登陆注册
15465600000052

第52章 CHAPTER XX HOLM OAKS(2)

"I don't know much about it, but from something she let drop it seems you've been saying some queer things in your letters to Antonia"; and again he looked at Shelton with his dry smile.

"Queer things?" said the latter angrily. " What d' you mean?""Oh, don't ask me. The Mater thinks she's in a bad way--unsettled, or what d' you call at. You've been telling her that things are not what they seem. That's bad, you know"; and still smiling he shook his head.

Shelton dropped his eyes.

"Well, they are n't!" he said.

"Oh, that's all right! But don't bring your philosophy down here, old chap.""Philosophy!" said Shelton, puzzled.

"Leave us a sacred prejudice or two."

"Sacred! Nothing's sacred, except--" But Shelton did not finish his remark. "I don't understand," he said.

"Ideals, that sort of thing! You've been diving down below the line of 'practical politics,' that's about the size of it, my boy"; and, stooping suddenly, he picked up the last ball. "There is the Mater!"Shelton saw Mrs. Dennant coming down the lawn with her second daughter, Sybil.

By the time they reached the holm oak the three girls had departed towards the house, walking arm in arm, and Mrs. Dennant was standing there alone, in a grey dress, talking to an undergardener. Her hands, cased in tan gauntlets, held a basket which warded off the bearded gardener from the severe but ample lines of her useful-looking skirt. The collie, erect upon his haunches, looked at their two faces, pricking his ears in his endeavour to appreciate how one of these two bipeds differed from the other.

"Thank you; that 'll do, Bunyan. Ah, Dick! Charmin' to see you here, at last!"In his intercourse with Mrs. Dennant, Shelton never failed to mark the typical nature of her personality. It always seemed to him that he had met so many other ladies like her. He felt that her undoubtable quality had a non-individual flavour, as if standing for her class. She thought that standing for herself was not the thing;yet she was full of character. Tall, with nose a trifle beaked, long, sloping chin, and an assured, benevolent mouth, showing, perhaps, too many teeth--though thin, she was not unsubstantial. Her accent in speaking showed her heritage; it was a kind of drawl which disregarded vulgar merits such as tone; leaned on some syllables, and despised the final 'g'--the peculiar accent, in fact, of aristocracy, adding its deliberate joys to life.

Shelton knew that she had many interests; she was never really idle, from the time (7 A.M.) when her maid brought her a little china pot of tea with a single biscuit and her pet dog, Tops, till eleven o'clock at night, when she lighted a wax candle in a silver candlestick, and with this in one hand, and in the other a new novel, or, better still, one of those charming volumes written by great people about the still greater people they have met, she said good-night to her children and her guests. No! What with photography, the presidency of a local league, visiting the rich, superintending all the poor, gardening, reading, keeping all her ideas so tidy that no foreign notions might stray in, she was never idle. The information she collected from these sources was both vast and varied, but she never let it flavour her opinions, which lacked sauce, and were drawn from some sort of dish into which, with all her class, she dipped her fingers.

He liked her. No one could help liking her. She was kind, and of such good quality, with a suggestion about her of thin, excellent, and useful china; and she was scented, too--not with verbena, violets, or those essences which women love, but with nothing, as if she had taken stand against all meretricity. In her intercourse with persons not "quite the thing" (she excepted the vicar from this category, though his father had dealt in haberdashery), her refinement, gently, unobtrusively, and with great practical good sense, seemed continually to murmur, "I am, and you--well, are you, don't you know?" But there was no self-consciousness about this attitude, for she was really not a common woman. She simply could not help it; all her people had done this. Their nurses breathed above them in their cradles something that, inhaled into their systems, ever afterwards prevented them from taking good, clear breaths. And her manner! Ah! her manner--it concealed the inner woman so as to leave doubt of her existence!

Shelton listened to the kindly briskness with which she dwelt upon the under-gardener.

同类推荐
  • 独异志

    独异志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 龙经

    龙经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 杨太真外传

    杨太真外传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 忆钓舟

    忆钓舟

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 壬占汇选

    壬占汇选

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 快穿:系统请淡定

    快穿:系统请淡定

    /『古代』他说,“这天下,这江山,比不上与你的一场风花雪月。”/『修仙』他说,“我愿意散去全部修为,只为和你相厮相守一分一瞬。”/『灵异』他说,“我变成那样的人,你爱我好不好?”/『豪门』他说,“我见过的女人千千万万,但只为你栽跟头。”/『黑道』他说,“就算你把我当兄弟,我也要上你!”……/她从落花飞舞的桃林走出,穿越了几生几世……而他……在她穿越的尽头等她,穷尽了生生世世……
  • 仙界之三世奇缘

    仙界之三世奇缘

    别人修仙是为了酷拽吊炸天,我修仙是为了混口饭吃啊!看一个卖保险的废材,一个可爱的狐仙师傅,还有傲娇彼岸花御姐,在修仙路上能碰撞出怎样的火花呢?
  • 猎捕游戏:腹黑圣王的血妃

    猎捕游戏:腹黑圣王的血妃

    (新书《隔壁有竹马:错吻大野狼》发布,欢迎入坑)她是狩猎家族的狩猎者,以猎杀吸血鬼为己任。他是血族冷魅残酷的王,高高在上,无人可攀。床榻之上,他捏起她的下巴:“记住我的名字,从此以后,我就是你的王,你的皇。”神圣教堂,他邪肆一笑,步步紧逼,“你杀我一次,我毁你终身,冷子夕,这一生,我们注定纠缠,你跑不掉的。”***传说,血族本性凉薄,绝不轻易爱上人类,若是爱上,便是永生永世,万劫不复。感谢阅文书评团提供书评支持!
  • 一世珍藏的微型小说130篇

    一世珍藏的微型小说130篇

    作品让人感动和觉得温暖的是其中的亲情和信义。在当今一切都可以商品化而且大多已经商品化的社会中,这种亲情和信义代表着生活的另一面,代表着人类的本真理想,或许它正是作者有意凸显出来要让读者领会的抵御商品化潮流侵蚀所不可或缺的精神信仰之所在。选在这个集子里的作品,都是按照形式精致和内容丰富的标准精选出来的,或主题新颖,或意蕴动人,或构思精巧,或文字颇有余味。不少作品集众多优点于一身,至少是在一些方面有独到之处的。
  • 妖精帝国:神秘帝国

    妖精帝国:神秘帝国

    血眸现世,血祭之雨出现,一切都发生在神秘的狐族。九尾一向是狐族的继承者。但是,这样的事偏偏就出现在了九尾的身上。被无情抛弃;收留自己的人因自己而死;师兄的追杀;来自无根之国的赏金猎人的相随;朱雀的牵绊……扑朔而来的迷蝶,魅殇·绯瑀是否能够逃脱,又或者是接受天命的安排?而她,也在一点点的变化,她究竟是魅殇·绯瑀还是被狐族称为血煞的九尾,还是……最后的最后,命中注定要与亲人和朋友成为敌人,背叛的情感,使本该已经封印的血眸之力现世,魔化,痛苦,冰封之心蜕变,无情现世,最终,又回归原点。她还是成为了她,一切成为最初的状态,她最后的抉择又是什么,最终的命运掌握在自己手里,但,属于她终点在哪。
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 汉朝这些人③(刘彻卷)

    汉朝这些人③(刘彻卷)

    历史应该是活的,历史应该是精彩的。读史这么多年,深知那些学究性的史料多么让人倒胃口,那些“专业”的术语和故作高深的文字将大多数人挡在历史的门外,与这些精彩的人物和事件无缘,不能不说这是一种遗憾和撰史者的悲哀!历史是人类生存、发展的鲜活记忆,我们要将历史上的功过是非铭记在心,我们不该忘记历史,不该忘记那些为我们今天生活作出贡献的历史人物!墨香满楼,开创现代历史的先河,写历史、写人物、写人心。
  • 靓釹

    靓釹

    什么是都市,不一样的都市不一样的情节。我眼中的都市,社会人事都将更多期待...
  • 本草纲目通俗读本

    本草纲目通俗读本

    《本草纲目》是我国明代医学家李时珍以毕生经历编著的一部不朽巨著,从它面世之日起,就一直为人们所真爱,它的光彩没有因时光的流逝而暗淡。本书收集了《本草纲目》的各种版本,选择编辑了离我们的生活比较近的、实用性强的疗方,并且对其顺序做了比较大的调整,把我们的主要食品-菜部、果部、谷部放在前面,并作为重点。全书详细地介绍了它们的实用价值和加工方法及治疗病方。我们在编辑的过程中,对现今已不常用的,例如:水部、人部、石部只选其一小部分,作为点缀,以保持书的基本完整。
  • 星魂使命

    星魂使命

    星魂——星球之灵魂,每个星魂都有自己的使命。汇聚星球上成熟的灵魂和生命力(简称灵力)进化成更高级的存在是星魂的本能,守护、凝聚是星魂正确的强大方式。凝聚灵力是星魂吸收逝者的灵魂和生命力而星球上的使徒(星徒)的诞生要消耗星魂纯净的灵力。自上古恐龙一族和侵略星魂同归于尽后,星魂灵力入不敷出,再加上侵略星魂的遗留下来的侵蚀,地球星魂开始堕落。古文明的消失、星徒邪恶化加重、星球环境的恶化,最终星魂暴动、星秽出现、大进化开始。主角末日之前融合被星魂遗弃的堕落之源(星魂碎片)走上了一条星魂进化(净化)之路。