下载辰思小说免费APP
“It’sinsolentto——“saidRachel，andstopped。Shedidnotknowexactlywhyshehadbeenmadesoangry。Withagreateffortshepulledherselftogether。
“Oh，well，“sheadded，thevisionofHelenandhermockerybeforeher，“IdaresayI’mafool。“Shemadeasthoughsheweregoingbackintotheballroom，butHewetstoppedher。
“Pleaseexplaintome，“hesaid。“IfeelsureHirstdidn’tmeantohurtyou。“
WhenRacheltriedtoexplain，shefounditverydifficult。
Shecouldnotsaythatshefoundthevisionofherselfwalkinginacrocodilewithherhairdownherbackpeculiarlyunjustandhorrible，norcouldsheexplainwhyHirst’sassumptionofthesuperiorityofhisnatureandexperiencehadseemedtohernotonlygallingbutterrible——asifagatehadclangedinherface。
PacingupanddowntheterracebesideHewetshesaidbitterly:
“It’snogood；weshouldliveseparate；wecannotunderstandeachother；
weonlybringoutwhat’sworst。“
Hewetbrushedasidehergeneralisationastothenaturesofthetwosexes，forsuchgeneralisationsboredhimandseemedtohimgenerallyuntrue。But，knowingHirst，heguessedfairlyaccuratelywhathadhappened，and，thoughsecretlymuchamused，wasdeterminedthatRachelshouldnotstoretheincidentawayinhermindtotakeitsplaceintheviewshehadoflife。
“Nowyou’llhatehim，“hesaid，“whichiswrong。PooroldHirst——
hecan’thelphismethod。Andreally，MissVinrace，hewasdoinghisbest；
hewaspayingyouacompliment——hewastrying——hewastrying——“
hecouldnotfinishforthelaughterthatovercamehim。
Rachelveeredroundsuddenlyandlaughedouttoo。ShesawthattherewassomethingridiculousaboutHirst，andperhapsaboutherself。
“It’shiswayofmakingfriends，Isuppose，“shelaughed。“Well——I
shalldomypart。Ishallbegin——’Uglyinbody，repulsiveinmindasyouare，Mr。Hirst——“
“Hear，hear！“criedHewet。“That’sthewaytotreathim。Yousee，MissVinrace，youmustmakeallowancesforHirst。He’slivedallhislifeinfrontofalooking-glass，sotospeak，inabeautifulpanelledroom，hungwithJapaneseprintsandlovelyoldchairsandtables，justonesplashofcolour，youknow，intherightplace，——
betweenthewindowsIthinkitis，——andtherehesitshourafterhourwithhistoesonthefender，talkingaboutphilosophyandGodandhisliverandhisheartandtheheartsofhisfriends。
They’reallbroken。Youcan’texpecthimtobeathisbestinaballroom。Hewantsacosy，smoky，masculineplace，wherehecanstretchhislegsout，andonlyspeakwhenhe’sgotsomethingtosay。
Formyself，Ifinditratherdreary。ButIdorespectit。
They’reallsomuchinearnest。Theydotaketheseriousthingsveryseriously。“
ThedescriptionofHirst’swayoflifeinterestedRachelsomuchthatshealmostforgotherprivategrudgeagainsthim，andherrespectrevived。
“Theyarereallyverycleverthen？“sheasked。
“Ofcoursetheyare。SofarasbrainsgoIthinkit’struewhathesaidtheotherday；they’rethecleverestpeopleinEngland。But——
yououghttotakehiminhand，“headded。“There’sagreatdealmoreinhimthan’severbeengotat。Hewantssomeonetolaughathim……TheideaofHirsttellingyouthatyou’vehadnoexperiences！
PooroldHirst！“
Theyhadbeenpacingupanddowntheterracewhiletheytalked，andnowonebyonethedarkwindowswereuncurtainedbyaninvisiblehand，andpanesoflightfellregularlyatequalintervalsuponthegrass。
Theystoppedtolookinatthedrawing-room，andperceivedMr。Pepperwritingaloneatatable。
“There’sPepperwritingtohisaunt，“saidHewet。“Shemustbeaveryremarkableoldlady，eighty-fivehetellsme，andhetakesherforwalkingtoursintheNewForest……Pepper！“
hecried，rappingonthewindow。“Goanddoyourduty。MissAllanexpectsyou。“
Whentheycametothewindowsoftheballroom，theswingof
