Those singular words of Sophia's, 'But you let Constance do just as she likes,' had disturbed Mrs. Baines more than was at first apparent. They worried her like a late fly in autumn. For she had said nothing to any one about Constance's case, Mrs. Maddack of course excepted. She had instinctively1 felt that she could not show the slightest leniency2 towards the romantic impulses of her elder daughter without seeming unjust to the younger, and she had acted accordingly. On the memorable3 morn of Mr. Povey's acute jealousy4, she had, temporarily at any rate, slaked5 the fire, banked it down, and hidden it; and since then no word had passed as to the state of Constance's heart. In the great peril6 to be feared from Mr. Scales, Constance's heart had been put aside as a thing that could wait; so one puts aside the mending of linen7 when earthquake shocks are about. Mrs. Baines was sure that Constance had not chattered8 to Sophia concerning Mr. Povey. Constance, who understood her mother, had too much commonsense9 and too nice a sense of propriety10 to do that--and yet here was Sophia exclaiming, 'But you let Constance do just as she likes.' Were the relations between Constance and Mr. Povey, then, common property? Did the young lady assistants discuss them?
As a fact, the young lady assistants did discuss them; not in the shop--for either one of the principal parties, or Mrs. Baines herself, was always in the shop, but elsewhere. They discussed little else, when they were free; how she had looked at him to- day, and how he had blushed, and so forth11 interminably. Yet Mrs. Baines really thought that she alone knew. Such is the power of the ineradicable delusion12 that one's own affairs, and especially one's own children, are mysteriously different from those of others.
After Sophia's departure Mrs. Baines surveyed her daughter and her manager at supper-time with a curious and a diffident eye. They worked, talked, and ate just as though Mrs. Baines had never caught them weeping together in the cutting-out room. They had the most matter-of-fact air. They might never have heard whispered the name of love. And there could be no deceit beneath that decorum; for Constance would not deceive. Still, Mrs. Baines's conscience was unruly. Order reigned13, but nevertheless she knew that she ought to do something, find out something, decide something; she ought, if she did her duty, to take Constance aside and say: "Now, Constance, my mind is freer now. Tell me frankly14 what has been going on between you and Mr. Povey. I have never understood the meaning of that scene in the cutting-out room. Tell me." She ought to have talked in this strain. But she could not. That energetic woman had not sufficient energy left. She wanted rest, rest--even though it were a coward's rest, an ostrich's tranquillity--after the turmoil15 of apprehensions16 caused by Sophia. Her soul cried out for peace. She was not, however, to have peace.
On the very first Sunday after Sophia's departure, Mr. Povey did not go to chapel17 in the morning, and he offered no reason for his unusual conduct. He ate his breakfast with appetite, but there was something peculiar18 in his glance that made Mrs. Baines a little uneasy; this something she could not seize upon and define. When she and Constance returned from chapel Mr. Povey was playing "Rock of Ages" on the harmonium--again unusual! The serious part of the dinner comprised roast beef and Yorkshire pudding--the pudding being served as a sweet course before the meat. Mrs. Baines ate freely of these things, for she loved them, and she was always hungry after a sermon. She also did well with the Cheshire cheese. Her intention was to sleep in the drawing-room after the repast. On Sunday afternoons she invariably tried to sleep in the drawing- room, and she did not often fail. As a rule the girls accompanied her thither19 from the table, and either 'settled down' likewise or crept out of the room when they perceived the gradual sinking of the majestic20 form into the deep hollows of the easy-chair. Mrs. Baines was anticipating with pleasure her somnolent21 Sunday afternoon.
Constance said grace after meat, and the formula on this particular occasion ran thus--
"Thank God for our good dinner, Amen.--Mother, I must just run upstairs to my room." ('MY room'-Sophia being far away.)
And off she ran, strangely girlish.
"Well, child, you needn't be in such a hurry," said Mrs. Baines, ringing the bell and rising.
She hoped that Constance would remember the conditions precedent22 to sleep.
"I should like to have a word with you, if it's all the same to you, Mrs. Baines," said Mr. Povey suddenly, with obvious nervousness. And his tone struck a rude unexpected blow at Mrs. Baines's peace of mind. It was a portentous23 tone.
"What about?" asked she, with an inflection subtly to remind Mr. Povey what day it was.
"About Constance," said the astonishing man.
"Constance!" exclaimed Mrs. Baines with a histrionic air of bewilderment.
Maggie entered the room, solely24 in response to the bell, yet a thought jumped up in Mrs. Baines's brain, "How prying25 servants are, to be sure!" For quite five seconds she had a grievance26 against Maggie. She was compelled to sit down again and wait while Maggie cleared the table. Mr. Povey put both his hands in his pockets, got up, went to the window, whistled, and generally behaved in a manner which foretold27 the worst.
At last Maggie vanished, shutting the door.
"What is it, Mr. Povey?"
"Oh!" said Mr. Povey, facing her with absurd nervous brusqueness, as though pretending: "Ah, yes! We have something to say--I was forgetting!" Then he began: "It's about Constance and me."
Yes, they had evidently plotted this interview. Constance had evidently taken herself off on purpose to leave Mr. Povey unhampered. They were in league. The inevitable28 had come. No sleep! No repose29! Nothing but worry once more!
"I'm not at all satisfied with the present situation," said Mr. Povey, in a tone that corresponded to his words.
"I don't know what you mean, Mr. Povey," said Mrs. Baines stiffly. This was a simple lie.
"Well, really, Mrs. Baines!" Mr. Povey protested, "I suppose you won't deny that you know there is something between me and Constance? I suppose you won't deny that?"
"What is there between you and Constance? I can assure you I--"
"That depends on you," Mr. Povey interrupted her. When he was nervous his manners deteriorated30 into a behaviour that resembled rudeness. "That depends on you!" he repeated grimly.
"But--"
"Are we to be engaged or are we not?" pursued Mr. Povey, as though Mrs. Baines had been guilty of some grave lapse31 and he was determined32 not to spare her. "That's what I think ought to be settled, one way or the other. I wish to be perfectly33 open and aboveboard--in the future, as I have been in the past."
"But you have said nothing to me at all!" Mrs. Baines remonstrated34, lifting her eyebrows35. The way in which the man had sprung this matter upon her was truly too audacious.
Mr. Povey approached her as she sat at the table, shaking her ringlets and looking at her hands.
"You know there's something between us!" he insisted.
"How should I know there is something between you? Constance has never said a word to me. And have you?"
"Well," said he. "We've hidden nothing."
"What is there between you and Constance? If I may ask!"
"That depends on you," said he again.
"Have you asked her to be your wife?"
"No. I haven't exactly asked her to be my wife." He hesitated. "You see--"
Mrs. Baines collected her forces. "Have you kissed her?" This in a cold voice.
Mr. Povey now blushed. "I haven't exactly kissed her," he stammered36, apparently37 shocked by the inquisition. "No, I should not say that I had kissed her."
It might have been that before committing himself he felt a desire for Mrs. Baines's definition of a kiss.
"You are very extraordinary," she said loftily. It was no less than the truth.
"All I want to know is--have you got anything against me?" he demanded roughly. "Because if so--"
"Anything against you, Mr. Povey? Why should I have anything against you?"
"Then why can't we be engaged?"
She considered that he was bullying38 her. "That's another question," said she.
"Why can't we be engaged? Ain't I good enough?"
The fact was that he was not regarded as good enough. Mrs. Maddack had certainly deemed that he was not good enough. He was a solid mass of excellent qualities; but he lacked brilliance40, importance, dignity. He could not impose himself. Such had been the verdict.
And now, while Mrs. Baines was secretly reproaching Mr. Povey for his inability to impose himself, he was most patently imposing41 himself on her--and the phenomenon escaped her! She felt that he was bullying her, but somehow she could not perceive his power. Yet the man who could bully39 Mrs. Baines was surely no common soul!
"You know my very high opinion of you," she said.
Mr. Povey pursued in a mollified tone. "Assuming that Constance is willing to be engaged, do I understand you consent?"
"But Constance is too young."
"Constance is twenty. She is more than twenty."
"In any case you won't expect me to give you an answer now."
"Why not? You know my position."
She did. From a practical point of view the match would be ideal: no fault could be found with it on that side. But Mrs. Baines could not extinguish the idea that it would be a 'come-down' for her daughter. Who, after all, was Mr. Povey? Mr. Povey was nobody.
"I must think things over," she said firmly, putting her lips together. "I can't reply like this. It is a serious matter."
"When can I have your answer? To-morrow?"
"No--really--"
"In a week, then?"
"I cannot bind42 myself to a date," said Mrs. Baines, haughtily43. She felt that she was gaining ground.
"Because I can't stay on here indefinitely as things are," Mr. Povey burst out, and there was a touch of hysteria in his tone.
"Now, Mr. Povey, please do be reasonable."
"That's all very well," he went on. "That's all very well. But what I say is that employers have no right to have male assistants in their houses unless they are prepared to let their daughters marry! That's what I say! No RIGHT!"
Mrs. Baines did not know what to answer.
The aspirant44 wound up: "I must leave if that's the case."
"If what's the case?" she asked herself. "What has come over him?" And aloud: "You know you would place me in a very awkward position by leaving, and I hope you don't want to mix up two quite different things. I hope you aren't trying to threaten me."
"Threaten you!" he cried. "Do you suppose I should leave here for fun? If I leave it will be because I can't stand it. That's all. I can't stand it. I want Constance, and if I can't have her, then I can't stand it. What do you think I'm made of?"
"I'm sure--" she began.
"That's all very well!" he almost shouted.
"But please let me speak,' she said quietly.
"All I say is I can't stand it. That's all. ... Employers have no right. ... We have our feelings like other men."
He was deeply moved. He might have appeared somewhat grotesque45 to the strictly46 impartial47 observer of human nature. Nevertheless he was deeply and genuinely moved, and possibly human nature could have shown nothing more human than Mr. Povey at the moment when, unable any longer to restrain the paroxysm which had so surprisingly overtaken him, he fled from the parlour, passionately48, to the retreat of his bedroom.
"That's the worst of those quiet calm ones," said Mrs. Baines to herself. "You never know if they won't give way. And when they do, it's awful--awful. ... What did I do, what did I say, to bring it on? Nothing! Nothing!"
And where was her afternoon sleep? What was going to happen to her daughter? What could she say to Constance? How next could she meet Mr. Povey? Ah! It needed a brave, indomitable woman not to cry out brokenly: "I've suffered too much. Do anything you like; only let me die in peace!" And so saying, to let everything indifferently slide!
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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leniency
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| n.宽大（不严厉） | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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slaked
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| v.满足( slake的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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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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chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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commonsense
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| adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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somnolent
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| adj.想睡的，催眠的；adv.瞌睡地；昏昏欲睡地；使人瞌睡地 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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deteriorated
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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42
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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