登陆注册
15692200000063

第63章 THE HONOURABLE LAURA(1)

By the Spark It was a cold and gloomy Christmas Eve.The mass of cloud overhead was almost impervious to such daylight as still lingered on;the snow lay several inches deep upon the ground,and the slanting downfall which still went on threatened to considerably increase its thickness before the morning.The Prospect Hotel,a building standing near the wild north coast of Lower Wessex,looked so lonely and so useless at such a time as this that a passing wayfarer would have been led to forget summer possibilities,and to wonder at the commercial courage which could invest capital,on the basis of the popular taste for the picturesque,in a country subject to such dreary phases.That the district was alive with visitors in August seemed but a dim tradition in weather so totally opposed to all that tempts mankind from home.However,there the hotel stood immovable;and the cliffs,creeks,and headlands which were the primary attractions of the spot,rising in full view on the opposite side of the valley,were now but stern angular outlines,while the townlet in front was tinged over with a grimy dirtiness rather than the pearly gray that in summer lent such beauty to its appearance.

Within the hotel commanding this outlook the landlord walked idly about with his hands in his pockets,not in the least expectant of a visitor,and yet unable to settle down to any occupation which should compensate in some degree for the losses that winter idleness entailed on his regular profession.So little,indeed,was anybody expected,that the coffee-room waiter--a genteel boy,whose plated buttons in summer were as close together upon the front of his short jacket as peas in a pod--now appeared in the back yard,metamorphosed into the unrecognizable shape of a rough country lad in corduroys and hobnailed boots,sweeping the snow away,and talking the local dialect in all its purity,quite oblivious of the new polite accent he had learned in the hot weather from the well-behaved visitors.The front door was closed,and,as if to express still more fully the sealed and chrysalis state of the establishment,a sand-bag was placed at the bottom to keep out the insidious snowdrift,the wind setting in directly from that quarter.

The landlord,entering his own parlour,walked to the large fire which it was absolutely necessary to keep up for his comfort,no such blaze burning in the coffee-room or elsewhere,and after giving it a stir returned to a table in the lobby,whereon lay the visitors'book--now closed and pushed back against the wall.He carelessly opened it;not a name had been entered there since the 19th of the previous November,and that was only the name of a man who had arrived on a tricycle,who,indeed,had not been asked to enter at all.

While he was engaged thus the evening grew darker;but before it was as yet too dark to distinguish objects upon the road winding round the back of the cliffs,the landlord perceived a black spot on the distant white,which speedily enlarged itself and drew near.The probabilities were that this vehicle--for a vehicle of some sort it seemed to be--would pass by and pursue its way to the nearest railway-town as others had done.But,contrary to the landlord's expectation,as he stood conning it through the yet unshuttered windows,the solitary object,on reaching the corner,turned into the hotel-front,and drove up to the door.

It was a conveyance particularly unsuited to such a season and weather,being nothing more substantial than an open basket-carriage drawn by a single horse.Within sat two persons,of different sexes,as could soon be discerned,in spite of their muffled attire.

The man held the reins,and the lady had got some shelter from the storm by clinging close to his side.The landlord rang the hostler's bell to attract the attention of the stable-man,for the approach of the visitors had been deadened to noiselessness by the snow,and when the hostler had come to the horse's head the gentleman and lady alighted,the landlord meeting them in the hall.

The male stranger was a foreign-looking individual of about eight-and-twenty.He was close-shaven,excepting a moustache,his features being good,and even handsome.The lady,who stood timidly behind him,seemed to be much younger--possibly not more than eighteen,though it was difficult to judge either of her age or appearance in her present wrappings.

The gentleman expressed his wish to stay till the morning,explaining somewhat unnecessarily,considering that the house was an inn,that they had been unexpectedly benighted on their drive.Such a welcome being given them as landlords can give in dull times,the latter ordered fires in the drawing and coffee-rooms,and went to the boy in the yard,who soon scrubbed himself up,dragged his disused jacket from its box,polished the buttons with his sleeve,and appeared civilized in the hall.The lady was shown into a room where she could take off her snow-damped garments,which she sent down to be dried,her companion,meanwhile,putting a couple of sovereigns on the table,as if anxious to make everything smooth and comfortable at starting,and requesting that a private sitting-room might be got ready.The landlord assured him that the best upstairs parlour--usually public--should be kept private this evening,and sent the maid to light the candles.Dinner was prepared for them,and,at the gentleman's desire,served in the same apartment;where,the young lady having joined him,they were left to the rest and refreshment they seemed to need.

That something was peculiar in the relations of the pair had more than once struck the landlord,though wherein that peculiarity lay it was hard to decide.But that his guest was one who paid his way readily had been proved by his conduct,and dismissing conjectures,he turned to practical affairs.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 庶民百姓的故事

    庶民百姓的故事

    童话是世界儿童文学中永不凋谢的花冠,是与我们少年儿童捉迷藏的小朋友。童话王国简直就是一个多姿多彩的万花筒,在那些语言浅显、妙趣盎然的美丽童话故事里,有的蕴藏着严肃的人生准则,富于哲理,发人深省;有的反映了社会的真实现象,揭露了黑暗、鞭打了丑恶;有的揭示了大自然的奥秘,使人增长知识,开拓视野。童话奠定了我们的人生基础,影响着我们的一生。因此应该把那些名篇珍品传给后代,陶冶后代。为此,我们编辑了这套《世界经典童话故事全集》丛书,把世界各国许多童话名篇佳作装在一个美丽的花篮里,让它熠熠闪烁的光辉照耀下一代人茁壮成长,使孩子们梦幻般地度过金色的童年。
  • 江山为嫁,霸道毒妃

    江山为嫁,霸道毒妃

    前生她是一个以偷盗为生的小贼,一直独来独往,没有亲人,没有朋友最后惨死枪下也许是上苍怜悯她,重活一世师从鬼医习得一身毒术,不同的时空,不同的身份她有了怪异的的师父,粘人的弟弟,难求的知己,似乎上苍还要赐给她某个人的一世荣宠他,是个不得宠的王爷,凭着自己的努力成了辅国将军,帝王家凉薄无情,没有兄弟姐妹,本以为这辈子自己这颗冰冷的心也就这样,谁知上天竟让会让他的心重新跳动,有了想要呵护一世的人愿得一爱,纵然负了天下
  • 我和王者荣耀的英雄做兄弟

    我和王者荣耀的英雄做兄弟

    一个风靡全球的游戏、一个苦逼的学生遇到了它、一个离奇而又逗逼的事情发生了、
  • 道法逆袭

    道法逆袭

    他不是道士却干着道士的活,他自私胆小,但又充满正义,他喜好美女,却多次被美女玩弄,爱上美女却被横刀夺爱,励志出人头地他大学毕业的王玲珑在工作四处碰壁后,走上了一条与自己所学专业没有关系的道路,为了钱抓鬼降妖,为了钱盗墓寻宝,历经磨难,在非科学的行业展露头角,凭借道法他从草根屌丝逆袭成世人敬仰的大师,也赢得了美人的眷顾......
  • 道无魔生

    道无魔生

    何为道,何为魔。彼岸魔生,天残地裂。且看魔霸苍穹,魔毁万物。宁可我负天下人,不可天下人负我。
  • 霸者破天

    霸者破天

    一本《纳天诀》的出现引发无数混乱以温饱为目标的小流氓竟然身怀重宝当他知道自己叫云中天的时候将背负多少恩怨情仇一切阴谋诡计恩怨血仇在绝对的实力面前必将泯灭霸气纳天,霸者破天
  • 鬼帝宠妻

    鬼帝宠妻

    青素,研究生一枚,路见不平拔刀相助,挂了!醒来成了被逼殉葬的亡妃童颜。于是,在刚驾崩的皇帝陵墓中:他是已故先皇,活着的;她是殉葬亡妃,穿越的!淡定地看着“先帝”正在解开她的衣裳的纤手。“先帝,我还是活的。”然后?“朕想起还没与爱妃圆房呢。”本文纯属虚构,请勿模仿。
  • 宠妻甜蜜蜜:腹黑大神小萌妻

    宠妻甜蜜蜜:腹黑大神小萌妻

    一对一宠文爆笑来袭,走过路过不要错过~~A版:腹黑无良的BOSS大神一直潜伏在身边,虏心偷爱,开启诱拐小萌妻模式。B版:策划被驳回?要忍耐! ̄へ ̄工资被扣留?要忍耐!! ̄へ ̄各种被批评?要忍耐!!! ̄へ ̄BOSS虐我千百遍,我却要待BOSS如初恋。(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻Σ(っ°Д°;)っ啊!BOSS在玩网游!机会来了!开启虐BOSS模式。可是为毛最后的事情会演变成这个样子:哇靠!被潜了!(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻我真的不是来找虐的!╮(╯▽╰)╭不科学啊,这究竟是什么神走向啊!Σ(°△°|||)︴
  • 陆王子冰公主恋爱记

    陆王子冰公主恋爱记

    冰雪女王的转世冰岑,因为一场大战面被传送到地球,被一位妇人收养,在窦恒学园里的一次事故,而碰上了冷酷自恋的陆天远相遇,在这中间又跳出个萧涧,暗黑爪的突袭…………一切敬请期待!
  • 梦醒傲世

    梦醒傲世

    那一世她为他死,甘做他的一颗棋子,却不曾想他为灭她口竟屠她满门。这一世风云再起迷乱棋局当梦渐醒他伴她傲世风华负她者必斩之