The Mysterious Affair IV

Una voz se escuchó a través de la ventana: “¿Tú escribirás a la princesa? En caso de una negativa Lady Tadminster podría ser la que abra la primera noche y la señora Crosbie la segunda.” Luego la señora Inglethorp, seguida de su esposo, apareció en el jardín.

Me saludó afectuosamente y me presentó a su marido, Alfred. Alfred llevaba una barba larga y muy negra. Tenía lentes sobre su nariz. Me pareció extraño. Su saludo fue algo frio.

Con la presencia del señor Inglethorp una especie de hostilidad se instaló en el lugar. Especialmente la señorita Howard no ocultó sus sentimientos.

La señora Inglethorp no había perdido su locuacidad. Habló de sus reuniones, consultando con su marido sobre los horarios y fechas.

Alfred me cayó mal desde el primer momento.

 At that moment a well remembered voice floated through the open French window near at hand:

"Then you'll write to the Princess after tea, Alfred? I'll write to Lady Tadminster for the second day, myself. Or shall we wait until we hear from the Princess? In case of a refusal, Lady Tadminster might open it the first day, and Mrs. Crosbie the second. Then there's the Duchess—about the school fete."

There was the murmur of a man's voice, and then Mrs. Inglethorp's rose in reply:

"Yes, certainly. After tea will do quite well. You are so thoughtful, Alfred dear."

The French window swung open a little wider, and a handsome white-haired old lady, with a somewhat masterful cast of features, stepped out of it on to the lawn. A man followed her, a suggestion of deference in his manner.

Mrs. Inglethorp greeted me with effusion.

"Why, if it isn't too delightful to see you again, Mr. Hastings, after all these years. Alfred, darling, Mr. Hastings—my husband."

I looked with some curiosity at "Alfred darling". He certainly struck a rather alien note. I did not wonder at John objecting to his beard. It was one of the longest and blackest I have ever seen. He wore gold-rimmed pince-nez, and had a curious impassivity of feature. It struck me that he might look natural on a stage, but was strangely out of place in real life. His voice was rather deep and unctuous. He placed a wooden hand in mine and said:

"This is a pleasure, Mr. Hastings." Then, turning to his wife: "Emily dearest, I think that cushion is a little damp."

She beamed fondly on him, as he substituted another with every demonstration of the tenderest care. Strange infatuation of an otherwise sensible woman!

With the presence of Mr. Inglethorp, a sense of constraint and veiled hostility seemed to settle down upon the company. Miss Howard, in particular, took no pains to conceal her feelings. Mrs. Inglethorp, however, seemed to notice nothing unusual. Her volubility, which I remembered of old, had lost nothing in the intervening years, and she poured out a steady flood of conversation, mainly on the subject of the forthcoming bazaar which she was organizing and which was to take place shortly. Occasionally she referred to her husband over a question of days or dates. His watchful and attentive manner never varied. From the very first I took a firm and rooted dislike to him, and I flatter myself that my first judgments are usually fairly shrewd.

Presently Mrs. Inglethorp turned to give some instructions about letters to Evelyn Howard, and her husband addressed me in his painstaking voice:

"Is soldiering your regular profession, Mr. Hastings?"

"No, before the war I was in Lloyd's."

"And you will return there after it is over?"

"Perhaps. Either that or a fresh start altogether."

Vocabulario:

French window: ventanas que llegan al piso y se abren en el medio.

Fete: feria

Cast of features: facciones.

Alien: extranjero.

Pince-nez: lentes.

Unctuous: afectado.

Damp: húmedo.

Beamed: sonrió.

Fondly: afectuosamente.

Infatuation: pasión.

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