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“What in the name of heaven has brought you here?” I asked. “Does Mr. Fairlie know —?”

Marian suspended the question on my lips by telling me that Mr. Fairlie was dead. He had been struck by paralysis, and had never rallied after the shock. Mr. Kyrle had informed them of his death, and had advised them to proceed immediately to Limmeridge House.

Some dim perception of a great change dawned on my mind. Laura spoke before I had quite realised it. She stole close to me to enjoy the surprise which was still expressed in my face.

“My darling Walter,” she said, “must we really account for our boldness in coming here? I am afraid, love, I can only explain it by breaking through our rule, and referring to the past.”

“There is not the least necessity for doing anything of the kind,” said Marian. “We can be just as explicit, and much more interesting, by referring to the future.” She rose and held up the child kicking and crowing in her arms. “Do you know who this is, Walter?” she asked, with bright tears of happiness gathering in her eyes.

“Even MY bewilderment has its limits,” I replied. “I think I can still answer for knowing my own child.”

“Child!” she exclaimed, with all her easy gaiety of old times. “Do you talk in that familiar manner of one of the landed gentry of England? Are you aware, when I present this illustrious baby to your notice, in whose presence you stand? Evidently not! Let me make two eminent personages known to one another: Mr. Walter Hartright – THE HEIR OF LIMMERIDGE.”

So she spoke. In writing those last words, I have written all. The pen falters in my hand. The long, happy labour of many months is over. Marian was the good angel of our lives – let Marian end our Story.

Примечания

1

Seringapatam – a town in southern India; the town got its name for the 12th century temple to the Hindu god Vishnu. In the 15th century it became the capital of the rajahs and sultans

2

Mohammedan – Muslim

3

Mahmud of Ghizni (998–1030) – sultan of Ghazna, the king-dom comprising the territory of present-day Afghanistan, most of Iran and northern India

4

Somnauth – Somnath, an ancient city in west-central India, now ruined; it is known for its temple of Shiva (Lord of the Moon)

5

Brahmins – members of the caste of Hindu priests

6

Benares – Varanasi, a sacred city of the Hindus in northern India on the left bank of the Ganges River

7

Vishnu – one of the main Hindu gods; Vishnu is associated with the Sun

8

Aurungzebe – Aurangzeb (1618–1707), emperor of India in 1658–1707, the last of the Mogul emperors

9

the Moguls – a Muslim dynasty that ruled India in the 16th–18th centuries

10

Brahma(h) – one of the major gods in Hinduism who created the earth and everything on it

11

Tippoo – Tippu (1750–1799), sultan of Mysore; he died in 1799 when his capital, Seringapatam, was stormed by the Brit-ish forces.

12

Yorkshire – a large historic county in the north-central part of England