Вдали от безумной толпы

LII. Converging Courses

           However,doesawomankeepapromise,nottomarry,buttoenteronanengagementtomarryatsometime?NowyouknowwomenbetterthanI—tellme."

           "Iamafeardyouhonourmyunderstandingtoomuch.However,shemaykeepsuchapromise,ifitismadewithanhonestmeaningtorepairawrong."

           "Ithasnotgonefaryet,butIthinkitwillsoon—yes,Iknowitwill,"hesaid,inanimpulsivewhisper."Ihavepressedheruponthesubject,andsheinclinestobekindtome,andtothinkofmeasahusbandatalongfuturetime,andthat’senoughforme.HowcanIexpectmore?Shehasanotionthatawomanshouldnotmarrywithinsevenyearsofherhusband’sdisappearance—thatherownselfshouldn’t,Imean—becausehisbodywasnotfound.Itmaybemerelythislegalreasonwhichinfluencesher,oritmaybeareligiousone,butsheisreluctanttotalkonthepoint.Yetshehaspromised—implied—thatshewillratifyanengagementto-night."

           "Sevenyears,"murmuredOak.

           "No,no—it’snosuchthing!"hesaid,withimpatience."Fiveyears,ninemonths,andafewdays.Fifteenmonthsnearlyhavepassedsincehevanished,andisthereanythingsowonderfulinanengagementoflittlemorethanfiveyears?"

           "Itseemslonginaforwardview.Don’tbuildtoomuchuponsuchpromises,sir.Remember,youhaveoncebe’ndeceived.Hermeaningmaybegood;butthere—she’syoungyet."

           "Deceived?Never!"saidBoldwood,vehemently."Sheneverpromisedmeatthatfirsttime,andhenceshedidnotbreakherpromise!Ifshepromisesme,she’llmarryme.Bathshebaisawomantoherword.

Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 470 из 522