’DoyouthinkthatIwouldtellyouafalsehoodaboutit？WhatImeantwasthatitisakindofthingthatonedoesn’tliketalkingabout，merelybecausestoriesarebandiedabout。Peoplearesofondofsayingthatthismanisengagedtothatwoman，andofmakinguptales；anditseemssofoolishtocontradictsuchthings。’
’Butyouknowthatyouusedtobeveryfondofher。’
Hehadtakenuphishatwhenhehadrisenfromthesofa，andwasstillstandingwithitreadyinhishand。Hewasevennowhalf—mindedtoescape；andthenameofLilyDaleinMissDemoline’smouthwassodistastefultohimthathewouldhavedoneso——hewouldhavegoneinsheerdisgust，hadshenotstoodinhisway，sothathecouldnotescapewithoutmovingher，orgoingroundbehindthesofa。Shedidnotstirtomakewayforhim，anditmaybethatsheunderstoodthathewasherprisoner，inspiteofherlatecommandtohimtogo。Itmaybe，also，thatsheunderstoodhisvexationandthecauseofit，andthatshesawtheexpediencyofleavingLilyDalealoneforthepresent。Atanyrate，shepressedhimnomoreuponthematter。’Arewetobefriendsagain？’
shesaid。
’Ihopeso，’saidJohnny。
’Thereismyhand，then。’SoJohnnytookherhandandpressedit，andhelditforalittlewhile——justlongenoughtoseemtogiveameaningtotheaction。’Youwillgettounderstandmesomeday，’shesaid，’andwilllearnthatIdonotliketobereckonedamongtheeverybodiesbythoseforwhomIreally——really——reallyhavearegard。WhenIamangry，Iamangry。’
’Youwereveryangryjustnow，whenyoushowedmethewaytothedoor。’
’AndImeantittoo——fortheminute。Onlythink——supposingyouhadgone！Weshouldneverhaveseeneachotheragain；——never，never！Whatachangeonewordmaymake！’
’Onewordoftendoesmakeachange。’
’Doesitnot？Justalittle"yes"or"no"。A"no"issaidwhena"yes"
ismeant，andthentherecomesnosecondchance，andwhatachangethatmaybefrombrighthopestodesolation！Or，worseagain，a"yes"issaidwhena"no"shouldbesaid——whenthespeakerknowsthatitshouldbe"no"。Whatadifferencethat"no"makes！Whenonethinksofit，onewondersthatawomanshouldeversayanythingbut"no"。’
’Theyneverdidsayanythingelsetome，’saidJohnny。
’Idon’tbelieveit。Idaresaythetruthis，youneveraskedanybody。’
’Didanybodyeveraskyou？’
’Whatwouldyougivetoknow？ButIwilltellyoufrankly；——yes。Andonce——onceIthoughtthatmyanswerwouldnothavebeena"no"。’
’Butyouchangedyourmind？’
’WhenthemomentcameIcouldnotbringmyselftosaythewordthatshouldrobmeofmylibertyforever。Ihadsaid"no"tohimoftenenoughbefore——poorfellow；andonthisoccasion，hetoldmethathehadaskedmeforthelasttime。"Ishallnotgivemyselfanotherchance，"hesaid，"forIshallbeonboardshipwithinaweek。"Imerelybadehimgood—bye。ItwastheonlyanswerIgavehim。Heunderstoodme，andsincethatdayhisfoothasnotpressedhisnativesoil。’
’Andwasitallbecauseyouaresofondofyourliberty？’saidJohnny。
’Perhaps——Ididnot——lovehim，’saidMissDemolines，thoughtfully。Shewasnowagainseatedinherchair，andJohnEameshadgonebacktohiscornerofthesofa。’IfIhadreallylovedhim，Isupposeitwouldhavebeenotherwise。Hewasagallantfellow，andhadtwothousandayearofhisown，inIndiastockandothersecurities。’
’Dearme！Andhehasnotmarriedyet？’
’HewrotemeawordtosaythathewouldnevermarrytillIwasmarried——butthatonthedaythatheshouldhearofmywedding，hewouldgotothefirstsinglewomannearhimandpropose。Itwasadrollthingtosay；wasitnot？’
’Thesinglewomanoughttofeelherselfflattered。’
’Hewouldfindplentytoaccepthim。Besidesbeingsowelloffhewasaveryhandsomefellow，andisconnectedwithpeopleoftitle。Hehadeverythingtorecommendhim。’
’Andyetyourefusedhim？’
’Yes。YouthinkIwasfoolish；——doyounot？’
’Idon’tthinkyouwerefoolishifyoudidn’tcareforhim。’
’Itwasmydestiny，Isuppose；IdaresayIwaswrong。Othergirlsmarrywithoutviolentlove，anddoverywellafterwards。LookatMariaClutterbuck。’
ThenameofMariaClutterbuckhadbecomeodioustoJohnEames。AslongasMissDemolineswouldcontinuetotalkaboutherselfhecouldlistenwithsomeamountofgratification。ConversationonthatsubjectwasthenaturalprogressoftheBayswaterromance。AndifMadalinawouldonlycallherfriendbyherpresentname，hehadnostrongobjectiontoanoccasionalmentionofthelady；butthecombinednamesofMariaClutterbuckhadcometobeabsolutelydistastefultohim。HedidnotbelieveintheMariaClutterbuckfriendship——eitherinitspastorpresentexistence，asdescribedbyMadalina。Indeed，hedidnotputstrongfaithinanythingthatMadalinasaidtohim。Inthehandsomegentlemanwithtwothousandayear，hedidnotbelieveatall。ButthehandsomegentlemanhadonlybeenmentionedonceinthecourseofhisacquaintancewithMissDemolines，whereasMariaClutterbuckhadcomeupsooften！’UponmywordImustwishyougood—bye，’hesaid。’Itisgoingforeleveno’clock，andIhavetostarttomorrowatseven。’
’Whatdifferencedoesthatmake？’
’Afellowwantstogetalittlesleep，youknow。’
’Go，then；——goandgetyoursleep。Whatasleepy—headgenerationitis。’Johnnylongedtoaskwhetherthelastgenerationwaslesssleepy—headed，andwhetherthegentlemanwithtwothousandayearsatuptalkingallnightbeforehepressedhisfootforthelasttimeonhisnativesoil；buthedidnotdare。Ashesaidtohimselfafterwards，’ItwouldnotdotobringtheBayswaterromancetoosuddenlytotermination！’’Butbeforeyougo，’shecontinued，’Imustsaythewordtoyouaboutthatpicture。DidyouspeaktoMrDalrymple？’
’Ididnot。IhavebeensobusywithdifferentthingsthatIhavenotseenhim。’
’Andnowyouaregoing？’
’Well——totellthetruth，IthinkIshallseehimtonight，inspiteofmybeingsosleepy—headed。IwrotehimalinethatIwouldlookinandsmokeacigarwithhimifhechancedtobeathome！’
’Andthatiswhyyouwanttogo。Agentlemancannotlivewithouthiscigarnow。’
’ItisespeciallyatyourbiddingthatIamgoingtoseehim。’
’Gothen——andmakeyourfriendunderstandthatifhecontinuesthispictureofhis，hewillbringhimselftogreattrouble，andwillprobablyruinthewomanforwhomheprofesses，Ipresume，tofeelsomethinglikefriendship。YoumaytellhimthatMrsVanSieverhasalreadyheardofit。’
’Whotoldher？’demandedJohnny。
’Nevermind。Youneednotlookatmelikethat。ItwasnotI。Doyousupposethatsecretscanbekeptwhensomanypeopleknowthem？EveryservantinMaria’shouseknowsallaboutit。’
’Asforthat，Idon’tsupposeMrsBroughtonmakesanygreatsecretofit。’
’DoyouthinkshehastoldMrsBroughton？Iamsureshehasnot。ImaysaythatIknowshehasnot。MariaClutterbuckisinfatuated。Thereisnootherexcusetobemadeforher。’
’Good—bye，’saidJohnny，hurriedly。
’Andyouarereallygoing？’
’Well——yes。Isupposeso。’
’Gothen。Ihavenothingmoretosaytoyou。’
’IshallcomeandcalldirectlyIreturn，’saidJohnny。
’Youmaydoasyoupleaseaboutthat，sir。’
’Doyoumeanthatyouwon’tbegladtoseemeagain？’
’Iamnotgoingtoflatteryou，MrEames。Mammawillbewellbythattime，Ihope，andIdonotmindtellingyouthatyouarea...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：