第73章

第73章“no；ipleadedoff，andheadmittedmyplea.i’lltellyouhowtomanagesoastoavoidtheembarrassmentofmakingaformalentrance，whichisthemostdisagreeablepartofthebusiness.youmustgointothedrawing-roomwhileitisempty，beforetheladiesleavethedinner-table；chooseyourseatinanyquietnookyoulike；youneednotstaylongafterthegentlemencomein，unlessyouplease：justletmr.rochesterseeyouarethereandthenslipaway—nobodywillnoticeyou.”

“willthesepeopleremainlong，doyouthink？”

“perhapstwoorthreeweeks，certainlynotmore.aftertheeasterrecess，sirgeorgelynn，whowaslatelyelectedmemberformillcote，willhavetogouptotownandtakehisseat；idaresaymr.rochesterwillaccompanyhim：itsurprisesmethathehasalreadymadesoprotractedastayatthornfield.”

itwaswithsometrepidationthatiperceivedthehourapproachwheniwastorepairwithmychargetothedrawing-room.adèlehadbeeninastateofecstasyallday，afterhearingshewastobepresentedtotheladiesintheevening；anditwasnottillsophiecommencedtheoperationofdressingherthatshesobereddown.thentheimportanceoftheprocessquicklysteadiedher，andbythetimeshehadhercurlsarrangedinwell-smoothed，droopingclusters，herpinksatinfrockputon，herlongsashtied，andherlacemittensadjusted，shelookedasgraveasanyjudge.noneedtowarnhernottodisarrangeherattire：whenshewasdressed，shesatdemurelydowninherlittlechair，takingcarepreviouslytoliftupthesatinskirtforfearsheshouldcreaseit，andassuredmeshewouldnotstirthencetilliwasready.thisiquicklywas：mybestdress(thesilver-greyone，purchasedformisstemple’swedding，andneverwornsince)wassoonputon；myhairwassoonsmoothed；mysoleornament，thepearlbrooch，soonassumed.wedescended.

fortunatelytherewasanotherentrancetothedrawing-roomthanthatthroughthesaloonwheretheywereallseatedatdinner.wefoundtheapartmentvacant；alargefireburningsilentlyonthemarblehearth，andwaxcandlesshininginbrightsolitude，amidtheexquisiteflowerswithwhichthetableswereadorned.thecrimsoncurtainhungbeforethearch：slightaswastheseparationthisdraperyformedfromthepartyintheadjoiningsaloon，theyspokeinsolowakeythatnothingoftheirconversationcouldbedistinguishedbeyondasoothingmurmur.

adèle，whoappearedtobestillundertheinfluenceofamostsolemnisingimpression，satdown，withoutaword，onthefootstoolipointedouttoher.iretiredtoawindow-seat，andtakingabookfromatablenear，endeavouredtoread.adèlebroughtherstooltomyfeet；erelongshetouchedmyknee.

“whatisit，adèle？”

“est-cequejenepuispasprendrieuneseuledecesfleursmagnifiques，mademoiselle？seulementpourcompletermatoilette.”

“youthinktoomuchofyour‘toilette，’adèle：butyoumayhaveaflower.”anditookarosefromavaseandfasteneditinhersash.shesighedasighofineffablesatisfaction，asifhercupofhappinesswerenowfull.iturnedmyfaceawaytoconcealasmileicouldnotsuppress：therewassomethingludicrousaswellaspainfulinthelittleparisienne’searnestandinnatedevotiontomattersofdress.

asoftsoundofrisingnowbecameaudible；thecurtainwassweptbackfromthearch；throughitappearedthedining-room，withitslitlustrepouringdownlightonthesilverandglassofamagnificentdessert-servicecoveringalongtable；abandofladiesstoodintheopening；theyentered，andthecurtainfellbehindthem.

therewerebuteight；yet，somehow，astheyflockedin，theygavetheimpressionofamuchlargernumber.someofthemwereverytall；manyweredressedinwhite；andallhadasweepingamplitudeofarraythatseemedtomagnifytheirpersonsasamistmagnifiesthemoon.iroseandcurtseyedtothem：oneortwobenttheirheadsinreturn，theothersonlystaredatme.

theydispersedabouttheroom，remindingme，bythelightnessandbuoyancyoftheirmovements，ofaflockofwhiteplumybirds.someofthemthrewthemselvesinhalf-recliningpositionsonthesofasandottomans：somebentoverthetablesandexaminedtheflowersandbooks：therestgatheredinagrouproundthefire：alltalkedinalowbutcleartonewhichseemedhabitualtothem.iknewtheirnamesafterwards，andmayaswellmentionthemnow.

first，therewasmrs.eshtonandtwoofherdaughters.shehadevidentlybeenahandsomewoman，andwaswellpreservedstill.ofherdaughters，theeldest，amy，wasratherlittle：naive，andchild-likeinfaceandmanner，andpiquantinform；herwhitemuslindressandbluesashbecameherwell.thesecond，louisa，wastallerandmoreelegantinfigure；withaveryprettyface，ofthatorderthefrenchterm‘minoischiffoné’：bothsisterswerefairaslilies.

ladylynnwasalargeandstoutpersonageofaboutforty，veryerect，veryhaughty-looking，richlydressedinasatinrobeofchangefulsheen：herdarkhairshoneglossilyundertheshadeofanazureplume，andwithinthecircletofabandofgems.

mrs.coloneldentwaslessshowy；but，ithought，morelady-like.shehadaslightfigure，apale，gentleface，andfairhair.herblacksatindress，herscarfofrichforeignlace，andherpearlornaments，pleasedmebetterthantherainbowradianceofthetitleddame.