Beatrice Galloway's feelings were strangely mixed as she drove along beside her uncle towards Gower Street. It seemed as if lately the whole world had gone astray, as if all happiness had ceased to be. For many months past she had felt the loss of Wilfrid Mercer; indeed, she had missed him even more than she cared to acknowledge to herself. And yet, no sooner had he crossed her path again than all this trouble had come back with him.
Of course, it was absurd to blame Wilfrid, but nevertheless, ever since he had shown his face at Maldon Grange there had been nothing but misery1 and mystery.
And why did Samuel Flower hate the young man so? Beatrice had been half ashamed to admit it when discussing the matter earlier in the evening with Wilfrid, but she knew that he spoke2 no more than the truth when he said that her guardian3 was an enemy of his. Beatrice was by no means suspicious, but this fact had been thrust upon her.
And yet Samuel Flower professed4 that Wilfrid was a perfect stranger to him. There was something here that Beatrice would have to get to the bottom of. Under the shadow of the darkness she could make out nothing of Samuel Flower's profile except that it was hard and set. She was glad enough when the drive came to an end and the house in the square was reached at length.
Cotter stood waiting in the hall. He appeared to be full of eagerness and the desire to speak, when Flower checked him with a malignant5 frown and a flash of his eyes.
"Presently, you fool," he muttered.
"It won't keep, sir, indeed, it won't," Cotter muttered. "Jansen has been here and must see you to-night. I told him you would not be back till late, but he went away saying he would call again."
Beatrice, glancing up casually6 at her guardian saw that once more the pale grey tinge7 had crept over his face. The malignant look had died from his eyes, giving way to a fear almost unspeakable. The girl had never heard this man's name before, and yet, quite by instinct, she coupled it with something disgraceful and underhanded. What was this new terror? She walked quietly into the dining-room and threw her wraps upon a chair by the side of the fire. As she laid her fan upon the mantelpiece an object in a small box fell to the floor. Beatrice picked it up carefully.
"I had almost forgotten," she murmured.
In a spirit of pure curiosity she raised the lid and the diamond moth8 flashed into view. Certainly it had been most careless of Uzali to leave the jewel on the supper-table after he had promised to get it repaired. Beatrice had taken it almost mechanically from the waiter who had brought it to her, and almost without thought carried it home. She took it casually from the box and ranged the two parts close together on the table so that the light might fall upon it. Really, it was a most lovely gem9, one that any girl might be proud of, though Beatrice shrank from it as if it had been a thing of evil. In her mind it was associated with a series of dark tragedies, purple crimes and deeds of violence with which somehow her uncle was not unconnected. She laid her finger upon the jewel almost with loathing10. She was still contemplating11 its sinister12 beauty when Flower entered the room and closed the door carefully behind him.
His mood had changed for the moment. He was by way of making himself agreeable.
"I hope you won't think I was rude to you just now," he said, "but I am greatly worried by business. Everything seems to have gone wrong lately, and if things don't mend before long I shall find myself very awkwardly situated13. Like most successful men, I have enemies, and there is a conspiracy14 amongst them to drag me to the ground."
Beatrice murmured something sympathetic. Flower was telling her nothing new. She would have offered her assistance and advice had she thought it of the slightest use. She hardly heard what Flower was saying. She did not notice that he had broken off abruptly15 in his speech and that his gaze was concentrated upon the diamond moth.
"So that is what you were talking about?" he said. "Upon my word, it is exceedingly handsome. I should like to know the history of that jewel. But didn't it strike you as strange that an unknown man should have made you a present of the missing part of the ornament16?"
"I don't know," Beatrice said indifferently. "Nothing strikes me as strange to-night. To begin with, it was such a remarkable17 gathering18 of people. Everything seemed to be so free and easy that I was bewildered. You may laugh at me as you like, but when Mr. Uzali produced the missing half, I was not in the least astonished."
Flower was about to ask a question when he altered his mind. He was leading up to a point cautiously.
"That being so," he said with assumed carelessness, "the man who made you this gift ought to have been rather an uncommon19 person to look at. What was he like? Did he resemble an adventurer or soldier of fortune? Was he a foreigner, or an actor, or what? As far as I could judge, though I was a long way off, he seemed a little insignificant20 man."
There was a forced gaiety in the speaker's voice which did not deceive Beatrice.
"You are right," she said. "Mr. Uzali is a little man, and very plain, with features not unlike those of a good-looking monkey, yellow face and hands more like a bird's claw than anything else."
"Ah!" Flower exclaimed. "And his speech?"
"His speech told me nothing. His English was as good as yours or mine. Mr. Uzali is a polished man of the world and as much at home in this country as in his own. But I thought it odd that his hand should be exactly like the one which I saw that night in the conservatory21 trying to find the latch22 of the door. But you need not be unduly23 curious. Indeed, I understood Mr. Uzali to express a wish to make your acquaintance."
"He wants to know me?" Flower murmured. "He is anxious to come here—the thing is preposterous24. My dear child, you don't know what you are talking about."
Flower paused as if conscious that he was saying too much. The dark mood had come back upon him. He paced up and down the dining-room muttering. Then once more he realized that he was not alone, for he turned almost savagely25 to Beatrice and pointed26 to the clock on the mantel.
"I daresay we are making much ado about nothing," he said. "Don't you think you had better go to bed? I must finish some work before we return to Maldon Grange to-morrow."
"Are we going back to-morrow?" Beatrice asked.
"I think so," Flower said moodily27. "On the whole, it is safer—I mean I prefer the country to London."
Beatrice gathered up her wraps and departed, the old sense of coming tragedy stealing upon her again. But she was too tired to think about anything but bed. She touched her guardian's cheek with her lips, but he did not seem conscious of her presence. No sooner had she gone than Cotter came into the room. He stood as if waiting for orders, his teeth chattering28, his whole aspect one of ludicrous terror.
"Well, you blockhead," Flower cried, "why don't you speak? Why stand there in that ridiculous attitude? Anybody would think you a child frightened by a bogie. Where is your pluck, man? You used to have plenty of it."
"Never a man with more," Cotter said half defiantly29. "But I have seen what I have seen and I know what I know, and I will never possess even the nerve of a rabbit. Oh, why didn't we leave well alone? Why couldn't we be satisfied with our ill-gotten gains? Surely you had more than enough. For years I have been dreaming about this danger. For years I have known that it was coming. Sooner or later it was bound to find us out. And the worst of it is, you can't fight it. It is miles away one day and the next it stands grinning at your elbow. It may be in the house at the present moment for all I know, just as it was at Maldon Grange."
"drop that!" said Flower fiercely. "drop that, you lily-livered coward, or I will do you a mischief30. Is there nothing in the world worth speaking about except those yellow-faced devils who are after us now? Isn't it bad enough that Jansen should turn up at this moment?"
Flower paused as an electric bell in the basement purred loudly and a sort of muffled31 cry came from Cotter as if he had been listening to his death-knell. He stood gazing abjectly32 into Flower's face, his own white and sweat-bedabbled.
"Wake up, idiot," Flower said savagely. "Go and let him in. It is only Jansen."
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收听单词发音
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1
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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2
spoke
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| 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 | |
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3
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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4
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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5
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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6
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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7
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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8
moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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9
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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10
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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11
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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12
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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13
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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14
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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15
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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16
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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17
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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18
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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19
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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20
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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21
conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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22
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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23
unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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24
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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25
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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26
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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27
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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28
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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29
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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30
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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31
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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32
abjectly
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| 凄惨地； 绝望地； 糟透地； 悲惨地 | |
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