The Thirteenth Tale-第32章

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dr。　maudsley　found　his　patient　to　be　underweight　and　to　have　lice；　otherwise　she　was　physically　healthy　in　every　respect。　her　psychological　state；　however；　was　more　difficult　to　determine。　was　the　child；　as　john…he…dig　implied；　mentally　deficient？　or　was　the　girl’s　behavior　caused　by　parental　neglect　and　lack　of　discipline？　this　was　the　view　of　the　missus；　who；　publicly　at　least；　was　inclined　always　to　absolve　the　twins。

these　were　not　the　only　opinions　the　doctor　had　in　mind　when　he　examined　the　wild　twin。　the　previous　night　in　his　own　house；　pipe　in　mouth；　hand　on　fireplace；　he　had　been　musing　aloud　about　the　case　（he　enjoyed　having　his　wife　listen　to　him；　it　inspired　him　to　greater　eloquence）；　enumerating　the　instances　of　misbehavior　he　had　heard　of。　there　had　been　the　thieving　from　villagers’　cottages；　the　destruction　of　the　topiary　garden；　the　violence　wrought　upon　emmeline；　the　fascination　with　matches。　he　had　been　pondering　the　possible　explanations　when　the　soft　voice　of　his　wife　broke　in。　“you　don’t　think　she　is　simply　wicked？”

for　a　moment　he　was　too　surprised　at　being　interrupted　to　answer。

‘it’s　only　a　suggestion；“　she　said　with　a　wave　of　her　hand；　as　if　to　discount　her　words。　she　had　spoken　mildly；　but　that　hardly　mattered。　the　fact　that　she　had　spoken　at　all　was　enough　to　give　her　words　an　edge。

and　then　there　was　hester。

‘what　you　must　bear　in　mind；“　she　had　told　him；　”is　that　in　the　absence　of　any　strong　parental　attachment；　and　with　no　strong　guidance　from　any　other　quarter；　the　child’s　development　to　date　has　been　wholly　shaped　by　the　experience　of　twinness。　her　sister　is　the　one　fixed　and　permanent　point　in　her　consciousness；　therefore　her　entire　worldview　will　have　been　formed　through　the　prism　of　their　relationship。“

she　was　quite　right；　of　course。　he　had　no　idea　what　book　she　had　got　it　out　of；　but　she　must　have　read　it　closely；　for　she　elaborated　on　the　idea　very　sensibly。　as　he　listened；　he　had　been　rather　struck　by　her　queer　little　voice。　despite　its　distinctively　feminine　pitch　it　had　more　than　a　little　masculine　authority　about　it。　she　was　articulate。　she　had　an　amusing　habit　of　expressing　views　of　her　own　with　the　same　measured　mand　as　when　she　was　explaining　a　theory　by　some　authority　she　had　read。　and　when　she　paused　for　breath　at　the　end　of　a　sentence；　she　would　give　him　a　quick　look—he　had　found　it　disconcerting　the　first　time；　though　now　he　thought　it　rather　droll—to　let　him　know　whether　he　was　allowed　to　speak　or　whether　she　intended　to　go　on　speaking　herself。

‘i　must　do　some　more　research；“　he　told　hester　when　they　met　to　discuss　the　patient　after　the　examination。　”and　i　shall　certainly　look　very　closely　at　the　significance　of　her　being　a　twin。“

hester　nodded。　“the　way　i　look　at　it　is　this；”　she　said。　“in　a　number　of　ways；　you　could　view　the　twins　as　having　divided　a　set　of　characteristics　between　them。　where　an　ordinary；　healthy　person　will　feel　a　hole　range　of　different　emotions；　display　a　great　variety　of　behaviors；　le　twins；　you　might　say；　have　divided　the　range　of　emotions　and　behaviors　into　two　and　taken　one　set　each。　one　twin　is　wild　and　given　to　physical　rages；　the　other　is　indolent　and　passive。　one　prefers　cleanliness；　the　other　craves　dirt。　one　has　an　endless　appetite　for　food；　the　other　can　starve　herself　for　days。　now；　if　this　polarity—we　can　argue　later　about　how　consciously　it　has　been　adopted—is　crucial　to　adeline’s　sense　of　identity；　it　is　unsurprising；　is　it　not；　if　she　suppresses　within　herself　everything　that　in　her　view　falls　on　emmeline’s　side　of　the　boundary？　”　the　question　was　rhetorical；　she　did　not　indicate　to　the　doctor　that　he　might　speak；　but　drew　in　a　measured　breath　and　continued。　“now；　consider　the　qualities　in　the　girl　in　the　mist。　she　listens　to　stories；　is　capable　of　understanding　and　being　moved　by　a　language　that　is　not　twin　language。　this　suggests　a　willingness　to　engage　with　other　people。　but　of　the　twins；　which　is　it　who　has　been　allocated　the　job　of　engaging　with　others？　emmeline！　and　so　adeline　must　repress　this　part　of　her　humanity。”

hester　turned　her　head　to　the　doctor　and　gave　him　the　look　that　meant　it　was　his　turn　to　speak。

‘it’s　a　curious　idea；“　he　answered　cautiously。　”i　should　have　thought　the　opposite；　wouldn’t　you？　that　you　could　expect　them　to　be　lore　alike　than　dissimilar？“

‘but　we　know　from　observation　that　that　isn’t　the　case；“　she　counted　briskly。

‘hmm。“

she　did　not　speak　but　let　him　consider。　he　stared　at　the　empty　wall；　sep　in　thought；　while　she　cast　anxious　glances　in　his　direction；　trying　to　divine　the　reception　of　her　theory　from　his　face。　then　he　was　ready　to　make　his　pronouncement。

‘while　this　idea　of　yours　is　an　interesting　one“—he　put　on　a　sympathetic　smile　to　soften　the　effect　of　his　discouragement—”i　don’t　recall　ever　reading　about　such　a　division　of　character　between　twins　in　any　of　the　authorities。“

she　ignored　the　smile　and　met　his　eyes　levelly。　“it　isn’t　in　the　authorities；　no。　if　it　was　going　to　be　anywhere　it　would　be　in　lawson；　and　it　isn’t。”

‘you　have　read　lawson？“

‘of　course。　i　would　not　dream　of　pronouncing　an　opinion　on　any　subject　without　being　sure　of　my　references　first。“

‘oh。“

‘there　is　a　reference　to　the　peruvian　boy　twins　in　harwood　that　is　suggestive；　though　he　stops　short　of　the　full　conclusion　that　might　be　drawn。“

‘i　remember　the　example　you　mean…“　he　gave　a　little　start。　”oh！　i　see　the　connection！　well；　i　wonder　whether　the　brasenby　case　study　is　of　any　relevance？“

‘i　haven’t　been　able　to　obtain　the　full　study。　can　you　lend　it　to　me？“

so　it　began。

impressed　by　the　acuity　of　hester’s　observations；　the　doctor　lent　her　the　brasenby　case　study。　when　she　returned　it；　there　was　a　sheet　of　pithily　expressed　notes　and　questions　attached。　he；　in　the　meantime；　had　obtained　a　number　of　other　books　and　articles　to　plete　his　library　on　twins；　recently　published　pieces；　copies　of　work　in　progress　from　various　specialists；　foreign　works。　he　found　after　a　week　or　two　that　he　could　save　himself　time　by　passing　these　to　hester　first；　and　reading　for　himself　just　the　concise　and　intelligent　summaries　she　produced。　when　between　them　they　had　read　everything　it　was　possible　to　read；　they　returned　to　their　own　observations。　both　of　them　had　piled　notes；　his　medical；　hers　psychological；　there　were　copious　annotations　in　his　handwriting　in　the　margins　of　her　manuscript；　but　she　had　made　even　more　notes　on　his；　and　sometimes　attached　her　own　cogent　assays　on　separate　pieces　of　paper。

they　read；　they　thought；　they　wrote；　they　met；　they　discussed。　this　went　on　until　they　knew　everything　there　was　to　know　about　twins；　but　there　was　still　one　thing　they　did　not　know；　and　it　was　the　one　thing　that　mattered。

‘all　this　work；“　the　doctor　said　one　evening　in　the　library；　”all　this　paper。　and　we　are　still　no　nearer。“　he　ran　his　hand　through　his　hair　in　an　agitated　manner。　he　had　told　his　wife　he　would　be　back　by　half　past　seven；　and　he　was　going　to　be　late。　”is　it　because　of　emmeline　that　adeline　represses　the　girl　in　the　mist？　i　think　the　answer　to　that　question　lies　outside　the　bounds　of　current　knowledge。“　he　sighed　and　tossed　his　pencil　onto　the　desk；　half　annoyed；　half　resigned。

‘you　are　quite　right。　it　does。“　you　could　forgive　her　for　sounding　testy—

it　had　taken　him　four　weeks　to　reach　the　conclusion　she　could　have　given　him　at　the　beginning　if　he　had　only　been　willing　to　listen。

he　turned　to　her。

‘there　is　only　one　way　to　find　out；“　she　said　quietly。

he　raised　an　eyebrow。

‘my　experience　and　observations　have　led　me　to　believe　that　there　is　scope　for　an　original　research　project　here。　of　course；　as　a　mere　governess；　i　would　have　difficulty　in　persuading　the　appropriate　journal　to　publish　anything　i　produced。　they　would　take　one　look　at　my　qualifications　and　think　i　was　nothing　but　a　silly　woman　with　ideas　beyond　her　petence。“　she　shrugged　and　cast　her　eyes　down。　”perhaps　they　are　right；　and　i　am。　all　the　same“—slyly　she　glanced　up　again—”for　a　man　with　the　right　background　and　knowledge；　i　am　sure　there　is　a　meaty　project　there。“

the　doctor　looked　at　first　surprised；　then　his　eyes　turned　misty。　original　research！　the　idea　was　not　so　very　preposterous。　it　struck　him　that　at　this　moment；　at　the　culmination　of　all　the　reading　he　had　done　in　recent　months；　he　must　surely　be　the　best…read　doctor　in　the　country　on　the　subject　of　twins！　who　else　knew　what　he　knew？　and　more　to　the　point；　who　else　had　the　perfect　case　study　under　his　nose？　original　research？　whyever　not？

she　let　him　indulge　himself　for　a　few　minutes；　and　when　she　saw　that　her　suggestion　had　taken　root　in　his　heart；　murmured；　“of　course；　if　you　needed　an　assistant；　i’d　be　glad　to　help　in　any　way　i　could。”

‘very　kind　of　you。“　he　nodded。　”of　course；　you’ve　worked　with　the　girls…　practical　experience…　invaluable…　quite　invaluable。“

he　left　the　house　and　floated　home　on　a　cloud；　where　he　failed　to　notice　that　his　dinner　was　cold　and　his　wife　bad…tempered。

hester　gathered　up　the　papers　from　the　desk　and　left　the　room；　her　neat　footsteps　and　firm　closing　of　the　door　had　the　ring　of　satisfa