下载辰思小说免费APP
“I’vetakenituponmyself，Mr。Ambrose，“shesaid，“topromisethatyouwillbesokindastogiveMrs。Flushingthebenefitofyourexperience。I’msurenoonehereknowsthecountryaswellasyoudo。Noonetakessuchwonderfullongwalks。Noone，I’msure，hasyourencyclopaedicknowledgeuponeverysubject。
Mr。WilfridFlushingisacollector。Hehasdiscoveredreallybeautifulthingsalready。Ihadnonotionthatthepeasantsweresoartistic——
thoughofcourseinthepast——“
“Notoldthings——newthings，“interruptedMrs。Flushingcurtly。
“Thatis，ifhetakesmyadvice。“
TheAmbroseshadnotlivedformanyyearsinLondonwithoutknowingsomethingofagoodmanypeople，bynameatleast，andHelenrememberedhearingoftheFlushings。Mr。Flushingwasamanwhokeptanoldfurnitureshop；hehadalwayssaidhewouldnotmarrybecausemostwomenhaveredcheeks，andwouldnottakeahousebecausemosthouseshavenarrowstaircases，andwouldnoteatmeatbecausemostanimalsbleedwhentheyarekilled；andthenhehadmarriedaneccentricaristocraticlady，whocertainlywasnotpale，wholookedasifsheatemeat，whohadforcedhimtodoallthethingshemostdisliked——
andthisthenwasthelady。Helenlookedatherwithinterest。
Theyhadmovedoutintothegarden，wheretheteawaslaidunderatree，andMrs。Flushingwashelpingherselftocherryjam。
Shehadapeculiarjerkingmovementofthebodywhenshespoke，whichcausedthecanary-colouredplumeonherhattojerktoo。
Hersmallbutfinely-cutandvigorousfeatures，togetherwiththedeepredoflipsandcheeks，pointedtomanygenerationsofwell-trainedandwell-nourishedancestorsbehindher。
“Nothin’that’smorethantwentyyearsoldinterestsme，“
shecontinued。“Mouldyoldpictures，dirtyoldbooks，theystick’eminmuseumswhenthey’reonlyfitforburnin’。“
“Iquiteagree，“Helenlaughed。“Butmyhusbandspendshislifeindiggingupmanuscriptswhichnobodywants。“ShewasamusedbyRidley’sexpressionofstartleddisapproval。
“There’saclevermaninLondoncalledJohnwhopaintseversomuchbetterthantheoldmasters，“Mrs。Flushingcontinued。
“Hispicturesexciteme——nothin’that’soldexcitesme。“
“Butevenhispictureswillbecomeold，“Mrs。Thornburyintervened。
“ThenI’llhave’emburnt，orI’llputitinmywill，“saidMrs。Flushing。
“AndMrs。FlushinglivedinoneofthemostbeautifuloldhousesinEngland——Chillingley，“Mrs。Thornburyexplainedtotherestofthem。
“IfI’dmywayI’dburnthatto-morrow，“Mrs。Flushinglaughed。
Shehadalaughlikethecryofajay，atoncestartlingandjoyless。
“Whatdoesanysanepersonwantwiththosegreatbighouses？“
shedemanded。“Ifyougodownstairsafterdarkyou’recoveredwithblackbeetles，andtheelectriclightsalwaysgoin’out。
Whatwouldyoudoifspiderscameoutofthetapwhenyouturnedonthehotwater？“shedemanded，fixinghereyeonHelen。
Mrs。Ambroseshruggedhershoulderswithasmile。
“ThisiswhatIlike，“saidMrs。Flushing。ShejerkedherheadattheVilla。“Alittlehouseinagarden。IhadoneonceinIreland。
Onecouldlieinbedinthemornin’andpickrosesoutsidethewindowwithone’stoes。“
“Andthegardeners，weren’ttheysurprised？“Mrs。Thornburyenquired。
“Therewerenogardeners，“Mrs。Flushingchuckled。“Nobodybutmeandanoldwomanwithoutanyteeth。YouknowthepoorinIrelandlosetheirteethafterthey’retwenty。Butyouwouldn’texpectapoliticiantounderstandthat——ArthurBalfourwouldn’tunderstandthat。“
Ridleysighedthatheneverexpectedanyonetounderstandanything，leastofallpoliticians。
“However，“heconcluded，“there’soneadvantageIfindinextremeoldage——nothingmattersahangexceptone’sfoodandone’sdigestion。
AllIaskistobeleftalonetomoulderawayinsolitude。It’sobviousthattheworld’sgoingasfastasitcanto——theNethermostPit，andallIcandoistositstillandconsumeasmuchofmyo
