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。