Chapter 17 Chapter Four

A few days after Mrs. Edward Stringal's party, Basil went to Brighton, where he was met by Jenny and her sister at the railway station.After handing over the luggage to the porters, they started walking to the apartment.Soon, they were joined by a very handsome young man, and Anne Bush came together-this gentleman was said to be called Higgins.When they got to the front, Basil asked Jenny who this man was. "He's Anne's new boyfriend." Jenny replied with a smile. "Have you known him long?" "We got to know him the day after we settled down. I noticed he was watching us, and I said to Annie: 'My dear, you're being watched; you'll have company when Basil comes. Now, we can't walk together as three of us.'"

"Who introduced him to you?" "What a fool you are!" laughed Jenny. "He just came up and said good evening to us, and Annie said good evening to him, and they started talking. He looked rich. He took us last night. Going to the concert, and the best seats. Nice of him, isn't he?" "But, honey, you shouldn't go out with men you don't know." "Just let Anne relax, and that man is also a very decent person, isn't he? You see, she usually doesn't have the opportunity to meet men like me when she is at home. Besides, this man is very gentleman."

"Oh, is it? I think he's a terribly wicked man." "You're so picky," said Jenny. "I don't see anything wrong with him." After arriving at the place of residence, Anne was busy talking enthusiastically with her new friend, and didn't stop until Basil and the others came in.She is a bit like Jenny, but she has the difference between an ordinary woman and a beautiful woman.She had the same fine figure, but her unnecessarily groomed hair lacked color; she was older than Jenny, but her complexion did not reveal it. "Jenny," cried Anne, "he won't come to tea because he says you might wish to be alone with your husband. You tell him that's all right."

"Of course it's all right," said Jenny. "Come in and have a cup of tea with us, and then we can go out together." He was clearly a joker: while Basil was washing his face, he heard two ladies laughing in the next room.Presently Jenny said the tea was ready, and Basil was obliged, though reluctantly, to enter the house.His wife's health was much better, and she was talking and laughing loudly, and looked very happy.The three of them clearly had a great time together the past two weeks, as they had plenty of familiar jokes.Displeased at the intrusion of strangers, Basil did not want to join in their conversation, but sat silently aside, picking up a newspaper for a while to read.Anne gave him a disapproving look, and Mr. Higgins looked hesitantly once or twice, but soon resumed his fast-paced anecdote.Perhaps he had reason to be angry, too, for he had told the best story, yet Basil put on an expression of extreme boredom.

"Who said you were going for a walk just now?" he said at last. "Come, Jenny," answered Anne, turning to Basil, "will you come?" He looked up from the newspaper indifferently. "No, I still have some letters to write." Jenny wanted to stay with her husband, and when they were alone, they talked about some family business; but there was evident discomfort between them, and Basil presently began to read to himself.After a while Anne came back and cast a hostile glance at Basil. "Is it better now?" she asked. "what?" "You looked uncomfortable while drinking tea just now."

"Thank you for your concern, my health is good." "Perhaps you could be more courteous than sitting silently, as if at a funeral, when a gentleman came to visit me." "I'm sorry that my behavior did not satisfy you," he replied calmly. "My dear, Mr. Higgins said he wouldn't come again until your husband was gone. He said he knew Basil didn't like him, and I didn't blame him for that." "What nonsense are you talking about, Anne!" cried Mrs. Kent. "Basil is just tired." "Yes, the journey to Brighton was tiring, wasn't it? Let me tell you straight up, Basil, that I wish my friend to be treated like a gentleman."

"Annie, you are a very friendly person." He shrugged and replied. After supper Anne waited impatiently for a while, then the servant came in and said Mr. Higgins was waiting for her at the door, and she took her hat hastily and went out.Basil hesitated for a moment, he didn't want to cause conflict, but finally decided to give Annie some necessary warnings. "I said, Annie, do you think it's appropriate behavior to go out alone at night with some random acquaintance on the docks?" "It's none of your business what I do, right?" she replied angrily, "I'd appreciate it if you gave me advice when I asked you."

"Annie, will I come with you?" replied her sister. "You don't interfere with me. You know, I can take care of myself." When she went out, she slammed the door hard in retaliation, but Basil didn't say another word, he frowned, and turned his eyes back to the book.However, it didn't take long for him to find that Jenny was crying softly. "Jenny, what's the matter with you?" he yelled. "Nothing," she replied, trying to regain her old smile as she wiped away her tears, "it's just that I had a great time here and wanted you to come and make it perfect. I've been looking forward to your coming." , and now, you seem to have screwed everything up."

"I'm sorry." He sighed, looking frustrated. He didn't know what to say or how to comfort her, for he also realized that his presence disturbed her joy, that although he came with good intentions, his presence brought only sadness to her. .In the company of Mr. Higgins, she is more like herself.Her greatest pleasure was going out for a walk, staring at the people in the street, or listening to the sad ditties of the black minstrels, and she liked the cheerful noises and the overly gaudy colors.On the other hand, Jenny was often indifferent to things that made Basil feel painful. Basil was very disgusted with this dirty and vulgar apartment, but she was very satisfied.It looked like he was in a maze where it didn't matter if he came from the opposite direction.

A small accident the next morning made Basil understand what his wife thought of him.Anne came downstairs dressed for church, so appallingly made-up that one wondered what vulgar taste she had mixed those colours; Wear cheap clothes. "Ah! dear, you can't just go out like this!" cried Anne, seeing that Jenny was dressed in the same way as the day before. "Aren't you going to put on your new hat?" Mrs. Kent looked at her husband with some unease.Basil's distaste for Sunday dress was one of the fashions most incomprehensible to his wife. "Basil, I saw a pretty hat in the shop, and Anne encouraged me to buy it. It's very cheap, I tell you—only six pounds and sevenpence."

"There's always a chance you'll need it," said Basil, laughing. A few minutes later, she came back with the hat, flushed and brimming with happiness, but Basil really didn't think the hat was cheap. "Do you like it?" she asked uneasily. "Very much," he replied, wanting to please his wife. "Look, Jenny, I knew he wouldn't mind. Basil, she made a fuss for a long time at that time, thinking that you would definitely not like it and would be angry. Now it seems that it is completely out of thin air!" "Basil said the best color for me was black," Jenny defended herself. "Men don't know how to dress at all, my dear," replied Anne, "and if you do what Basil says, you'll be a slovenly woman." Basil, who found that his wife was still afraid of him, was very distressed at this time.He was evidently a terrible figure in Jenny's eyes, with capricious likes and temperaments, and he had hoped that there would be mutual trust between them, that they would be a complete unity, sharing all thoughts and emotions, But now, he was just disappointed.He knew his love was dead, and he tried to convince himself that Jenny's was dying too.The weekend had been particularly boring for him, so Basil was relieved when Jenny accompanied him to the station to leave on Monday morning. "I've been very busy recently, I don't know if I can spare myself next week." He said tentatively. But Jenny's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Oh, Basil, I can't do without you! I'd rather go back to town. If you don't like Anne, I can let her go. Promise me you'll come again. I've been expecting you all week." "You'll be happy if I'm not here. My presence just adds to your troubles." "No, you don't. I need you so badly. I don't want to lose you even if it's just pain to be with you. Promise me you'll come." "Okay, I'll come." The chains that bound him were as strong as ever.The train was speeding toward London, and Basil's heart began to beat violently as he approached London—for he was getting closer and closer to Hilda Murray.He realized more and more clearly that he loved Mrs. Murray, and told himself angrily that he had lost her forever.He was fascinated by her voice, attracted by the curve of her skirt, obsessed by the tenderness in her eyes, and he remembered every word she said in Mrs. Edward's house.When Basil dined with Miss Ley on Wednesday, he felt that he wanted to see Hilda urgently.Coming home from get off work in the afternoon through Charles Street, he looked up at Mrs. Murray's window like a lover of eighteen.The light was on in the living room, and he knew she was at home, but he didn't dare to visit her rashly.Mrs. Murray had not invited him to visit her, and he did not know whether she would like to see him, or whether she would consider a visit a trivial matter which did not require a special invitation.The window seemed to beckon to him, and the door seemed to send a silent invitation to him; but just as he was hesitating, a person came out of the house—Mr. Farley.Basil then wondered angrily why he should be able to visit Mrs. Murray's so often.In the end, he left in despair. This Wednesday, Basil came to Miss Ley's house with great excitement, and when he happily asked who else was coming to dinner, Miss Ley did not mention Mrs. Murray, which made Basil's My heart is cold.So, next, he began to think about how to spend this bleak night that he had been looking forward to infinitely.After that encounter at Mrs. Edward Stringal's, his dormant passions suddenly burst into flames so dazzling that he could not bear them.Seeing Hilda seemed imperative this week; he could think of nothing else, and the thought of going to Brighton on Saturday terrified him.Of course he was mad, and even he knew that it would do no good to see Mrs. Murray again--it would have been better if they had never met.But his repeated exhortations to himself seemed particularly foolish, his desire to see her trumped all his deliberations.He felt no harm in talking to her one more time, just one more time, after which he vowed to make himself forget her completely. The next day he was on Charles Street again, and again saw the gleam in Mrs. Murray's window.He hesitated, walking back and forth outside.He didn't know if she wanted to see him, and was afraid of the disturbed look on her face, but in the end, with a hint of anger, he decided to try his luck.If he had seen Hilda and could not love her any more, some miracle might have happened, some consoling scene would have appeared to help him endure his captivity.He rang the doorbell. "Is Mrs. Murray home?" "Yes, sir." Mrs. Murray was reading when he entered the room, and Basil, despondent, imagined a slight displeasure in Mrs. Murray's eyes.This made him panic, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.Then he thought that his behavior might have shocked her very much, and asked himself whether she would know the reason for his sudden marriage.He listened to the polite, trivial things she said, and tried to respond with tact; but his voice sounded so abnormal that he could hardly recognize it himself.Yet both laughed heartlessly, and they talked of Miss Ley, of Frank, of the plays that were going on in London, and of one insignificant subject after another, until Basil had to go. "I was terrified before I came," he said cheerfully, "because you never invited me to visit you." "I don't think that's necessary," she replied, laughing, but looking defiantly straight into Basil's eyes. Basil blushed and gave her a quick look, for there seemed to be a deeper meaning to what she said, and he didn't know what to make of it.He immediately forgot his politeness and grace. "I really want to see you," he whispered, so that he could keep his composure. "Can I come again?" "Certainly!" she replied; yet there was a cold surprise in her tone, as if she were considering his question and were displeased with it. Suddenly, she found that Basil was looking straight at her with pain in his eyes, which made her feel suddenly embarrassed.His face was pale, and his lips twitched as if he were trying to control himself.Throughout the night, Hilda thought about Basil's expression of extreme pain. He had been staring at her in the dark. Now she understood that the revenge she wanted had been given to Basil.But she was not very happy.She felt that Basil still seemed to love her, and asked herself for the hundredth time why he had married so strangely; yet she could not be sure how she felt.She bit her lips. Knowing that he might come again, Mrs. Murray was tempted to tell the housekeeper not to let him in, but some inexplicable reasons prevented her.She wanted to see the pitiful look on his face again, she wanted to be sure that he wasn't happy after his brutal betrayal.One afternoon the following week, returning home from an outing, she found the card Basil had left behind.She took it in her hand and turned it over. "Should I invite him to lunch?" She frowned exasperatedly and put the card down. "No, if he wants to see me, let him come again." When the servants told him that day that Mrs. Murray was not at home, Basil was very disappointed and decided not to go there any more.He waited for Mrs. Murray's reply, but got nothing.He waited for a week, during which he couldn't do anything but miss her, was very disturbed, and his body seemed to be hollowed out.Afterwards he came to Brighton with a broken conscience and began to avoid as much as possible being alone with Jenny.He took her out to the theatre, or to a concert, and insisted that the still loyal Mr. Higgins should always be with them.This made him feel disgusted, and at the same time, very ashamed. Then he started passing Charles every night on his way back to Frank's house, and those windows still seemed to invite him.When he looked back, the whole street seemed to be tempting him, so at last he couldn't resist the temptation any longer.He knew Mrs. Murray was at home.If the butler sent him away, it would be obvious: Hilda must have ordered the butler not to let him in. This time, he had better luck, but when he saw Hilda, the words stuck in his throat just couldn't come out, and he had to talk to her about ordinary things.Mrs. Murray felt a little uneasy at the sight of Basil's sullen face of pain, and the tension made conversation very difficult.Basil didn't dare to delay his interview for too long, but he was really unwilling to leave without saying what he had kept in his heart.The conversation slowly died down, and soon they fell silent. "When is your book coming out?" she asked, feeling very depressed for some reason. "In just two weeks...I want to thank you for helping me." "Me?" she exclaimed, "what have I done?" "More than you know. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing for you alone. When I evaluate everything, I try to see it from your point of view." Hearing this, Mrs. Murray was a little embarrassed, so she didn't answer.Basil turned his face away, as if he wanted to force himself to say something more, but he was very nervous. "You know, it seems to me that every human being is controlled by some invisible ring that separates him from the rest of the world. We are all completely alone, making decisions for ourselves every step of the way, without People can help him." "Don't you think?" she replied, "if people knew about his problem, they would do everything they could to help him." "Maybe, but the things that can be asked are often trivial. There are other things, things about life and death, that people often don't ask; and if he could say it, maybe he can change A lot of things." He turned his face and looked at her seriously. "A man may in one way or another inflict great pain on someone he holds dear, but if he knew all the facts, he might be excused and forgiven." Mrs. Murray's heart began to beat faster, and her voice trembled involuntarily. "Does it matter? In the end we all give in to ourselves. I think it might be frustrating for a spectator who can read people's hearts, because he will find out how much pain is hidden behind those superficial smiles. If we realize our own How miserable our fellow citizens are in fact, we should all be kind to them." They fell silent again, but strangely, the barrier between them seemed to disappear suddenly, and now, although neither of them spoke, they felt no discomfort.Presently Basil stood up. "Goodbye, Mrs. Murray. I'm glad you let me in today." "Why didn't I let you in?" "I'm afraid your servant will say you're not at home." He looked at her calmly, as if there were more profound things in his words. "I'll always welcome you," she replied in a low voice. "Thank you." A burst of deep gratitude eased the pain on his face. At this moment the steward reported the arrival of Mrs. Barlow Bassett.Mrs. Bassett shook Basil's hand coldly, thinking that a man married to a barmaid was not a good fit for her noble son, and made no attempt to catch up with him.He goes out the door. "Do you know whom Mr. Kent married, and why?" asked Mrs. Murray. She wanted to ask this question a long time ago, but her pride stopped her, but at this moment, she couldn't hold back anymore, she was eager to find out this question that had troubled her for a long time. "Dear Hilda, don't you know? It's a horrific story. Really, I was surprised to see him here, but of course if you don't know about it, you can Explain it all. He's had an affair with a horrible scum." "That woman is very beautiful. I've seen her." "What?" exclaimed Mrs. Bassett in surprise. "It seems that the woman got pregnant and he had to marry her." Mrs. Murray blushed up to her ears, and at that moment she felt very angry.She told herself again that she hated him, that she loathed him, but suddenly remembered the sadness in his eyes, and she realized that those emotions before were not real. "Don't you think he is very unhappy?" "That's for sure. A man can't be happy when he marries a woman who is below him, but I must say he deserves it. I'll tell the whole story As a warning to my son. It just goes to show the consequences of not having a good code of conduct.” Mrs. Murray looked blankly at the narrator in front of her, as if thinking of something else. "Poor fellow! I think you are right. He is very unfortunate indeed."