Chapter 8 8

Tim Ellerton leaned back in his wicker chair, yawning as he looked out to sea.He gave his mother a quick sideways glance. Mrs Elleton was a gray-haired woman of fifty, but still pretty.Every time she looked at her son, her lips would be sternly closed, and she used this expression to hide her strong love for him.But even strangers were rarely taken in by her cover-up, and Tim certainly knew better. He said, "Mother, do you really like mazurka?" "Well," said Mrs. Elleton after a moment's thought, "this journey will be less expensive." "And it's cold," Tim said with a slight shudder.

He was a tall, thin young man with dark hair and a slightly narrow chest. The expression of the lips is sweet, the eyes are melancholy, and the cheeks appear indecisive.The hands are slender.He has been in poor health since suffering from a lung disease several years ago.Most people think that he can develop on the road of writing, but his friends understand that literary creation requires painstaking efforts and is not suitable for him. "Tim, what are you thinking?" Mrs. Elleton's bright, dark-brown eyes watched him attentively and questioningly. Tim.Allerton grinned at her.

"I was thinking of Egypt." "Egypt?" asked Mrs. Elleton, perplexed. "Really warm weather, golden lazy sand, the Nile. I'd rather go to the Nile, do you agree?" "Oh, of course I agree." Her tone was flat. "But the trip to Egypt is quite expensive, honey, and it's too expensive for a penny-pinching person." Tim laughed out loud.He stood up, stretched his body, and suddenly looked vigorous and energetic again.He said with a touch of excitement: "My dear mother, I will pay for the travel. A little brains at the Stock Exchange; and there will be a wholly satisfactory result. I have good news this morning."

"This morning?" said Mrs. Elleton sharply. "You only got one letter, and..." She didn't go on, bit her lip. Tim couldn't decide for a moment whether he should get angry or not, and finally not losing his temper prevailed. "It's from Joanna," he concluded dryly. "Mother, you've judged quite rightly, and you've become a detective lady! The famous Hercule Poirot is best with you." Watch out for his reputation." Mrs. Elleton looked very unhappy. "I just happened to read her handwriting." "And you know it wasn't from a stockbroker? You guessed right. I heard them say it yesterday, in fact. Poor Joanna's handwriting is fairly legible—like a stuffed spider crooked on an envelope." Crawling back and forth."

"What did Joanna say? Any news?" Mrs. Elleton tried to keep her voice as normal as ever.Her son's association with his second cousin, Joanna Southwood, always displeased her.It's not that she's afraid of their "child relationship".She was sure of that.Tim never showed affection for Joanna, and neither did Joanna for him.The reason for their mutual attraction seems to be based on gossip about a lot of friends and well-known celebrities.Both of them like Yuedan characters.Joanna has a grinning and mean mouth. It was not that Mrs. Elleton was afraid that Tim might fall in love with Joanna, so that her manner became a little unnatural in Joanna's presence or letters.It's some indescribable feeling-maybe it's an unconscious jealousy that Tim often joins Joanna's social group with great joy!She was used to being around him, and seeing him attracted or interested in another woman always made her uncomfortable.She also considered whether her appearance on those social occasions would become a hindrance to the younger generation?She often encountered them talking eagerly about some subject, but once she was present, their conversation became loose in order to accommodate her and not make her feel left out.Mrs. Elleton disliked Joanna Southwood from the bottom of her heart.In her eyes, Joanna is a casual, pretentious and superficial girl.She found it hard not to use harsher terms when talking about Joanna.

To answer her question, Tim pulled the letter out of his pocket and glanced at it briefly.The letter, his mother noticed, was rather long. "Not much was said," he said. "Only mentioned that Dehanisch is divorcing his wife, old Meng Zong was charged with drinking and driving. And Linna Li Jiwei rejected Wen Texiem's ​​marriage proposal, Wen Texiem was exhausted and returned to Canada. Linna Li Jiwei is obviously going to marry A realtor." "What a miracle! Is he very powerful?" "No, no, not at all. He's a Devonshire Doyle. No money, take it for granted—in fact, he was already engaged to one of Lin Na's best friends.So sweet, this pair. "

"I don't think it's any good," said Mrs. Elleton, flushing. Tim gives her a quick, knowing look. "My dear mother, I understand your psychology. You don't approve of taking other people's husbands and such things." "In our time we had our standards," Mrs Elleton said, "and there was nothing wrong with that. Young people these days seem to think they can do whatever they want." Tim laughed. "They don't just think, they make it. Just look at the case of Linna Ridgeway." "Hmph, I think this kind of thing is disgusting!"

Tim winked at her. "Cheer up, you obstinate old man! I may perhaps agree with you. Anyway, I haven't robbed someone's wife or fiancee yet. " "I'm sure you would never do that," said Mrs. Elleton.She added triumphantly: "I brought you up very well." "You have the confidence that I don't." He smiled at her playfully, while refolding the letter and putting it back in his pocket. A thought flashed through Mrs. Elleton's mind: "He let me read most of the letters, but he just skipped and read Joanna's letter to me."

But she shook off such meaningless thoughts and decided to behave like a lady as usual. "How's Joanna's life?" she asked. "Not bad. She mentioned that she wanted to open a deli shop in an upper-class neighborhood in the West End." "She always says she's short of money," said Mrs. Elleton disapprovingly, "but she's going everywhere, and she's always dressed up, so I'm afraid it costs a lot of money?" "Oh, well," said Tim, "she probably doesn't have to pay for the dress. No, Ma, I don't mean what your Edwardian mind thinks. I just mean she doesn't have to pay cash."

Mrs. Elleton sighed. "I've never understood how people do it." "That was a special gift," Tim said. "As long as you have the habit of extravagance and have absolutely no concept of money, people can ask you to borrow money in various ways." "Yes, but you end up in bankruptcy court like poor Sir George Ward." "You had a womanly kindness to that old horse dealer—perhaps because he called you a rosebud at a ball in 1879." "I wasn't born in 1879," retorted Mrs. Elleton. "I forbid you to call him a horse dealer, Sir George, who is so handsome." fun."

"Neither you nor Joanna care about what you say to others; as long as you have bad intentions, there will be no good results." Tim raised his eyebrows. "My dear Ma, you're very angry. I didn't know old Ward was such a person you admired." "You don't know how painful it is for him to be forced to sell Woodlands. He cares too much about the place." Tim could have easily argued back, but he held back.Whom does he judge?So he said thoughtfully, "You know, I think you're right. Lin Na invited him to visit the results of her reconstruction of that place, but he flatly refused. " "Of course he would refuse. If she knew him, she wouldn't have asked him." "I'm sure he didn't think well of her—he murmured something when he talked about her. He couldn't forgive her for the high price she paid for those old estates. .” "And you can't understand the psychology?" asked Mrs. Elleton sharply. Tim replied calmly, "Frankly, I don't understand. Why live in the past? Why dwell on the past?" "What would you do if you were in their shoes?" Tim shrugged. "Maybe look for excitement, live a noble life, and enjoy the feeling of not knowing what will happen. I don't want to inherit a vast land with little use. I want to get the joy of using my mind and technology to make money." "Actually make a winning trade on the stock exchange!" Tim laughed, "What's wrong with that?" "So what if you failed at the stock exchange?" "My dear mother; such a thing is very uncertain. Besides, it is not proper to talk about it today. What do you think of going to Egypt?" "Well," he interjected, laughing; "it's decided. We've both always wanted to see Egypt." "What time do you think would be appropriate?" "Oh, next month. New Year's is the scariest time of year there. We'll have a few weeks more fun with people in this hotel." "Tim," Mrs Elleton called his name reproachfully.Then she added guiltily: "I'm afraid I promised Mrs. Li Yun that you could go to the police station with her. She doesn't speak a word of Spanish." Tim made a face. "About her ring? The horse bloodsucker's daughter, her ruby ​​gone? She still insists her ring was stolen, and I'll go if you want, but it's a waste of time. She'll just Get the maid who cleans the bedroom into trouble. I could clearly see the ring on her hand the other day when she jumped into the sea. Maybe the ring fell into the water and she didn't notice." "She said she was pretty sure she took the ring off and put it on the dresser." "Well, she didn't take it off. I saw it with my own eyes. Women are stupid. Any woman who jumps into the sea on a December day and pretends the water is warm just because the sun happens to come out at that moment is a fool.Women with no brains should be forbidden to swim; they are a disgrace in bathing suits. " Mrs. Elleton murmured, "I really think I should give up swimming." Tim shrugged and laughed. "You? Your figure is better than most young ladies, so you are not included in this ban." Mrs. Elleton sighed, "I wish there were more young people here to keep you company." Tim.Elleton shook his head decisively. "I don't think so. You and I can get along quite comfortably without external distractions." "If Joanna was here you'd enjoy meeting people." "I won't." His tone was strangely stubborn. "You were totally wrong. Joanna can make me laugh, but I don't actually like her, and having her around all the time kills me.I'm so thankful she's not here.If I could never see her again, I'd live a more fulfilling life. " He lowered his voice and said: "There is only one woman in the world that I really admire and admire. Mrs. Elleton, I think you know who that woman is very well." His mother's face turned red all of a sudden, looking very embarrassed. Tim said solemnly: "There are not many really good women in the world, and you are one of them."