第123章

ThegentlemanfromBengalwasstanding，disconcertedbythisincident，whenthedoorofthe92openedofitselfandBecky’slittleheadpeepedoutfullofarchnessandmischief。ShelightedonJos。”It’syou。”shesaid，comingout。”HowIhavebeenwaitingforyou！Stop！

notyet——inoneminuteyoushallcomein。”Inthatinstantsheputarouge-pot，abrandybottle，andaplateofbrokenmeatintothebed，gaveonesmoothtoherhair，andfinallyletinhervisitor。

Shehad，bywayofmorningrobe，apinkdomino，atriflefadedandsoiled，andmarkedhereandtherewithpomaturn；butherarmsshoneoutfromtheloosesleevesofthedressverywhiteandfair，anditwastiedroundherlittlewaistsoasnotilltosetoffthetrimlittlefigureofthewearer。SheledJosbythehandintohergarret。

“Comein。”shesaid。”Comeandtalktome。Sityonderonthechair“；andshegavethecivilian’shandalittlesqueezeandlaughinglyplacedhimuponit。Asforherself，sheplacedherselfonthebed——notonthebottleandplate，youmaybesure——onwhichJosmighthavereposed，hadhechosenthatseat；andsothereshesatandtalkedwithheroldadmirer。

“Howlittleyearshavechangedyou。”shesaidwithalookoftenderinterest。”Ishouldhaveknownyouanywhere。Whatacomfortitisamongststrangerstoseeoncemorethefrankhonestfaceofanoldfriend！”

Thefrankhonestface，totellthetruth，atthismomentboreanyexpressionbutoneofopennessandhonesty：itwas，onthecontrary，muchperturbedandpuzzledinlook。Joswassurveyingthequeerlittleapartmentinwhichhefoundhisoldflame。Oneofhergownshungoverthebed，anotherdependingfromahookofthedoor；

herbonnetobscuredhalfthelooking-glass，onwhich，too，laytheprettiestlittlepairofbronzeboots；aFrenchnovelwasonthetablebythebedside，withacandle，notofwax。Beckythoughtofpoppingthatintothebedtoo，butsheonlyputinthelittlepapernight-capwithwhichshehadputthecandleoutongoingtosleep。

“Ishouldhaveknownyouanywhere。”shecontinued；

“awomanneverforgetssomethings。AndyouwerethefirstmanIever——Ieversaw。”

“WasIreally？”saidJos。”Godblessmysoul，you——

youdon’tsayso。”

“WhenIcamewithyoursisterfromChiswick，Iwasscarcelymorethanachild。”Beckysaid。”Howisthat，dearlove？Oh，herhusbandwasasadwickedman，andofcourseitwasofmethatthepoordearwasjealous。

AsifIcaredabouthim，heigho！whentherewassomebody——butno——don’tletustalkofoldtimes“；andshepassedherhandkerchiefwiththetatteredlaceacrosshereyelids。

“Isnotthisastrangeplace。”shecontinued，“forawoman，whohaslivedinaverydifferentworldtoo，tobefoundin？Ihavehadsomanygriefsandwrongs，JosephSedley；IhavebeenmadetosuffersocruellythatIamalmostmademadsometimes。Ican’tstaystillinanyplace，butwanderaboutalwaysrestlessandunhappy。

Allmyfriendshavebeenfalsetome——all。Thereisnosuchthingasanhonestmanintheworld。Iwasthetruestwifethateverlived，thoughImarriedmyhusbandoutofpique，becausesomebodyelse——butnevermindthat。I

wastrue，andhetrampleduponmeanddesertedme。I

wasthefondestmother。Ihadbutonechild，onedarling，onehope，onejoy，whichIheldtomyheartwithamother’saffection，whichwasmylife，myprayer，my——myblessing；andthey——theytoreitfromme——toreitfromme“；andsheputherhandtoherheartwithapassionategestureofdespair，buryingherfaceforamomentonthebed。

Thebrandy-bottleinsideclinkedupagainsttheplatewhichheldthecoldsausage。Bothweremoved，nodoubt，bytheexhibitionofsomuchgrief。MaxandFritzwereatthedoor，listeningwithwondertoMrs。Becky’ssobsandcries。Jos，too，wasagooddealfrightenedandaffectedatseeinghisoldflameinthiscondition。Andshebegan，forthwith，totellherstory——atalesoneat，simple，andartlessthatitwasquiteevidentfromhearingherthatifevertherewasawhite-robedangelescapedfromheaventobesubjecttotheinfernalmachinationsandvillainyoffiendsherebelow，thatspotlessbeing——thatmiserableunsulliedmartyr，waspresentonthebedbeforeJos——onthebed，sittingonthebrandy-bottle。