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第28章

desperate remedies-第28章

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mere glance; was thrown amongst the summarily rejected ones。

Miss Aldclyffe read; or pretended to read after the lawyer。  When he
had finished; five lay in the group he had selected。  'Would you
like to add to the number?' he said; turning to the lady。

'No;' she said carelessly。  'Well; two or three additional ones
rather took my fancy;' she added; searching for some in the larger
collection。

She drew out three。  One was Manston's。

'These eight; then; shall be communicated with;' said the lawyer;
taking up the eight letters and placing them by themselves。

They stood up。  'If I myself; Miss Aldclyffe; were only concerned
personally;' he said; in an off…hand way; and holding up a letter
singly; 'I should choose this man unhesitatingly。  He writes
honestly; is not afraid to name what he does not consider himself
well acquainted witha rare thing to find in answers to
advertisements; he is well recommended; and possesses some qualities
rarely found in combination。  Oddly enough; he is not really a
steward。  He was bred a farmer; studied building affairs; served on
an estate for some time; then went with an architect; and is now
well qualified as architect; estate agent; and surveyor。  That man
is sure to have a fine head for a manor like yours。'  He tapped the
letter as he spoke。  'Yes; I should choose him without hesitation
speaking personally。'

'And I think;' she said artificially; 'I should choose this one as a
matter of mere personal whim; which; of course; can't be given way
to when practical questions have to be considered。'

Cytherea; after looking out of the window; and then at the
newspapers; had become interested in the proceedings between the
clever Miss Aldclyffe and the keen old lawyer; which reminded her of
a game at cards。  She looked inquiringly at the two lettersone in
Miss Aldclyffe's hand; the other in Mr。 Nyttleton's。

'What is the name of your man?' said Miss Aldclyffe。

'His name' said the lawyer; looking down the page; 'what is his
name?it is Edward Springrove。'

Miss Aldclyffe glanced towards Cytherea; who was getting red and
pale by turns。  She looked imploringly at Miss Aldclyffe。

'The name of my man;' said Miss Aldclyffe; looking at her letter in
turn; 'is; I thinkyesAEneas Manston。'

5。  SEPTEMBER THE THIRD

The next morning but one was appointed for the interviews; which
were to be at the lawyer's offices。  Mr。 Nyttleton and Mr。 Tayling
were both in town for the day; and the candidates were admitted one
by one into a private room。  In the window recess was seated Miss
Aldclyffe; wearing her veil down。

The lawyer had; in his letters to the selected number; timed each
candidate at an interval of ten or fifteen minutes from those
preceding and following。  They were shown in as they arrived; and
had short conversations with Mr。 Nyttletonterse; and to the point。
Miss Aldclyffe neither moved nor spoke during this proceeding; it
might have been supposed that she was quite unmindful of it; had it
not been for what was revealed by a keen penetration of the veil
covering her countenancethe rays from two bright black eyes;
directed towards the lawyer and his interlocutor。

Springrove came fifth; Manston seventh。  When the examination of all
was ended; and the last man had retired; Nyttleton; again as at the
former time; blandly asked his client which of the eight she
personally preferred。  'I still think the fifth we spoke to;
Springrove; the man whose letter I pounced upon at first; to be by
far the best qualified; in short; most suitable generally。'

'I am sorry to say that I differ from you; I lean to my first notion
stillthat MrMr。 Manston is most desirable in tone and bearing;
and even specifically; I think he would suit me best in the long…
run。'

Mr。 Nyttleton looked out of the window at the whitened wall of the
court。

'Of course; madam; your opinion may be perfectly sound and reliable;
a sort of instinct; I know; often leads ladies by a short cut to
conclusions truer than those come to by men after laborious round…
about calculations; based on long experience。  I must say I
shouldn't recommend him。'

'Why; pray?'

'Well; let us look first at his letter of answer to the
advertisement。  He didn't reply till the last insertion; that's one
thing。  His letter is bold and frank in tone; so bold and frank that
the second thought after reading it is that not honesty; but
unscrupulousness of conscience dictated it。  It is written in an
indifferent mood; as if he felt that he was humbugging us in his
statement that he was the right man for such an office; that he
tried hard to get it only as a matter of form which required that he
should neglect no opportunity that came in his way。'

'You may be right; Mr。 Nyttleton; but I don't quite see the grounds
of your reasoning。'

'He has been; as you perceive; almost entirely used to the office
duties of a city architect; the experience we don't want。  You want
a man whose acquaintance with rural landed properties is more
practical and closersomebody who; if he has not filled exactly
such an office before; has lived a country life; knows the ins and
outs of country tenancies; building; farming; and so on。'

'He's by far the most intellectual looking of them all。'

'Yes; he may beyour opinion; Miss Aldclyffe; is worth more than
mine in that matter。  And more than you say; he is a man of parts
his brain power would soon enable him to master details and fit him
for the post; I don't much doubt that。  But to speak clearly' (here
his words started off at a jog…trot) 'I wouldn't run the risk of
placing the management of an estate of mine in his hands on any
account whatever。  There; that's flat and plain; madam。'

'But; definitely;' she said; with a show of impatience; 'what is
your reason?'

'He is a voluptuary with activity; which is a very bad form of man
as bad as it is rare。'

'Oh。  Thank you for your explicit statement; Mr。 Nyttleton;' said
Miss Aldclyffe; starting a little and flushing with displeasure。

Mr。 Nyttleton nodded slightly; as a sort of neutral motion; simply
signifying a receipt of the information; good or bad。

'And I really think it is hardly worth while to trouble you further
in this;' continued the lady。  'He's quite good enough for a little
insignificant place like mine at Knapwater; and I know that I could
not get on with one of the others for a single month。  We'll try
him。'

'Certainly; Miss Aldclyffe;' said the lawyer。  And Mr。 Manston was
written to; to the effect that he was the successful competitor。

'Did you see how unmistakably her temper was getting the better of
her; that minute you were in the room?' said Nyttleton to Tayling;
when their client had left the house。  Nyttleton was a man who
surveyed everybody's character in a sunless and shadowless northern
light。  A culpable slyness; which marked him as a boy; had been
moulded by Time; the Improver; into honourable circumspection。

We frequently find that the quality which; conjoined with the
simplicity of the child; is vice; is virtue when it pervades the
knowledge of the man。

'She was as near as damn…it to boiling over when I added up her
man;' continued Nyttleton。  'His handsome face is his qualification
in her eyes。  They have met before; I saw that。'

'He didn't seem conscious of it;' said the junior。

'He didn't。  That was rather puzzling to me。  But still; if ever a
woman's face spoke out plainly that she was in love with a man; hers
did that she was with him。  Poor old maid; she's almost old enough
to be his mother。  If that Manston's a schemer he'll marry her; as
sure as I am Nyttleton。  Let's hope he's honest; however。'

'I don't think she's in love with him;' said Tayling。  He had seen
but little of the pair; and yet he could not reconcile what he had
noticed in Miss Aldclyffe's behaviour with the idea that it was the
bearing of a woman towards her lover。

'Well; your experience of the fiery phenomenon is more recent than
mine;' rejoined Nyttleton carelessly。  'And you may remember the
nature of it best。'



VIII。  THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYS

1。  FROM THE THIRD TO THE NINETEENTH OF SEPTEMBER

Miss Aldclyf

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