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a laodicean-第76部分
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a hundred yards up the hill。'
Paula; who had heard all; did not show or say what she felt at
the news: but after breakfast; on meeting the landlady in a
passage alone; she asked with some anxiety if there were a
really skilful medical man in Etretat; and on being told that
there was; and his name; she went back to look for Mr。
Somerset; but he had gone。
They heard nothing more of young Somerset all that morning;
but towards evening; while Paula sat at her window; looking
over the heads of fuchsias upon the promenade beyond; she saw
the painter walk by。 She immediately went to her aunt and
begged her to go out and ask Mr。 Somerset if his son had
improved。
'I will send Milly or Clementine;' said Mrs。 Goodman。
'I wish you would see him yourself。'
'He has gone on。 I shall never find him。'
'He has only gone round to the front;' persisted Paula。 'Do
walk that way; auntie; and ask him。'
Thus pressed; Mrs。 Goodman acquiesced; and brought back
intelligence to Miss Power; who had watched them through the
window; that his son did not positively improve; but that his
American friends were very kind to him。
Having made use of her aunt; Paula seemed particularly anxious
to get rid of her again; and when that lady sat down to write
letters; Paula went to her own room; hastily dressed herself
without assistance; asked privately the way to the cottage;
and went off thitherward unobserved。
At the upper end of the lane she saw a little house answering
to the description; whose front garden; window…sills; palings;
and doorstep were literally ablaze with nasturtiums in bloom。
She entered this inhabited nosegay; quietly asked for the
invalid; and if he were well enough to see Miss Power。 The
woman of the house soon returned; and she was conducted up a
crooked staircase to Somerset's modest apartments。 It
appeared that some rooms in this dwelling had been furnished
by the landlady of the inn; who hired them of the tenant
during the summer season to use as an annexe to the hotel。
Admitted to the outer room she beheld her architect looking as
unarchitectural as possible; lying on a small couch which was
drawn up to the open casement; whence he had a back view of
the window flowers; and enjoyed a green transparency through
the undersides of the same nasturtium leaves that presented
their faces to the passers without。
When the latch had again clicked into the catch of the closed
door Paula went up to the invalid; upon whose pale and
interesting face a flush had arisen simultaneously with the
announcement of her name。 He would have sprung up to receive
her; but she pressed him down; and throwing all reserve on one
side for the first time in their intercourse; she crouched
beside the sofa; whispering with roguish solicitude; her face
not too far from his own: 'How foolish you are; George; to
get ill just now when I have been wanting so much to see you
again!I am so sorry to see you like thiswhat I said to you
when we met on the shore was not what I had come to say!'
Somerset took her by the hand。 'Then what did you come to
say; Paula?' he asked。
'I wanted to tell you that the mere wanton wandering of a
capricious mind was not the cause of my estrangement from you。
There has been a great deception practisedthe exact nature
of it I cannot tell you plainly just at present; it is too
painfulbut it is all over; and I can assure you of my sorrow
at having behaved as I did; and of my sincere friendship now
as ever。'
'There is nothing I shall value so much as that。 It will make
my work at the castle very pleasant to feel that I can consult
you about it without fear of intruding on you against your
wishes。'
'Yes; perhaps it will。 Butyou do not comprehend me。'
'You have been an enigma always。'
'And you have been provoking; but never so provoking as now。
I wouldn't for the world tell you the whole of my fancies as I
came hither this evening: but I should think your natural
intuition would suggest what they were。'
'It does; Paula。 But there are motives of delicacy which
prevent my acting on what is suggested to me。'
'Delicacy is a gift; and you should thank God for it; but in
some cases it is not so precious as we would persuade
ourselves。'
'Not when the woman is rich; and the man is poor?'
'O; George Somersetbe cold; or angry; or anything; but don't
be like this! It is never worth a woman's while to show
regret for her injustice; for all she gets by it is an
accusation of want of delicacy。'
'Indeed I don't accuse you of thatI warmly; tenderly thank
you for your kindness in coming here to see me。'
'Well; perhaps you do。 But I am now in I cannot tell what
moodI will not tell what mood; for it would be confessing
more than I ought。 This finding you out is a piece of
weakness that I shall not repeat; and I have only one thing
more to say。 I have served you badly; George; I know that;
but it is never too late to mend; and I have come back to you。
However; I shall never run after you again; trust me for that;
for it is not the woman's part。 Still; before I go; that
there may be no mistake as to my meaning; and misery entailed
on us for want of a word; I'll add this: that if you want to
marry me; as you once did; you must say so; for I am here to
be asked。'
It would be superfluous to transcribe Somerset's reply; and
the remainder of the scene between the pair。 Let it suffice
that half…an…hour afterwards; when the sun had almost gone
down; Paula walked briskly into the hotel; troubled herself
nothing about dinner; but went upstairs to their sitting…room;
where her aunt presently found her upon the couch looking up
at the ceiling through her fingers。 They talked on different
subjects for some time till the old lady said 'Mr。 Somerset's
cottage is the one covered with flowers up the lane; I hear。'
'Yes;' said Paula。
'How do you know?'
'I've been there。 。 。 。 We are going to be married; aunt。'
'Indeed!' replied Mrs。 Goodman。 'Well; I thought this might
be the end of it: you were determined on the point; and I am
not much surprised at your news。 Your father was very wise
after all in entailing everything so strictly upon your
offspring; for if he had not I should have been driven wild
with the responsibility!'
'And now that the murder is out;' continued Paula; passing
over that view of the case; 'I don't mind telling you that
somehow or other I have got to like George Somerset as
desperately as a woman can care for any man。 I thought I
should have died when I saw him dancing; and feared I had lost
him! He seemed ten times nicer than ever then! So silly we
women are; that I wouldn't marry a duke in preference to him。
There; that's my honest feeling; and you must make what you
can of it; my conscience is clear; thank Heaven!'
'Have you fixed the day?'
'No;' continued the young lady; still watching the sleeping
flies on the ceiling。 'It is left unsettled between us; while
I come and ask you if there would be any harmif it could
conveniently be before we return to England?'
'Paula; this is too precipitate!'
'On the contrary; aunt。 In matrimony; as in some other
things; you should be slow to decide; but quick to execute。
Nothing on earth would make me marry another man; I know every
fibre of his character; and he knows a good many fibres of
mine; so as there is nothing more to be learnt; why shouldn't
we marry at once? On one point I am firm: I will never
return to that castle as Miss Power。 A nameless dread comes
over me when I think of ita fear that some uncanny influence
of the dead De Stancys would drive me again from him。 O; if
it were to do that;' she murmured; burying her face in her
hands; 'I really think it would be more than I could bear!'
'Very well;' said Mrs。 Goodman; 'we will see what can be done。
I will write to Mr。 Wardlaw。'
IV。
On a windy afternoon in November; when more than two months
had closed over the incidents previously recorded; a number of
farmers were sitting in a room of the Lord…Quantock…Arms Inn;
Markton; that was used for the weekly ordinary。 It was a
long; low apartment; formed by the union of two or three
smaller rooms; with a bow…window looking upon the street; and
at the present moment was pervaded by a blue fog from tobacco…
pipes; and a temperature like that of a kiln。 The body of
farmers who still sat on there was greater than usual; owing
to the cold air without; the tables having been cleared of
dinner for some time and their surface stamped with liquid
circles by the feet of the numerous glasses。
Besides the farmers there were present several professional
men of the town; who found it desirable to dine here on
market…days for the opportunity it afforded them of increasing
their practice among the agriculturists; many of whom were men
of large balances; even luxurious livers; who drove to market
in elegant phaetons drawn by horses of supreme blood; bone;
and action; in a style never anticipated by their fathers when
jogging thither in light carts; or afoot with a butter basket
on each arm。
The buzz of groggy conversation was suddenly impinged on by
the notes of a peal of bells from the tower hard by。 Almost
at the same instant the door of the room opened; and there
entered the landlord of the little inn at Sleeping…Green。
Drawing his supply of cordials from this superior house; to
which he was subject; he came here at stated times like a
prebendary to the cathedral of his diocesan; afterwards
retailing to his own humbler audience the sentiments which he
had learnt of this。 But curiosity being awakened by the
church bells the usual position was for the moment reversed;
and one of the farmers; saluting him by name; asked him the
reason of their striking up at that time of day。
'My mis'ess out yonder;' replied the rural landlord; nodding
sideways; 'is coming home with her fancy…man。 They have been
a…gaying together this turk of a while in foreign partsHere;
maid!what with the wind; and standing about; my blood's as
low as waterbring us a thimbleful of that that isn't gin and
not far from it。'
'It is true; then; that she's become Mrs。 Somerset?'
indifferently
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