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He learned what he had asked some three or four days later, after Morris Townsend, with his cousin, had called in Washington Square. Mrs. Penniman did not tell her brother, on the drive home, that she had intimated to this agreeable young man, whose name she did not know,that, with her niece, she should be very glad to see him; but she was greatly pleased, and even a little flattered, when, late on a Sunday afternoon, the two gentlemen made their appearance.These events came to pass late in the autumn , and Catherine and her aunt had been sitting together in the closing dusk, by the firelight , in the back parlor.
Arthur Townsend sat with Catherine, while his companion placed himself on the sofa, beside Mrs. Penniman. As for Catherine, she scarcely even pretended to keep up the conversation with Arthur; her attention had fixed itself on the other side of the room; she was listening to what went on between the other Mr. Townsend and her aunt. Every now and then he looked over at Catherine herself and smiled, as if to show that what he said was for her benefit too. Catherine would have liked to change her place, to go and sit near them,where she might see and hear him better. But she was afraid of seeming bold —of looking eager; and, besides, it would not have been polite to her cousin Marian’s fiance . She wondered why the other gentleman had picked out her aunt—how he came to have so much to say to Mrs. Penniman, to whom, usually, young men were not especially devoted. She was not at all jealous of Aunt Lavinia, but she was a little envious, and above all she wondered; for Morris Townsend was an object on which she found that her imagination could exercise itself indefinitely.
His cousin had been describing a house that he had taken in view of his union with Marian, and the domestic conveniences he meant to introduce into it; how Marian wanted a larger one,and Mrs. Almond recommended a smaller one, and how he himself was convinced that he had got the neatest house in New York. Noticing, however, that Catherine seemed to be distracted by the presence of his companion, he thought it proper to explain it.
“My cousin asked me to bring him. He seemed to want very much to come; you know he’s highly sociable . I told him I wanted to ask you first, but he said Mrs. Penniman had invited him.”
“We are very glad to see him,” said Catherine. And she wished to talk more about him; but she hardly knew what to say. “I never saw him before,” she went on presently .
Arthur Townsend stared.
“Why, he told me he talked with you the other night.”
“I mean before the other night. That was the first time.”
“Oh, he has been away from New York—he has been all round the world. He doesn’t know many people here, but he’s very sociable, and he wants to know everyone.”
“Everyone?” said Catherine.
“Well, I mean all the good ones. All the pretty young ladies—like Mrs. Penniman!” and Arthur Townsend gave a private laugh.
“My aunt likes him very much,” said Catherine.
“Most people like him—he’s so brilliant.”
“He’s more like a foreigner,” Catherine suggested.
“Well, I never knew a foreigner!” said young Townsend,in a tone which seemed to indicate that his ignorance had been optional .
“Neither have I,” Catherine confessed . “They say they are generally brilliant,” she added vaguely.
“Well, the people of this city are clever enough for me. I know some of them that think they are too clever for me; but they aren’t!”
“I suppose you can’t be too clever,” said Catherine, still with humility .
“I don’t know. I know some people that call my cousin too clever.”
Catherine listened to this statement with extreme interest,and a feeling that if Morris Townsend had a fault it would naturally be that one. But she did not commit herself, and in a moment she asked, “Now that he has come back, will he stay here always?”
“Ah,” said Arthur, “if he can get something to do.”
“Something to do?”
“Some place or other; some business.”
“Hasn’t he got any?” said Catherine, who had never heard of a young man—of the upper class—in this situation.
“No, he’s looking round. But he can’t find anything.”
“I am very sorry,” Catherine permitted herself to observe.
“Oh, he doesn’t mind,” said young Townsend. “He takes it easy—he isn’t in a hurry. He is very particular.”
“Won’t his father take him into his business—his office?”she inquired.
“He hasn’t got any father—he has only got a sister.”
“Is she—is she pleasant?” she asked.
“I don’t know—I believe she’s very respectable,” said young Townsend. And then he looked across to his cousin and began to laugh. “Look here, we are talking about you,” he added.
Morris Townsend paused in his conversation with Mrs.Penniman, and stared with a little smile. Then he got up, as if he were going.
“As far as you are concerned, I can’t return the compliment ,”he said to Catherine’s companion. “But as regards Miss Sloper,it’s another affair.”
Catherine thought this little speech wonderfully well turned; but she was embarrassed by it, and she also got up.Morris Townsend stood looking at her and smiling; he put out his hand for farewell . He was going without having said anything to her; but even on these terms she was glad to have seen him.
“I will tell her what you have said—when you go!” said Mrs. Penniman, with a clever laugh.
Catherine blushed, for she felt almost as if they were making sport of her. What in the world could this beautiful young man have said? He looked at her still, in spite of her blush, but very kindly and respectfully.
“I have had no talk with you,” he said, “and that was what I came for. But it will be a good reason for coming another time;a little pretext—if I am obliged to give one. I am not afraid of what your aunt will say when I go.”
With this the two young men took their departure; after which Catherine, with her blush still lingering , directed a serious and questioning eye to Mrs. Penniman.
“What did you say you would tell me?” she asked.
Mrs. Penniman came up to her, smiling and nodding a little,looked at her all over, and gave a twist to the knot of ribbon in her neck. “It’s a great secret, my dear child; but he is coming to court you!”
Catherine was serious still. “Is that what he told you?”
“He didn’t say so exactly. But he left me to guess it.”
“Do you mean courting me?”
Mrs. Penniman gave her niece a delicate little kiss. “You must be very gracious to him.”
Catherine stared—she was bewildered . “I don’t understand you,” she said, “he doesn’t know me.”
“Oh yes, he does; more than you think. I have told him all about you.”
“Oh, Aunt Penniman!” murmured Catherine, as if this had been a breach of trust. “He is a perfect stranger—we don’t know him.” There was infinite modesty in the poor girl’s “we.”
Aunt Penniman, however, took no account of it; she spoke even with a touch of anger. “My dear Catherine, you know very well that you admire him!”
“Oh, Aunt Penniman!” Catherine could only murmur again.It might very well be that she admired him—though this did not seem to her a thing to talk about. But that this brilliant stranger—this sudden apparition , who had barely heard the sound of her voice—took that sort of interest in her that was expressed by the romantic phrase of which Mrs. Penniman had just made use; this could only be an invention of the restless brain of Aunt Lavinia, whom everyone knew to be a woman of powerful imagination.
intimate /ˈɪntɪmeɪt/ vt. 暗示；提示
autumn /ˈɔ:təm/ n. 秋天
firelight /ˈfaɪəlaɪt/ n. （炉）火光，火炉
scarcely /ˈskeəslɪ/ adv. 几乎不，简直没有
bold /bəʊld/ adj. 冒失的，鲁莽的
fiance /fɪˈɒnseɪ/ n. （法）未婚夫
jealous /ˈdʒeləs/ adj. 妒忌的，嫉妒的；猜疑的，警惕的
convinced /kənˈvɪnst/ adj. 确信的，深信的
distracted /dɪsˈtræktɪd/ adj. 心烦意乱的，分心的
sociable /ˈsəʊʃəbl/ adj. 好交际的；友善的，增进友谊的
presently /ˈprezəntlɪ/ adv. 很快地，马上
indicate /ˈɪndɪkeɪt/ vt. 指出，显示，表明
ignorance /ˈɪɡnərəns/ n. 无知；不知
optional /ˈɒpʃənəl/ adj. 可选择的，随意的
confess /kənˈfes/ vt. 公开承认，坦白
generally / ˈdʒenərəlɪ/ adv. 一般地，通常，大多地
humility /hju:ˈmɪlətɪ/ n. 谦卑，谦逊
statement /ˈsteɪtmənt/ n. 声明，陈述，综述
naturally /ˈnætʃərəlɪ/ adv. 自然地
commit /kəˈmɪt/ vt. （公开地）表示意见，做出决定
compliment /ˈkɒmplɪmənt/ n. 称赞，恭维
farewell /ˈfeəˈwel/ n. 辞别，再见，再会
oblige /əˈblaɪdʒ/ vt. 迫使，责成
linger /ˈlɪŋɡə/ vi. 逗留，徘徊；拖延
twist /twɪst/ n. 拧，扭曲，绞，搓，捻
knot /nɒt/ n. （绳等的）结
ribbon /ˈrɪbən/ n. 缎带，丝带；带状物
gracious /ˈɡreɪʃəs/ adj. 亲切的；高尚的
bewilder /bɪˈwɪldə/ vt. 使迷惑，使不知所措，昏乱
breach /bri:tʃ/ n. 违背，破坏；破裂；辜负
infinite /ˈɪnfɪnət/ adj. 无穷的，无限的；无数的，极多的
apparition /ˌæpəˈrɪʃən/ n. 幻象的出现，幽灵
barely /ˈbeəl ɪ/ adv. 仅仅，刚刚；几乎不
restless /ˈrestlɪs/ adj. 不静止的，无休止的