第115章

第115章“ineverhavedinedwithyou，sir：andiseenoreasonwhyishouldnow：till—”

“tillwhat？youdelightinhalf-phrases.”

“tillican’thelpit.”

“doyousupposeieatlikeanogreoraghoul，thatyoudreadbeingthecompanionofmyrepast？”

“ihaveformednosuppositiononthesubject，sir；butiwanttogoonasusualforanothermonth.”

“youwillgiveupyourgovernessingslaveryatonce.”

“indeed，ingyourpardon，sir，ishallnot.ishalljustgoonwithitasusual.ishallkeepoutofyourwayallday，asihavebeenaccustomedtodo：youmaysendformeintheevening，whenyoufeeldisposedtoseeme，andi’llcomethen；butatnoothertime.”

“iwantasmoke，jane，orapinchofsnuff，tocomfortmeunderallthis，‘pourmedonnerunecontenance，’asadèlewouldsay；andunfortunatelyihaveneithermycigar-case，normysnuff-box.butlisten—whisper.itisyourtimenow，littletyrant，butitwillbeminepresently；andwhenonceihavefairlyseizedyou，tohaveandtohold，i’lljust—figurativelyspeaking—attachyoutoachainlikethis”(touchinghiswatch-guard).“yes，‘bonnyweething，i’llwearyouinmybosom，lestmyjewelishouldtyne.’”

hesaidthisashehelpedmetoalightfromthecarriage，andwhileheafterwardsliftedoutadèle，ienteredthehouse，andmadegoodmyretreatupstairs.

hedulysummonedmetohispresenceintheevening.ihadpreparedanoccupationforhim；foriwasdeterminednottospendthewholetimeinatête-à-têteconversation.irememberedhisfinevoice；iknewhelikedtosing—goodsingersgenerallydo.iwasnovocalistmyself，and，inhisfastidiousjudgment，nomusician，either；butidelightedinlisteningwhentheperformancewasgood.nosoonerhadtwilight，thathourofromance，begantolowerherblueandstarrybanneroverthelattice，thanirose，openedthepiano，andentreatedhim，fortheloveofheaven，togivemeasong.hesaidiwasacapriciouswitch，andthathewouldrathersinganothertime；butiaverredthatnotimewaslikethepresent.

“didilikehisvoice？”heasked.

“verymuch.”iwasnotfondofpamperingthatsusceptiblevanityofhis；butforonce，andfrommotivesofexpediency，iwoulde’ensootheandstimulateit.

“then，jane，youmustplaytheaccompaniment.”

“verywell，sir，iwilltry.”

ididtry，butwaspresentlysweptoffthestoolanddenominated“alittlebungler.”beingpushedunceremoniouslytooneside—whichwaspreciselywhatiwished—heusurpedmyplace，andproceededtoaccompanyhimself：forhecouldplayaswellassing.ihiedmetothewindow-recess.andwhileisatthereandlookedoutonthestilltreesanddimlawn，toasweetairwassunginmellowtonesthefollowingstrain：—

“thetruestlovethateverheart

feltatitskindledcore，

didthrougheachvein，inquickenedstart，

thetideofbeingpour.

hercomingwasmyhopeeachday，

herpartingwasmypain；

thechancethatdidherstepsdelay

wasiceineveryvein.

idreameditwouldbenamelessbliss，

asiloved，lovedtobe；

andtothisobjectdidipress

asblindaseagerly.

butwideaspathlesswasthespace

thatlayourlivesbetween，

anddangerousasthefoamyrace

ofocean-surgesgreen.

andhauntedasarobber-path

throughwildernessorwood；

formightandright，andwoeandwrath，betweenourspiritsstood.

idangersdared；ihind’rancescorned；

iomensdiddefy：

whatevermenaced，harassed，warned，

ipassedimpetuousby.

onspedmyrainbow，fastaslight；

iflewasinadream；

forgloriousroseuponmysight

thatchildofshowerandgleam.

stillbrightoncloudsofsufferingdim

shinesthatsoft，solemnjoy；

norcareinow，howdenseandgrim

disastersgathernigh.

icarenotinthismomentsweet，

thoughallihaverushedo’er

shouldcomeonpinion，strongandfleet，

proclaimingvengeancesore：