顺水推舟07
时间：2025-01-30 17:16:12
（单词翻译:单击）
Two
Frances Cloade looked thoughtfully across the dinner table at her husband.
Frances was forty-eight. She was one of those lean greyhound women who look well in tweeds.
expressionless face.
It was, this evening, even more expressionless than usual.
His wife registered the fact with a swift flashing glance.
A fifteen-year-old girl shuffled7 round the table, handing the dishes. Her agonized8 gaze was fixed9
on Frances. If Frances frowned, she nearly dropped something, a look of approval set her
beaming.
Cloade. She did not bribe12 them with extravagant13 wages, and she was exacting14 as to performance—
but her warm approval of endeavour and her infectious energy and drive made of domestic service
something creative and personal. She had been so used to being waited on all her life that she took
it for granted without self-consciousness, and she had the same appreciation15 of a good cook or a
good parlourmaid as she would have had for a good pianist.
Frances Cloade had been the only daughter of Lord Edward Trenton, who had trained his horses
in the neighbourhood of Warmsley Heath. Lord Edward’s final bankruptcy16 was realized by those
signally failed to stay at unexpected moments, other rumours of inquiries18 by the Stewards19 of the
solicitor usually does for a client, and had even advanced guarantees of his own. He had made it
clear that he had a deep admiration25 for Frances Trenton, and in due course, when her father’s
affairs had been satisfactorily wound up, Frances became Mrs. Jeremy Cloade.
What she had felt about it no one had ever known. All that could be said was that she had kept
her side of the bargain admirably. She had been an efficient and loyal wife to Jeremy, a careful
mother to his son, had forwarded Jeremy’s interests in every way and had never once suggested
by word or deed that the match was anything but a freewill impulse on her part.
In response the Cloade family had an enormous respect and admiration for Frances. They were
What Jeremy Cloade thought of his marriage nobody knew, because nobody ever did know
what Jeremy Cloade thought or felt. “A dry stick” was what people said about Jeremy. His
reputation both as a man and a lawyer was very high. Cloade, Brunskill and Cloade never touched
any questionable27 legal business. They were not supposed to be brilliant but were considered very
the Market Place with a big old-fashioned walled garden behind it where the pear trees in spring
showed a sea of white blossom.
It was to a room overlooking the garden at the back of the house that the husband and wife went
when they rose from the dinner table. Edna, the fifteen-year-old, brought in coffee, breathing
excitedly and adenoidally.
Frances poured a little coffee into the cup. It was strong and hot. She said to Edna, crisply and
approvingly:
“Excellent, Edna.”
liked. Coffee, in Edna’s opinion, ought to be a pale cream colour, ever so sweet, with lots of
milk!
In the room overlooking the garden, the Cloades drank their coffee, black and without sugar.
His right hand stroked his upper lip. Although Jeremy Cloade did not know it himself the gesture
was a characteristic one and coincided with inner perturbation. Frances had not observed it very
often. Once when Antony, their son, had been seriously ill as a child; once when waiting for a jury
to consider their verdict; at the outbreak of war, waiting to hear the irrevocable words over the
intimate in so far as the spoken word went. She had respected Jeremy’s reserves and he hers.
Even when the telegram had come announcing Antony’s death on active service, they had
neither of them broken down.
He had opened it, then he had looked up at her. She had said, “Is it—?”
He had bowed his head, then crossed and put the telegram into her outstretched hand.
They had stood there quite silently for a while. Then Jeremy had said: “I wish I could help
you, my dear.” And she had answered, her voice steady, her tears unshed, conscious only of the
terrible emptiness and aching: “It’s just as bad for you.” He had patted her shoulder: “Yes,”
suddenly an old man… saying as he did so, “There’s nothing to be said — nothing to be
said….”
She had been grateful to him, passionately39 grateful, for understanding so well, and had been
torn with pity for him, seeing him suddenly turn into an old man. With the loss of her boy,
something had hardened in her—some ordinary common kindness had dried up. She was more
efficient, more energetic than ever — people became sometimes a little afraid of her ruthless
common sense….
Jeremy Cloade’s finger moved along his upper lip again—irresolutely, searching. And crisply,
across the room, Frances spoke.
“Is anything the matter, Jeremy?”
He started. His coffee cup almost slipped from his hand. He recovered himself, put it firmly
down on the tray. Then he looked across at her.
“What do you mean, Frances?”
“I’m asking you if anything is the matter?”
“What should be the matter?”
“It would be foolish to guess. I would rather you told me.”
She spoke without emotion in a businesslike way.
He said unconvincingly:
“There is nothing the matter—”
She did not answer. She merely waited inquiringly. His denial, it seemed, she put aside as
negligible. He looked at her uncertainly.
And just for a moment the imperturbable40 mask of his grey face slipped, and she caught a
glimpse of such turbulent agony that she almost exclaimed aloud. It was only for a moment but
she didn’t doubt what she had seen.
She said quietly and unemotionally:
“I think you had better tell me—”
He sighed—a deep unhappy sigh.
“You will have to know, of course,” he said, “sooner or later.”
And he added what was to her a very astonishing phrase.
“I’m afraid you’ve made a bad bargain, Frances.”
She went right past an implication she did not understand to attack hard facts.
“What is it,” she said; “money?”
She did not know why she put money first. There had been no special signs of financial
stringency41 other than were natural to the times. They were short staffed at the office with more
business than they could cope with, but that was the same everywhere and in the last month they
had got back some of their people released from the Army. It might just as easily have been illness
that he was concealing42 — his colour had been bad lately, and he had been overworked and
overtired. But nevertheless Frances’ instinct went towards money, and it seemed she was right.
Her husband nodded.
“I see.” She was silent a moment, thinking. She herself did not really care about money at all
square world—stability—obligations—a definite place and status in life.
Money to her was a toy tossed into one’s lap to play with. She had been born and bred in an
atmosphere of financial instability. There had been wonderful times when the horses had done
what was expected of them. There had been difficult times when the tradesmen wouldn’t give
credit and Lord Edward had been forced to ignominious44 straits to avoid the bailiffs on the front
doorstep. Once they had lived on dry bread for a week and sent all the servants away. They had
had the bailiffs in the house for three weeks once when Frances was a child. She had found the
If one had no money one simply scrounged, or went abroad, or lived on one’s friends and
relations for a bit. Or somebody tided you over with a loan….
But looking across at her husband Frances realized that in the Cloade world you didn’t do that
kind of thing. You didn’t beg or borrow or live on other people. (And conversely you didn’t
expect them to beg or borrow or live off you!)
Frances felt terribly sorry for Jeremy and a little guilty about being so unperturbed herself. She
took refuge in practicality.
“Shall we have to sell up everything? Is the firm going smash?”
“My dear,” she said gently, “do tell me. I can’t go on guessing.”
Cloade said stiffly, “We went through rather a bad crisis two years ago. Young Williams, you
complications arising out of the position in the Far East after Singapore—”
She interrupted him.
“Never mind the whys—they are so unimportant. You were in a jam. And you haven’t been
able to snap out of it?”
He said, “I relied on Gordon. Gordon would have put things straight.”
She gave a quick impatient sigh.
“Of course. I don’t want to blame the poor man—after all, it’s only human nature to lose
your head about a pretty woman. And why on earth shouldn’t he marry again if he wanted to?
But it was unfortunate his being killed in that air raid before he’d settled anything or made a
proper will or adjusted his affairs. The truth is that one never believes for a minute, no matter what
danger you’re in, that you yourself are going to be killed. The bomb is always going to hit the
other person!”
“Apart from his loss, and I was very fond of Gordon—and proud of him too,” said Gordon
Cloade’s elder brother, “his death was a catastrophe48 for me. It came at a moment—”
He stopped.
“Shall we be bankrupt?” Frances asked with intelligent interest.
Jeremy Cloade looked at her almost despairingly. Though she did not realize it, he could have
coped much better with tears and alarm. This cool detached practical interest defeated him utterly49.
He said harshly, “It’s a good deal worse than that….”
He watched her as she sat quite still, thinking over that. He said to himself, “In another minute
I shall have to tell her. She’ll know what I am…She’ll have to know. Perhaps she won’t
believe it at first.”
Frances Cloade sighed and sat up straight in her big armchair.
“I see,” she said. “Embezzlement. Or if that isn’t the right word, that kind of thing…like
young Williams.”
“Yes, but this time—you don’t understand—I’m responsible. I’ve used trust funds that
were committed to my charge. So far, I’ve covered my tracks—”
“But now it’s all going to come out?”
“Unless I can get the necessary money—quickly.”
The shame he felt was the worst he had known in his life. How would she take it?
At the moment she was taking it very calmly. But then, he thought, Frances would never make a
Her hand to her cheek, she was frowning.
“It’s so stupid,” she said, “that I haven’t got any money of my own at all….”
He said stiffly, “There is your marriage settlement, but—”
She said absently, “But I suppose that’s gone too.”
He was silent. Then he said with difficulty, in his dry voice: “I’m sorry, Frances. More sorry
than I can say. You made a bad bargain.”
She looked up sharply.
“You said that before. What do you mean by that?”
Jeremy said stiffly:
“When you were good enough to marry me, you had the right to expect—well, integrity—and
She was looking at him with complete astonishment52.
“Really, Jeremy! What on earth do you think I married you for?”
He smiled slightly.
that you would have accepted me in—er—different circumstances.”
She stared at him and suddenly burst out laughing.
“You funny old stick! What a wonderful novelettish mind you must have behind that legal
façade! Do you really think that I married you as the price of saving Father from the wolves—or
the Stewards of the Jockey Club, et cetera?”
“You were very fond of your father, Frances.”
“I was devoted to Daddy! He was terribly attractive and the greatest fun to live with! But I
always knew he was a bad hat. And if you think that I’d sell myself to the family solicitor in
order to save him from getting what was always coming to him, then you’ve never understood
the first thing about me. Never!”
She stared at him. Extraordinary, she thought, to have been married to someone for over twenty
years and not have known what was going on in their minds. But how could one know when it
was a mind so different from one’s own? A romantic mind, of course, well camouflaged54, but
essentially55 romantic. She thought: “All those old Stanley Weymans in his bedroom. I might have
Aloud she said:
“I married you because I was in love with you, of course.”
“In love with me? But what could you see in me?”
“If you ask me that, Jeremy, I really don’t know. You were such a change, so different from
all Father’s crowd. You never talked about horses for one thing. You’ve no idea how sick I was
night—do you remember?—and I sat next to you and asked you what bimetallism was, and you
told me—really told me! It took the whole of dinner—six courses—we were in funds at the
moment and had a French chef!”
“It must have been extremely boring,” said Jeremy.
“It was fascinating! Nobody had ever treated me seriously before. And you were so polite and
yet never seemed to look at me or think I was nice or good-looking or anything. It put me on my
Jeremy Cloade said grimly…“I noticed you all right. I went home that evening and didn’t
There was silence for a moment or two, then Jeremy cleared his throat.
“Er—all that is a long time ago….”
She came quickly to the rescue of his embarrassment60.
out.”
“After what you’ve just told me, Frances, it makes it a thousand times worse that this—this
disgrace—”
She interrupted him.
law. You may be prosecuted63—go to prison.” (He winced.) “I don’t want that to happen. I’ll
fight like anything to stop it, but don’t credit me with moral indignation. We’re not a moral
fight and got a posthumous67 V.C. for complete bravery and devotion to his men and superhuman
endurance. What I’m trying to say is people are like that—not quite bad or quite good. I don’t
suppose I’m particularly straight myself — I have been because there hasn’t been any
temptation to be otherwise. But what I have got is plenty of courage and” (she smiled at him)
“I’m loyal!”
“My dear!” He got up and came over to her. He stopped and put his lips to her hair.
“And now,” said Lord Edward Trenton’s daughter, smiling up at him, “what are we going
to do? Raise money somehow?”
“I don’t see how.”
“A mortgage on this house. Oh, I see,” she was quick, “that’s been done. I’m stupid. Of
course you’ve done all the obvious things. It’s a question then of a touch? Who can we touch?
I suppose there’s only one possibility. Gordon’s widow—the dark Rosaleen!”
“It would have to be a large sum…And it can’t come out of capital. The money’s only in
trust for her for her life.”
“I hadn’t realized that. I thought she had it absolutely. What happens when she dies?”
and Maurice’s son, Rowley.”
“It comes to us…” said Frances slowly.
Something seemed to pass through the room—a cold air—the shadow of a thought….
Frances said: “You didn’t tell me that…I thought she got it for keeps—that she could leave it
to any one she liked?”
It is doubtful whether Frances listened to his explanation. She said when his voice stopped:
“It hardly matters to us personally. We’ll be dead and buried, long before she’s middle-
aged. How old is she? Twenty-five—twenty-six? She’ll probably live to be seventy.”
Jeremy Cloade said doubtfully:
“We might ask her for a loan—putting it on family grounds? She may be a generous-minded
girl—really we know so little of her—”
Frances said: “At any rate we have been reasonably nice to her—not catty like Adela. She
might respond.”
Her husband said warningly:
“There must be no hint of—er—real urgency.”
Frances said impatiently: “Of course not! The trouble is that it’s not the girl herself we shall
have to deal with. She’s completely under the thumb of that brother of hers.”
“A very unattractive young man,” said Jeremy Cloade.
Frances’ sudden smile flashed out.
“Oh, no,” she said. “He’s attractive. Most attractive. Rather unscrupulous, too, I should
imagine. But then as far as that goes, I’m unscrupulous too!”
Her smile hardened. She looked up at her husband.
“We’re not going to be beaten, Jeremy,” she said. “There’s bound to be some way…if I
have to rob a bank!”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
arrogant
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
ravaged
|
|
| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
makeup
|
|
| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
lipstick
|
|
| n.口红，唇膏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
shuffled
|
|
| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
agonized
|
|
| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
enviously
|
|
| adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
bribe
|
|
| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
extravagant
|
|
| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
exacting
|
|
| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
appreciation
|
|
| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
bankruptcy
|
|
| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
rumours
|
|
| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
stewards
|
|
| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
tarnished
|
|
| （通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
creditors
|
|
| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
blessings
|
|
| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
exertions
|
|
| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
solicitor
|
|
| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
deferred
|
|
| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
questionable
|
|
| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
prospered
|
|
| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
marvelling
|
|
| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
desultory
|
|
| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
prospects
|
|
| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
oblivious
|
|
| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
wireless
|
|
| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
embarkation
|
|
| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
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： |
|
|
|
|
38
awry
|
|
| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
passionately
|
|
| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
imperturbable
|
|
| adj.镇静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
stringency
|
|
| n.严格，紧迫，说服力；严格性；强度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
concealing
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
ignominious
|
|
| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
bum
|
|
| n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
winced
|
|
| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
absconded
|
|
| v.（尤指逃避逮捕）潜逃，逃跑( abscond的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
catastrophe
|
|
| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
upbraid
|
|
| v.斥责，责骂，责备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
sordid
|
|
| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
camouflaged
|
|
| v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 )；掩盖；伪装，掩饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
idiotic
|
|
| adj.白痴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mettle
|
|
| n.勇气，精神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
wink
|
|
| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
middle-aged
|
|
| adj.中年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
prosecuted
|
|
| a.被起诉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
crook
|
|
| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
hustled
|
|
| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
posthumous
|
|
| adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
dubiously
|
|
| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
statute
|
|
| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
©2005-2010英文阅读网