第20章

“Myimpressionofutternoveltyseemedsomehowenhancedbythisunexpectedrefinementintheheartofthesolitudesandinsucharuggedshell，andyet，whenIcametoreflect，itwasonlycharacteristicofmycosmopolitanhost。Butanothersurprisewasinstoreforme。 “WhenIhadrecoveredbodilywarmthandmentalequilibriuminmydownyarmchair，beforetheroaringlogs，andduringthedeliciousabsorptionofmysecondglassoftea，IturnedmyattentiontotheFrenchvalet，evidentlythebaron’sownman，whowasdeftlyunpackingmyportmanteau，andwho，unlessmypracticedeyedeceivedme，askedfornothingbetterthantoentertainmewithagreeableconversationthewhile。 “’Yourmasterisout，then？’quothI，knowingthatthemosttrivialremarkwouldsufficetostarthim。 “True，Monseigneurwasout；hewasdesolatedindespair(thiswiththenationalamiableandimaginativeinstinct)；’butitwasdoubtlessimportantbusiness。M。leBaronhadthevisitofhisfactorduringthemiddaymeal；hadleftthetablehurriedly，andhadnotbeenseensince。MadamelaBaronnehadbeenalittlesuffering，butshewouldreceivemonsieur！’ “’Madame！’exclaimedI，astounded，’isyourmasterthenmarried？—— sincewhen？’——visionsofafairTartar，fitmateformybaron，immediatelyspringingsomewhatalluringlybeforemymentalvision。 Buttheanswerdispelledthepicturesquefancy。 “’Oh，yes，’saidtheman，withasomewhatpeculiarexpression。 Yes，Monseigneurismarried。DidMonsieurnotknow？AndyetitwasfromEnglandthatMonseigneurbroughtbackhiswife。’ “’AnEnglishwoman！’ “Myfirstthoughtwasoneofpity；anEnglishwomanaloneinthiswilderness——twodays’drivefromevenarailwaystation——andatthemercyofKossowski！ButthenextminuteIreversedmyjudgment。 Probablysheadoredherrufouslord，tookhisveneerofcourtesy——aveneerofthemostexquisitepolish，Igrantyou，butperilouslythin——fortheveryperfectionofchivalry。Orperchanceitwashisinnersavagenessitselfthatcharmedher；themostrefinedwomenoftenamazeonebythefascinationwhichthepreponderanceofthebruteintheoppositesexseemstohaveforthem。 “Iwasanxioustohearmore。 “’Isitnotdullfortheladyhereatthistimeoftheyear？’ “Thevaletraisedhisshoulderswithagestureofdespairthatwasalmostpassionate。 “Dull！Ah，monsieurcouldnotconceivetohimselfthedullnessofit。ThatpoorMadamelaBaronne！notevenalittlechildtokeephercompanyonthelong，longdayswhentherewasnothingbutsnowintheheavenandontheearthandthehowlingofthewindandthedogstocheerher。Atthebeginning，indeed，ithadbeendifferent；whenthemasterfirstbroughthomehisbridethehousewasgayenough。Itwasallredecoratedandrefurnishedtoreceiveher(monsieurshouldhaveseenitbefore，amererendezvous-de- chasse——forthematterofthatsowereallthecountryhousesintheseparts)。Ah，thatwasthegoodtime！Therewerevisitsmonthaftermonth；parties，sleighing，dancing，tripstoSt。PetersburgandVienna。Butthisyearitseemedtheyweretohavenothingbutboarsandwolves。Howmadamecouldstandit——well，itwasnotforhimtospeak——andheavingadeepsighhedelicatelyinsertedmywhitetieroundmycollar，andwithaflourishtwisteditintoanirreproachablebowbeneathmychin。Ididnotthinkitrighttocross-examinethewillingtalkeranyfurther，especiallyas，despitehislastasseveration，therewereevidentlyvolumeshestillwishedtopourforth；butIconfessthat，asImademywayslowlyoutofmyroomalongthenoiselesslengthofpassage，Iwasconsciousofanunwonted，nottosayvulgar，curiosityconcerningthewomanwhohadcaptivatedsuchamanastheBaronKossowski。 “InafitofspeculativeabstractionImusthavetakenthewrongturning，forIpresentlyfoundmyselfinalong，narrowpassage。I didnotremember。Iwasretracingmystepswhentherecamethesoundofrapidfootfallsuponstoneflags；alittledoorflewopeninthewallclosetome，andasmall，thick-setman，huddledintheroughsheepskinoftheGalicianpeasant，withamangyfurcaponhishead，nearlyranheadlongintomyarms。IwasaboutcondescendinglytointerpellatehiminmybestPolish，whenI caughtthegleamofanangryyelloweyeandnotedthebristleofaredbeard——Kossowski！ “Amazed，Ifellbackastepinsilence。Withagrowllikeanuncouthanimaldisturbed，hedrewhisfilthycapoverhisbrowwithasavagegestureandpursuedhiswaydownthecorridoratasortofwild-boartrot。 “Thisfirstmeetingbetweenhostandguestwassoodd，soincongruous，thatitaffordedmeplentyoffoodforafreshlineofconjectureasItracedmywaybacktothepicturegallery，andfromthencesuccessfullytothedrawing-room，which，asthedoorwasajar，Icouldnotthistimemistake。 “Itwaslargeandloftyanddimlylitbyshadedlamps；throughtherosygloomIcouldatfirstonlyjustmakeoutaslenderfigurebythehearth；butasIadvanced，thiswasresolvedintoasingularlygracefulwomaninclinging，fur-trimmedvelvetgown，who，withonehandrestingonthehighmantelpiece，theotherbanginglistlesslybyherside，stoodgazingdownatthecrumblingwoodfireasifinadream。 “MyfriendsarekindenoughtosaythatIhaveacatliketread；I knownothowthatmaybe；atanyratethecarpetIwaswalkinguponwasthickenoughtosmotheraheavierfootfall:notuntilIwasquiteclosetoherdidmyhostessbecomeawareofmypresence。 Thenshestartedviolentlyandlookedoverhershoulderatmewithdilatingeyes。Evidentlyanervouscreature，Isawthepulseinherthroat，strainedbyherattitude，flutterlikeaterrifiedbird。 “ThenextinstantshehadstretchedoutherhandwithsweetEnglishwordsofwelcome，andtheface，whichIhadbeencomparinginmymindtothatofGuido’sCenci，becametransformedbythearchandexquisitesmileofaGreuse。FormorethantwoyearsIhadhadnointercoursewithanyofmynationality。Icouldconceivethesoundofhisnativetongueundersuchcircumstancesmovingamaninacuriousunexpectedfashion。 “Ibabbledsomecommonplacereply，afterwhichtherewassilencewhilewestoodoppositeeachother，shelookingatmeexpectantly。 Atlength，withasighcheckedbyasmileandanovertoneofsadnessinavoicethatyettriedtobesprightly: “’AmIthensochanged，Mr。Marshfield？’sheasked。AndallatonceIknewher:thegirlwhosenightingalethroathadredeemedthedesolationoftheeveningsatRathdrum，whosesunnybeautyhadseemed(eventomycelebratedcold-bloodedaestheticism)worthytohauntaman’sdreams。Yes，therewasthesubtlecurveofthewaist，thewarmlineofthroat，thedaintyfoot，theslendertip- tiltedfingers——wittyfingers，asIhadclassifiedthem——whichI nowshooklikeatrueBriton，insteadofavailingmyselfoftheprivilegethecountrygaveme，andkissingherslenderwrist。 “Butshewaschanged；andItoldhersowithunconventionalfrankness，studyinghercloselyasIspoke。 “’Iamafraid，’Isaidgravely，’thatthisplacedoesnotagreewithyou。’ “Sheshrankfrommyscrutinywithanervousmovementandflushedtotherootsofherred-brownhair。ThensheansweredcoldlythatI waswrong，thatshewasinexcellenthealth，butthatshecouldnotexpectanymorethanotherpeopletopreserveperennialyouth(I rapidlycalculatedshemightbetwo-and-twenty)，though，indeed，withalittleforcedlaugh，itwasscarcelyflatteringtohearonehadalteredoutofallrecognition。Then，withoutallowingmetimetoreply，sheplungedintoageneraltopicofconversationwhich，asIshouldhavebeenobtuseindeednottotakethehint，Ididmybesttokeepup。 “ButwhileshetalkedofViennaandWarsaw，ofherdistantneighbors，andlastyear’svisitors，itwasevidentthathermindwaselsewhere；hereyewandered，shelostthethreadofherdiscourse，answeredmeatrandom，andsmiledherpiteoussmileincongruously。 “Howeverlonelyshemightbeinhersolitarysplendor，thecompanyofacountrymanwasevidentlynosuchwelcomediversion。 “Afteralittlewhilesheseemedtofeelherselfthatshewaslackingincordiality，and，bringingherabsentgazetobearuponmewithapuzzledstrainedlook:’Ifearyouwillfinditverydull，’shesaid，’myhusbandissowrappedupthiswinterinhiscountrylifeandhissport。Youarethefirstvisitorwehavehad。 Thereisnothingbutgunsandhorseshere，andyoudonotcareforthesethings。’ “Thedoorcreakedbehindus；andthebaronentered，infaultlesseveningdress。BeforesheturnedtowardhimIwassharpenoughtocatchagaintheupleapingofaquickdreadinhereyes，notevensomuchdreadperhaps，Ithoughtafterwards，ashorror——thehorrorwenoticeinsomeanimalsatthenearingofabeastofprey。Itwasgoneinasecond，andshewassmiling。Butitwasarevelation。 “PerhapshebeatherinRussianfashion，andshe，asanEnglishwoman，wasnarrow-mindedenoughtoresentthis；orperhaps，merely，Ihadthemisfortunetoarriveduringamatrimonialmisunderstanding。 “Thebaronwouldnotgivemeleisuretoreflect；hewassoveryeffusiveinhisgreeting——notahintofourpreviousmeeting—— unlikemyhostess，allinalltome；eagertolisten，toreply； almostaffectionate，fullofreferencestooldtimesandgenialallusions。Nodoubtwhenhechosehecouldbethemostcharmingofmen；thereweremomentswhen，lookingathiminhisquietsmileandrestrainedgesture，thealmostexaggeratedpolitenessofhismannertohiswife，whosefingershehadkissedwithpretty，old-fashionedgallantryuponhisentrance，Iaskedmyself，Couldthatencounterinthepassagehavebeenadream？Couldthatsavageinthesheepskinbemycourteousentertainer？ “’JustasIcamein，didIhearmywifesaytherewasnothingforyoutodointhisplace？’hesaidpresentlytome。Then，turningtoher: “’YoudonotseemtoknowMr。Marshfield。Whereverhecanopenhiseyesthereisforhimsomethingtoseewhichmightnotinterestothermen。HewillfindthingsinmylibrarywhichIhavenonotionof。Hewilldiscoverobjectsforscientificobservationinallthemembersofmyhousehold，notonlyinthegood-lookingmaids——thoughhecould，Ihavenodoubt，telltheirpointsasI couldthoseofahorse。Wehavemaidenshereofseveraldistinctraces，Marshfield。Wehavealsowitches，andJewleeches，andholydaftpeople。Inanycase，Yany，withallitsdependencies，material，maleandfemale，areatyourdisposal，forwhatyoucanmakeoutofthem。 “’Itisgood，’hewentongayly，’thatyoushouldhappentohavethishappydisposition，forIfearthat，nolaterthanto-morrow，I mayhavetoabsentmyselffromhome。Ihaveheardthattherearenewsofwolves——theythreatentobeagreaterpestthanusualthiswinter，butIamgoingtodrivethemonquiteanewplan，anditwillgohardwithmeifIdon’tcomeevenwiththem。Wellforyou，bytheway，Marshfield，thatyoudidnotpasswithintheirscenttoday。’Then，musingly:’Ishouldnotgivemuchforthelifeofatravelerwhohappenedtowanderinthesepartsjustnow。’Hereheinterruptedhimselfhastilyandwentovertohiswife，whohadsunkbackonherchair，livid，seeminglyonthepointofswooning。 “Hisgazewasdevouring；somightamanlookatthewomanheadored，inhisanxiety。 “’What！faint，Violet，alarmed！’Hisvoicewassubdued，yettherewasanunmistakablethrillofemotioninit。 “’Pshaw！’thoughtItomyself，’themanisamodelhusband。’ “Sheclinchedherhands，andbysheerforceofwillseemedtopullherselftogether。Thesenervouswomenhaveoftenanunexpectedfundofstrength。 “’Come，thatiswell，’saidthebaronwithaflickeringsmile；’Mr。 MarshfieldwillthinkyoubutbadlyacclimatizedtoPolandifalittlewolfscarecanupsetyou。Mydearwifeissosoft-hearted，’ hewentontome，’thatsheiscapableofmakingherselfquiteilloverthesadfatethatmighthave，buthasnot，overcomeyou。Or，perhaps，’headded，inastillgentlervoice，’herfearisthatI mayexposemyselftodangerforthepublicweal。’ “Sheturnedherheadaway，butIsawhersetherteethasiftochokeasob。Thebaronchuckledinhisthroatandseemedtoluxuriateinthepleasantthought。