酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

The Scarlet Pimpernel-Part22_Baroness Emmuska Orczy(1865-1947)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页
Nervously she jumped up and listened; the house itself was as



still as ever; the footsteps had retreated. Through her wide-open

window the brilliant rays of the morning sun were flooding her room



with light. She looked up at the clock; it was half-past six--too

early for any of the household to be already astir.



She certainly must have dropped asleep, quite unconsciously.

The noise of the footsteps, also of hushed subdued voices had awakened



her--what could they be?

Gently, on tip-toe, she crossed the room and opened the door



to listen; not a sound--that peculiarstillness of the early morning

when sleep with all mankind is at its heaviest. But the noise had



made her nervous, and when, suddenly, at her feet, on the very

doorstep, she saw something white lying there--a letter evidently--she



hardly dared touch it. It seemed so ghostlike. It certainly was not

there when she came upstairs; had Louise dropped it? or was some



tantalising spook at play, showing her fairy letters where none

existed?



At last she stooped to pick it up, and, amazed, puzzled beyond

measure, she saw that the letter was addressed to herself in her



husband's large, businesslike-looking hand. What could he have to say

to her, in the middle of the night, which could not be put off until



the morning?

She tore open the envelope and read:--



"A most unforeseen circumstance forces me to leave for

the North immediately, so I beg your ladyship's pardon if I do



not avail myself of the honour of bidding you good-bye. My

business may keep me employed for about a week, so I shall not



have the privilege of being present at your ladyship's

water-party on Wednesday. I remain your ladyship's most



humble and most obedient servant,

PERCY BLAKENEY."



Marguerite must suddenly have been imbued with her husband's

slowness of intellect, for she had perforce to read the few simple



lines over and over again, before she could fully grasp their meaning.

She stood on the landing, turning over and over in her hand



this curt and mysteriousepistle, her mind a blank, her nerves

strained with agitation and a presentiment she could not very well



have explained.

Sir Percy owned considerable property in the North, certainly,



and he had often before gone there alone and stayed away a week at a

time; but it seemed so very strange that circumstances should have



arisen between five and six o'clock in the morning that compelled him

to start in this extreme hurry.



Vainly she tried to shake off an unaccustomed feeling of

nervousness: she was trembling from head to foot. A wild,



unconquerable desire seized her to see her husband again, at once, if

only he had not already started.



Forgetting the fact that she was only very lightly clad in a

morning wrap, and that her hair lay loosely about her shoulders, she



flew down the stairs, right through the hall towards the front door.

It was as usual barred and bolted, for the indoor servants



were not yet up; but her keen ears had detected the sound of voices

and the pawing of a horse's hoof against the flag-stones.



With nervous, trembling fingers Marguerite undid the bolts one

by one, bruising her hands, hurting her nails, for the locks were



heavy and stiff. But she did not care; her whole frame shook with

anxiety at the very thought that she might be too late; that he might



have gone without her seeing him and bidding him "God-speed!"

At last, she had turned the key and thrown open the door.



Her ears had not deceived her. A groom was standing close by holding

a couple of horses; one of these was Sultan, Sir Percy's favourite and



swiftest horse, saddled ready for a journey.

The next moment Sir Percy himself appeared round the further



corner of the house and came quickly towards the horses. He had

changed his gorgeous ball costume, but was as usual irreproachably and



richly apparelled in a suit of fine cloth, with lace jabot and

ruffles, high top-boots, and riding breeches.



Marguerite went forward a few steps. He looked up and saw her.

A slight frown appeared between his eyes.



"You are going?" she said quickly and feverishly. "Whither?"

"As I have had the honour of informing your ladyship, urgent,



most unexpected business calls me to the North this morning," he said,




文章总共2页
文章标签:名著  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号