Н. Самуэльян - Лучшие романы Томаса Майна Рида / The Best of Thomas Mayne Reid

“It is well,” said Kate, with a thoughtful air, “that Cubina has determined upon leaving a land where, I fear, such scenes are too common. I shall be so happy to see them both once more in our dear, beautiful Island. And you, Herbert, I am sure, will rejoice at their return.”

“Most certainly I shall. Ah, Kate! did it ever occur to you how much we are indebted to them?”

“Often, Herbert – often. And were it not that I am a firm believer in destiny, I should fancy that but for them – ”

“Nonsense, Kate!” playfully interrupted the young husband. “None of your Creole superstitions. There is no such thing as destiny. It was not that which ruled my heart to believe you the fairest thing in creation – but because you are so. Don’t be ungenerous to Cubina and Yola. Give them all the credit that is due to them. Say frankly, love, that but for them you might have become Mrs Smythje, and I – I – ”

“Oh, Herbert! speak not of the past. Let that be buried in oblivion, since our present is everything we can desire!”

“Agreed! But for all that, dearest, do not let us forget the gratitude we owe to Cubina and his dark-skinned bride. And to prove it to them, I propose something more than giving them the piece of land. Let us build them a house upon it; so that upon their arrival they may have a roof to shelter them.”

“Oh, that would be a pleasant surprise for them!”

“Then we shall bring it about. What a lovely morning! Don’t you think so, Kate?”

As Herbert put this interrogatory, he glanced out through the open jalousies.

There was nothing particularly fine about the morning – at least, for Jamaica, but Kate saw with Herbert’s eyes; and just then, to the eyes of both, everything appeared couleur-de-rose .

“Indeed, a beautiful morning!” answered the young wife, glancing inquiringly towards her husband.

“What say you, then, to a little excursion, à pied ?”

“I should be delighted, Herbert. Where do you think of going?”

“Guess now!”

“No – you must tell me.”

“You forget. According to Creole custom, our honeymoon is to last for twelve months. Until that be terminated, you are to be master, sweet Kate. Where would you most like to go?”

“I have no choice, Herbert. Anywhere. In your company it is all the same to me. You must decide.”

“Well, then, dearest, since you leave it to me, I declare for the Jumbé Rock. Its summit overlooks the piece of land we intend presenting to our brother, Cubina. While we are there we can select the site for his house. Is it agreeable to you?”

“Dearest Herbert,” replied the young wife, entwining her arm around that of her husband’s, and gazing fondly into his eyes – “the very place I was thinking of.”

“Why of it? Tell me, Kate!”

“Shame, Herbert! Must I tell you? You know that I have told you before.”

“Tell me again. It gives me pleasure to hear you speak of that hour.”

“Hour! scarce a minute was it, and yet a minute worth all the rest of my life! A minute in which I learnt that the language of your eyes was truer than that of your tongue! But for that belief, Herbert, I might, indeed, have yielded to despair. The memory of that sweet glance haunted me – sustained me through all. Despite all, I continued to hope!”

“And I, too, Kate. That remembrance is as dear to me as it can be to you. Let us seek the hallowed spot.”

An hour after, and they stood upon the Jumbé Rock, on that spot so consecrated in their hearts.

Herbert appeared to have forgotten his purpose. Not a word was said about Cubina or the site of his dwelling. Not a word of the Happy Valley, or the unpleasant recollections it was calculated to call up. All the past appeared to be forgotten, except that one sweet scene; and on this were concentrated the thoughts of both – their words as well.

“And you loved me then?” inquired he, only to enjoy the luxury of an affirmative answer. “You loved me then?”

“Oh, Herbert! how could I help loving you? Your eyes were so beautiful then!”

“What! Are they not so now?”

“How cruel to ask the question! Ah! far more beautiful now! Then I beheld them only with anticipation; now I look into them with the consciousness of possession. That moment was pleasure – this is ecstasy!”

The last word was perfectly appropriate – not a shade too strong to express the mutual feeling that existed between Herbert Vaughan and his cousin-wife. As their rounded arms became entwined, and their young bosoms pressed fondly together, both believed that even in this unhappy world ecstasy may exist.

Примечания

1

Texas – a state in the South West of the USA (678,358 square kilometres); till 1836 Texas belonged to Mexico; after the independence from Mexico had been declared, the territory was included in the USA and became a state in 1845

2

savannah – a plain with grass and no trees

3

prairie – a level treeless land covered with grass

4

the Leona – the river in Texas, USA

5

serape – a bright, coloured Mexican shawl or plaid

6

cicada – a flying insect which produces a shrill sound in hot, dry weather

7

nimbus – a light or golden circle round the saint’s head; a rain cloud

8

azure – ( poet .) bright blue (usually about the sky)

9

centaurean – from centaur – in Greek mythology, a strange creature, half man and half horse

10

San Antonio de Bejar – the city in south-central Texas; it was founded by the Spanish expedition from Mexico in 1718

11

Osnaburgh – a linen cloth of a certain trademark

12

Pittsburgh – the city in Pennsylvania on the Monongahela River; the first settlement was founded in 1758

13

Kentucky – the state in the south of the United States (104,664 square kilometres); it was admitted as the 15th state in 1792

14

Jehu – the King of Israel (842–815 BC) who was a great chariot driver

15

Indianola – the city in central Iowa founded in 1849; there used to be a town of the same name in Texas

16

the Gulf of Matagorda – the Bay of Matagorda, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico in southern Texas

17

en route– on the way to/from ( French )

18

cortège – a procession ( French )

19

nankin – a kind of rich cloth

20

A Leghorn hatis a hat made of straw imported from Livorno, a town in Italy

21

A Panama hatis a light hat made of plaited palm leaves; the name comes from Panama , a Spanish-speaking republic in Central America

22

entourage – people accompanying a respected or high-ranking person

23

carriole – a light, covered carriage drawn by one horse

24

a Jersey wagon – a light two-wheeled carriage

25

a barouche – a four-wheeled carriage for four passengers and the driver, with two seats facing each other

26

the Mississippi – the largest river in North America; it flows south to the Gulf of Mexico. Together with its tributary, the Missouri River, the Mississippi is the longest river in the world

27

Louisiana – the US state (123,366 square kilometres) admitted to the union in 1812 as the 18th member; it borders Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas