XIII

Colonel Johnson had had no time to do more than clear his throat when the door opened again and

Hilda Lee came in.

Hercule Poirot looked at her with interest. He had to admit to himself that the wives these

Lees had married were an interesting study. The swift intelligence and greyhound grace of Lydia,

the meretricious¹ airs and graces of Magdalene, and now, the solid comfortable strength of Hilda.

She was, he saw, younger than her rather dowdy² style of hairdressing and unfashionable clothes

made her appear. Her mouse-brown hair was unflecked with grey and her steady hazel eyes set in

the rather podgy face shone out like beacons³ of kindliness⁴. She was, he thought, a nice woman.

Colonel Johnson was talking in his kindliest tone.

“. . . A great strain on all of you,” he was saying. “I gather from your husband, Mrs. Lee, that

this is the first time you have been to Gorston Hall?”

She bowed her head.

“Were you previously⁵ acquainted with your father-in-law, Mr. Lee?”

Hilda replied in her pleasant voice:

“No. We were married soon after David left home. He always wanted to have nothing to do

with his family. Until now we have not seen any of them.”

“How, then, did this visit come about?”

“My father-in-law wrote to David. He stressed his age and his desire that all his children

should be with him this Christmas.”

“And your husband responded to this appeal?”

Hilda said:

“His acceptance was, I am afraid, all my doing—I misunderstood the situation.”

Poirot interposed. He said:

“Will you be so kind as to explain yourself a little more clearly, madame? I think what you

can tell us may be of value.”

She turned to him immediately.

She said:

“At that time I had never seen my father-in-law. I had no idea what his real motive

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1 meretricious
adj.华而不实的，俗艳的
参考例句：
A wooden building painted to look like marble is meretricious.一座漆得像大理石般的木制建筑物外表是美丽的。 Her room was painted in meretricious technicolour.她的房间刷着俗艳的颜色。

2 dowdy
adj.不整洁的；过旧的
参考例句：
She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。 She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。

3 beacons
灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台
参考例句：
A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。 Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

4 kindliness
n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为
参考例句：
Martha looked up into a strange face and dark eyes alight with kindliness and concern. 马撒慢慢抬起头，映入眼帘的是张陌生的脸，脸上有一双充满慈爱和关注的眼睛。 来自辞典例句 I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. 我想，我对伯顿印象最深之处主要还是这个人的和善。 来自辞典例句

5 previously
adv.以前，先前（地）
参考例句：
The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。 Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 motive
n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的
参考例句：
The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。 He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 strife
n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争
参考例句：
We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。 Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

8 diabolical
adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的
参考例句：
This maneuver of his is a diabolical conspiracy.他这一手是一个居心叵测的大阴谋。 One speaker today called the plan diabolical and sinister.今天一名发言人称该计划阴险恶毒。

9 deliberately
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。 They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 fomenting
v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )
参考例句：
They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。 Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 demurred
v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
At first she demurred, but then finally agreed. 她开始表示反对，但最终还是同意了。 They demurred at working on Sundays. 他们反对星期日工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 tragic
adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的
参考例句：
The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。 Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

14 orphan
n.孤儿；adj.无父母的
参考例句：
He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。 The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

15 glum
adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的
参考例句：
He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。 She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

16 economize
v.节约，节省
参考例句：
We're going to have to economize from now on. 从现在开始，我们不得不节约开支。 We have to economize on water during the dry season. 我们在旱季不得不节约用水。

17 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

18 tranquil
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句：
The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。 The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

19 vented
表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He vented his frustration on his wife. 他受到挫折却把气发泄到妻子身上。 He vented his anger on his secretary. 他朝秘书发泄怒气。

20 inhuman
adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的
参考例句：
We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。 It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

21 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。