Chapter 11 chapter Ten

Susie received a telegram from Gare du Nord, and she stared at it for a long time, unable to understand the content.Telegram looks like this: Susie was terrified and didn't know what to do or what to think.Then there was a knock at the door, and she knew it must be Arthur, who had promised to come at noon.She thought, she shouldn't tell him about this right away, she had to figure out the ins and outs first.Besides, he might not believe it, the news was too unbelievable.After making up her mind, she opened the door. "I'm sorry Marguerite is not at home," she said, "a friend of hers was ill and called her over suddenly."

"What a nuisance! Mrs Bloomfield again, I suppose?" "How do you know she's sick?" "Margaret has been with her almost every afternoon lately." Susie didn't speak.This was the first time she had heard of Mrs. Bloomfield's condition, and the first time that Margaret had been visiting her lately.But now was not the time to think about it, her primary goal now was to get rid of Arthur. "Why don't you come back at five?" she said. "I said, why don't we have lunch together, you and me." "Sorry, I have an appointment."

"Okay then, I'll be back at five." He walked out.She read the short note again and asked herself if it was even possible that it was true, because the insensitivity in the lines was so shocking.She went into Marguerite's room, and found that everything was still the same, and there was no trace of the master's departure.She noticed, though, that many of the letters had been torn up.She opened the drawer to find that Marguerite's trinkets were gone.This reminded her of one thing.Margaret bought a lot of clothes recently, and she insisted on sending them to the tailor, saying that the studio is already crowded, so there is no need to be burdened.She said the clothes could be sent back a few weeks later when she got married in England, and it would be easier to send them from one place.Susie left the studio.As she passed the porter it occurred to her that she might ask the porter where Marguerite had been this morning.

"I'm fine, miss." The old woman said, "I heard her tell the coachman to go to the British consulate." Something came to Susie's mind.Then she went to the tailor and found that Marguerite had sent him to the luggage room of the Gare du Nord the day before. "Aren't you willing to send the clothes away without waiting for the guest to pay the bill?" Susie said lightly, as if joking. The tailor smiled. "The lady paid the bill two or three days ago." Susie was furious, and Margaret not only took away the dowry bought with Arthur, but also paid all the bills with the money Arthur gave her (because she was penniless).Then Susie went to Mrs. Bloomfield's, and as soon as she entered she was scolded by the lady for not coming to see her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm very busy, and Margaret is taking care of you." "I haven't seen Margaret for three weeks." "Really? I thought she came here a lot." Susie's tone was light, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.She wondered where Margaret had been all those afternoons.Susie tried to force herself to have a domestic chat with the nagging old woman, to make her visit seem more natural.After saying goodbye to Mrs Bloomfield, she went to the consulate.In this way, the whole matter came to light, and all that was left was to go home and wait for Arthur.She tried at first to seek Dr. Bojoy's help, but even if he would go back to the studio with her, he couldn't be of much help.She has to meet Arthur alone.Her heart ached at the thought of Arthur's pain when he knew the truth.She had confessed her love for Arthur to herself very early, but now she had to convey such a huge bad news to the man she loved, which really made her extremely painful.

She sat in the studio, counting the time, smiling wryly, thinking that he would definitely show up on time, because he was so eager for Margaret.Except for a little breakfast in the morning, she hadn't eaten anything all day, and now she was a little dizzy with hunger, but she wasn't in the mood to make tea.When five o'clock came, he walked in happily and looked around. "Isn't Marguerite here?" He was a little surprised. "Sit down and talk." He didn't notice the strangeness in her voice, nor her averted eyes. "Look how lazy you are," he said aloud, "you haven't even made tea."

"Mr. Borden, I have something to say to you. This incident will cause you great pain." He finally noticed the hoarseness in her voice.He stood up abruptly, countless possibilities flashed through his mind.Something must have happened to Margaret.She must be sick.He was so frightened that he couldn't speak for a moment.He stretched out his hands like a blind man.Susie wanted to talk, but couldn't.Her voice choked, and she began to cry.Arthur was shaking like he had malaria.She handed him the note. "What does it mean?" He looked at her blankly.She told him what she did during the day and where she went.

"You would think she was taking care of Mrs. Bloomfield every afternoon, but she was with the man. She planned every step carefully. It was no whim." He sat down and put his head in his hands.He turned his back to her, not wanting her to see his face.It was very quiet in the house.Susie couldn't help crying softly.She knew the man she loved was suffering more than death, and there was nothing she could do about it.Anger flared up in her heart, and she hated Margaret. "This is so shameless!" she cried suddenly. "She lied to you! She is a vicious, vile, heartless liar! Her heart is rotten!"

He turned around angrily. "I don't allow you to say anything bad about her!" His voice was very stiff. She was startled.He had never spoken to her in that tone.She said angrily: "She betrayed you so badly, can you still love her as before? That man must have been showing love to her for a month. She knew our attitude towards him, so she pretended to hate him, I saw her pretend she didn't see him once on the street. She was excited about preparing for the wedding with you. Her world is full of lies and you never doubted her because you firmly believed in her Love and loyalty. She is what she is today because of you. She has been funded by you for four years. She is here because you give her money to fulfill her stupid whim. Even in her The clothes you wear now are all bought by you."

"If she doesn't love me, what can I do!" he cried out in despair. "You know as well as I do that she's just pretending to love you. Oh, she's so shameful, there's no excuse, just shame." He looked at her haggard and sad. "Why are you so cruel? For God's sake don't add fuel to the fire." There was indescribable pain in his voice.It was as if this remark broke the last dam of rationality he was struggling to support, and he finally collapsed, covering his face and crying bitterly.Susie is very guilty. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to say such hateful things, or to be so heartless. I should have considered how much you loved her."

He struggled to control his emotions, trying to regain his sense of normalcy.Susie looked at him and felt a great deal of pain, and it could be said that she suffered as much as he did.She would have liked to be on his knees, to kiss his hand, to soothe him tenderly, but she knew that he was only interested in her because she was Margaret's friend.At this moment, he stood up, took out the pipe from his pocket, and filled it with tobacco without saying a word.The look on his face frightened her.When she saw him for the first time, Susie wanted to know what kind of grief would appear on that vicissitudes of face, but she never imagined that such an unspeakable pain could be revealed on this face, even her face The contours of the entire body were distorted and deformed by the excruciating pain, and it looked terrible. "I don't believe it's true," he said, "I don't believe it." There was a knock at the door, and Arthur cried out excitedly. "Maybe she's back." He suddenly glowed and opened the door hastily, only to see Dr. Bojoy. "What's the matter with you?" the doctor asked. "What happened?" He looked around and saw the desperation on Arthur's and Susie's faces. "Where's Miss Margaret? I thought you were having a party." His words were confusing, so Susie asked why. "I had a telegram from Mr. Haddo this morning." He took the telegram from his pocket and handed it to Susie.She read it again and passed it on to Arthur.The telegram said: "Margaret married Mr. Haddo this morning," said Arthur softly. "I think they're back in England." Then Susie told the doctors what they knew.He was just as shocked as they were, and just as sentimental. "But why?" he asked. Arthur shrugged wearily. "I guess it's because she loves Haddo more than me. It's normal for her to leave without an explanation, probably to avoid a painful scene." "When was the last time you saw her?" "We had dinner together last night." "Has she not shown any signs of wanting to break up with you?" Arthur shook his head. "Did you quarrel?" "We've never had a fight. She's in very high spirits. I've never seen her so happy. She's been talking about our house in London and where we have to go when we get married." Another spasm of pain crossed his face as he remembered last night that she was more affectionate than ever.There was still her warmth on his lips.He hadn't slept last night with the excitement of being sure for the first time that the same passion that tormented him burned within her. "I'm sure she loves me," he blurted out. Susie was staring at Haddon's brutal telegram at this moment.She seemed to hear his triumphant laugh. "Margaret loathed Oliver Hadow very much. Her hatred for him almost surpassed emotion. It was more like a physical instinctive resistance, just like people's reaction when they saw certain animals. How could she How could my son fall in love with him and do such a vicious thing?" "We shouldn't be prejudiced against him," said Arthur. "He pissed us all off, and that's probably prejudice. He did a lot of marvelous things when he was young, and he's no fool. Maybe some people don't Don't mind the eccentricities in him that annoy us. He's very well-born and rich. In many ways he's a perfect fit for Margaret." He did his best to find excuses for her.Perhaps her betrayal would not have been so unbearable if he had been able to convince himself that there was something in Haddo that really fascinated her.But he couldn't help shuddering when he thought of his rival's appearance—the monstrous fatness, the vulgar pompous personality.Thinking that Margaret would be possessed by such a hug, he felt like his flesh was being torn off piece by piece by an iron hook. "Maybe it's not true, maybe she'll come back," he cried. "Would you accept her if she came back to you?" Susie asked. "Do you think I would love her less for any of her actions? There must be some reason why she did all this that we don't know. I daresay it was inevitable in the first place." Dr. Bojoy stood up and walked across the room. "If I want to get revenge on a woman who has hurt me, asking her to marry Oliver Hadow is probably the cruelest and most subtle trick." "Poor thing! Poor thing!" said Arthur. "I only wish her happiness! But her future scares me." "I wondered if she knew Hadow sent that telegram," said Susie. "Does she know what else affects it?" Susie turned to Arthur gravely. "Do you remember the day in the studio when you beat him up after he kicked Margaret's dog? Though he thought no one was looking at him, I happened to see his expression. I've never seen that in my life It was a face that was as evil as a demon. Then when he tried to justify himself, there was a gleam in his eyes that made me shudder. I warned you, I told you he had Determined to get back at you, but you laughed at me. Then he seemed to drop out of our lives, and I didn't give it a second thought. I was wondering why he had Dr. Bojoy here today. He must know that Dr. Bojoy heard The disgrace to which he has suffered, and therefore wishes the doctor to be there to bear witness to his victory. I think he conceived such a base plot the moment he decided to take revenge on you." "How can he be sure that something so dreadful will work?" said Arthur. "Miss Boyd has a point," murmured the doctor. "If you think about it, he must have thought it would cause you the most pain. It was a very cruel thing to do. He took everything from you." He must have guessed that your greatest desire in this world is to marry Margaret. He not only prevented your marriage, but married Margaret. To achieve this, only The only way is to poison her mind and distort her character. Her mind must have been tainted by him, and he must have completely changed her personality." "I feel it too," cried Arthur excitedly. "If Margaret will betray me, and be with him so lightly, then she must not be the Margaret I know, but possess her." The demon of the body." "Although you are just making an analogy, I doubt it is true." Arthur and Dr. Bojoey looked at Susie in great surprise. "I can't believe Margaret would do something like this," she continued, "and the more I think about it, the more I find it unbelievable. I've known Margaret for many years, and she never lies. Very honest. I was just angry at first, but honestly I don't want to think too badly of her. If she's being coerced by some force, it's not her fault." Arthur clenched his fists. "If that's the case, I don't know if it would be worse. If he married her not because he loves her, but because he wants to get revenge on me, what kind of life will be waiting for her? We all know he is cruel and ruthless, and It's very vengeful." "Dr. Bojoy is better at these things than we are," said Susie. "Is it possible that Hadow put some kind of spell on her so that she couldn't refuse his wishes? Is it possible that he completely changed her character?" ?” "How would I know!" said the doctor helplessly. "I have indeed heard of such things and read about them in books, but there is no proof. All these things are uncertain, and magicians always Strange remarks. Arthur was a man of science, and he knew the limits of hypnotism." "Hadow does have powers that no one else has, though," Susie said. "Maybe he can do things we can't even imagine beneath his terrific arrogance." Arthur buried his face in his hands wearily. "I'm heartbroken right now, my mind is in such a mess, I can't think rationally. Everything is possible for me at this moment, and my belief in the so-called truth is collapsing." They were silent with each other for a while.Arthur stared at the chair Margaret used to sit in.There are still her unfinished oil paintings on the easel.Finally, Dr. Bojoe broke the silence. "Even if Miss Boyd's suspicions were true, it wouldn't help. You can't do anything. You can't remedy it, legally or otherwise. Margaret is a free man, and she's married to The man was married. Many would have thought it better for her to marry a country squire than a young surgeon. Her telegrams were clear, and there was no trace of coercion at all. In any case, she was willing Married to him without showing the slightest desire to run away from him or escape the feelings that enslaved her." What the doctor said was right, and it cannot be refuted. "It seems that I can only admit it with a smile." Arthur said, standing up. "Where are you going?" said Susie. "I want to leave Paris. Everything here reminds me of what I lost. I have to go back to work." He regained his composure.Except for the unconcealable pain on his face, he became as calm as ever.He held out his hand to Susie. "I just hope you forget about it as soon as possible," she said. "I don't want to forget," he said, shaking his head. "Maybe Margaret will contact you. She should come back to pick up the things left here. I dare say she will write to you. Please tell me when the time comes." She, I don't resent one iota of what she does, and I will never blame her. I don't know if there is anything else I can do for her, but I want her to know that I would do anything for her anyway. " "If she writes to me, I'll tell her," said Susie gravely. "Then, goodbye." "You won't be back in London until tomorrow at the earliest. Can I see you again in the morning?" "If you don't mind, I don't want to come here again. I can't calm down when I see this." Another throb of pain flitted across his eyes.Susie could see that he was trying to stay calm.She hesitated for a moment. "Shall I never see you again?" she said. "I shall be very sorry if so." "I'm sorry, too," said he. "You're a good, kind fellow. I'll never forget that you were Margaret's friend. If you come to London, please do let me know." He walked out.Dr. Bojoy walked up and down the room with his hands behind his back.Finally, he turned to Susie. "I don't understand a little," he said, "why should he marry her?" "Didn't Arthur say," replied Susie bitterly, "that no matter what happens, he will always accept her. So the man knows that only marriage can keep her safely tied to him." Dr. Bojoy shrugged.After a while, he left too, leaving Susie alone.Susie was so heartbroken that she cried, not for herself, but because Arthur was suffering unbearable pain for ordinary people.