Three（1）

Three
I
Hester went slowly up the stairs pushing back the dark hair from her highforehead. Kirsten Lindstrom met her at the top of the stairs.
“Has he gone?”
“Yes, he’s gone.”
“You have had a shock, Hester.” Kirsten Lindstrom laid a gentle hand onher shoulder. “Come with me. I will give you a little brandy. All this, it hasbeen too much.”
“I don’t think I want any brandy, Kirsty.”
“Perhaps you do not want it, but it will be good for you.”
Unresisting, the young girl allowed herself to be steered¹ along the pas-sage and into Kirsten Lindstrom’s own small sitting room. She took thebrandy that was offered her and sipped² it slowly. Kirsten Lindstrom saidin an exasperated³ voice:
“It has all been too sudden. There should have been warning. Why didnot Mr. Marshall write first?”
“I suppose Dr. Calgary wouldn’t let him. He wanted to come and tell ushimself.”
“Come and tell us himself, indeed! What does he think the news will doto us?”
“I suppose,” said Hester, in an odd, toneless voice, “he thought weshould be pleased.”
“Pleased or not pleased, it was bound to be a shock. He should not havedone it.”
“But it was brave of him, in a way,” said Hester. The colour came up inher face. “I mean, it can’t have been an easy thing to do. To come and tell afamily of people that a member of it who was condemned⁴ for murder anddied in prison was really innocent. Yes, I think it was brave of him—but Iwish he hadn’t all the same,” she added.
“That—we all wish that,” said Miss Lindstrom briskly.
Hester looked at her with her interest suddenly aroused from her ownpreoccupation.
“So you feel that too, Kirsty? I thought perhaps it was only me.”
“I am not a fool,” said Miss Lindstrom sharply. “I can envisage⁵ certainpossibilities that your Dr. Calgary does not seem to have thought about.”
Hester rose. “I must go to Father,” she said.
Kirsten Lindstrom agreed.
“Yes. He will have had time now to think what is best to be done.”
As Hester went into the library Gwenda Vaughan was busy with thetelephone. Her father beckoned⁶ to her and Hester went over and sat onthe arm of his chair.
“We’re trying to get through to Mary and to Micky,” he said. “They oughtto be told at once of this.”
“Hallo,” said Gwenda Vaughan. “Is that Mrs. Durrant? Mary? GwendaVaughan here. Your father wants to speak to you.”
Leo went over and took up the receiver.
“Mary? How are you? How is Philip?… Good. Something rather ex-traordinary has happened … I thought you ought to be told of it at once. ADr. Calgary has just been to see us. He brought a letter from Andrew Mar-shall with him. It’s about Jacko. It seems — really a very extraordinarything altogether—it seems that that story Jacko told at the trial, of havingbeen given a lift into Drymouth in somebody’s car, is perfectly⁷ true. ThisDr. Calgary was the man who gave him the lift …” He broke off, as helistened to what his daughter was saying at the other end. “Yes, well,Mary, I won’t go into all the details now as to why he didn’t come forwardat the time. He had an accident—concussion. The whole thing seems to beperfectly well authenticated⁸. I rang up to say that I think we should allhave a meeting here together as soon as possible. Perhaps we could getMarshall to come down and talk the matter over with us. We ought, Ithink, to have the best legal advice. Could you and Philip?… Yes … Yes, Iknow. But I really think, my dear, that it’s important… Yes … well ring meup later, if you like. I must try and get hold of Micky.” He replaced the re-ceiver.
Gwenda Vaughan came towards the telephone.
“Shall I try and get Micky now?”
Hester said:
“If this is going to take a little time, could I ring up first, please, Gwenda?
I want to ring up Donald.”
“Of course,” said Leo. “You are going out with him this evening, aren’tyou?”
“I was,” said Hester.
Her father gave her a sharp glance.
“Has this upset you very much, darling?”
“I don’t know,” said Hester. “I don’t know quite what I feel.”
Gwenda made way for her at the telephone and Hester dialed a number.
“Could I speak to Dr. Craig, please? Yes. Yes. Hester Argyle speaking.”
There was a moment or two of delay and then she said:
“Is that you, Donald?… I rang up to say that I don’t think I can come withyou to the lecture tonight … No, I’m not ill—it’s not that, it’s just—well, justthat we’ve—we’ve had some rather queer news.”
Again Dr. Craig spoke⁹.
Hester turned her head towards her father. She laid her hand over thereceiver and said to him:
“It isn’t a secret, is it?”
“No,” said Leo slowly. “No, it isn’t exactly a secret but—well, I shouldjust ask Donald to keep it to himself for the present, perhaps. You knowhow rumours¹⁰ get around, get magnified.”
“Yes, I know.” She spoke again into the receiver. “In a way I suppose it’swhat you’d call good news, Donald, but—it’s rather upsetting. I’d rathernot talk about it over the telephone … No, no, don’t come here … Pleasenot. Not this evening. Tomorrow some time. It’s about—Jacko. Yes—yes—my brother—it’s just that we’ve found out that he didn’t kill my motherafter all … But please don’t say anything, Donald, or talk to anyone. I’ll tellyou all about it tomorrow … No, Donald, no… I just can’t see anyone thisevening—not even you. Please. And don’t say anything.” She put down thereceiver, and motioned to Gwenda to take over.
Gwenda asked for a Drymouth number. Leo said gently:
“Why don’t you go to the lecture with Donald, Hester? It will take yourmind off things.”
“I don’t want to, Father. I couldn’t.”
Leo said:
“You spoke—you gave him the impression that it wasn’t good news. Butyou know, Hester, that’s not so. We were startled. But we’re all very happyabout it—very glad … What else could we be?”
“That’s what we’re going to say, is it?” said Hester.
Leo said warningly:
“My dear child—”
“But it’s not true, is it?” said Hester. “It’s not good news. It’s just terriblyupsetting.”
Gwenda said:
“Micky’s on the line.”
Again Leo came and took the receiver from her. He spoke to his sonvery much as he had spoken to his daughter. But his news was receivedrather differently from the way it had been received by Mary Durrant.
Here there was no protest, surprise or disbelief. Instead there was quickacceptance.
“What the hell!” said Micky’s voice. “After all this time? The missing wit-ness! Well, well, Jacko’s luck was out that night.”
Leo spoke again. Micky listened.
“Yes,” he said, “I agree with you. We’d better get together as quickly aspossible, and get Marshall to advise us, too.” He gave a sudden quicklaugh, the laugh that Leo remembered so well from the small boy who hadplayed in the garden outside the window. “What’s the betting?” he said.
“Which of us did it?”
Leo dropped the receiver down and left the telephone abruptly¹¹.
“What did he say?” Gwenda asked.
Leo told her.
“It seems to me a silly sort of joke to make,” said Gwenda.
Leo shot a quick glance at her. “Perhaps,” he said gently, “it wasn’t alto-gether a joke.”

1 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

3 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 envisage   

v.想象，设想，展望，正视

参考例句：

• Nobody can envisage the consequences of total nuclear war.没有人能够想像全面核战争的后果。
• When do you envisage being able to pay me back?你看你什么时候能还我钱？

6 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 authenticated   

v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效

参考例句：

• The letter has been authenticated by handwriting experts. 这封信已由笔迹专家证明是真的。
• The date of manufacture of the jewellery has not been authenticated. 这些珠宝的制造日期尚未经证实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

11 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。