, drily. She wenton, “If only you had a friend here—a real friend.”
“Well, there’s Murchison. Though he’s a dull dog. And I’ve seen a gooddeal of Torquil Ericsson lately.”
“Really?” For some reason Hilary felt surprised.
“Yes. My God, he’s brilliant. I wish I had his brains.”
“He’s an odd sort of person,” said Hilary. “I always find him ratherfrightening.”
“Frightening? Torquil? He’s as mild as milk. Like a child in some ways.
No knowledge of the world.”
“Well I find him frightening,” repeated Hilary obstinately².
“Your nerves must be getting upset, too.”
“Not yet. I suspect they will, though. Tom—don’t get too friendly withTorquil Ericsson.”
He stared at her.
“Why ever not?”
“I don’t know. It’s a feeling I have.”

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 obstinately   

ad.固执地，顽固地

参考例句：

• He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。
• Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。