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.Certainly she was prepared to dissemble for the time being.'And have they any inferiorities, Louis? Being free?''But of course.They have no rights at all, save that of freedom.They cannot take part in any political activity.' He smiled at her.'And to make quite sure that not even the fairest of them ever forgets just who or what he is, we even make them forego the use of certain clothes.No male mulatto may carry arms, for example.You did not notice, perhaps.''No,' she said.'I did not notice.And so they hate us.'Corbeau shrugged.'There is always someone, who hates someone else.It is a fact of life to which one must become used.Unless, like us, one is sufficiently fortunate to be above hate.Would you agree?'She continued to look out of the window; she suspected he was baiting her again.'Of course.''You are hoping for an early view of Rio Blanco? You have been riding over your own property for some time.''Have I?' She could not restrain her enthusiasm.The road had clung to the seashore, with no more than the wide strand of pink beach between the trees and the white-topped blue rollers which thundered in from the Atlantic.For the moment there was no suggestion of cane, or indeed of any cultivation, but the scene was the more beautiful for that, with the mountains seeming to rise immediately on their right, although she knew they were several miles away.But what mountains.Twice the height of any she had ever seen in Jamaica, they stretched interminably away from her.And yet this was also a country, she had been told, of enormous plains and impenetrable forests.'Everything is on such a grand scale,' she confessed.'There is the magnificence of the place.You will not find that Rio Blanco disappoints.'And of course he was right.The canefields, when they appeared, seemed to stretch interminably, just as the road over which they had travelled, bending only slightly away from the seashore, might have taken them from one end of Jamaica to the other, instead of merely from the boundary of their plantation to the house, just as the Negro village seemed a miniature city, and the overseers' village at least a town, just as the huge shade trees which lined the river itself and spread themselves over the cleared area between the factory and the houses seemed taller than anything she had previously known, just as the factory seemed to make Hilltop's no more than a workshop.But, thus entranced and bewildered by every mammoth discovery, Georgiana was yet not prepared for the chateau which now appeared, close by the river, shaded from the eye of an unwelcome visitor by the huge trees, and yet itself on a scale to make any house in Jamaica, and not a few stately homes she had seen or visited in London, scarcely more than shacks.The carriage rolled to a halt and pink-coated Negro footmen were waiting to help her down, their wigs powdered, their feet encased in brilliantly polished leather shoes.Beyond them was a perfect regiment of pink-and-white-clad Negresses, bowing and clapping their hands to greet their new mistress, and beyond them again were the rest of the male staff.She left the carriage and gazed at the turrets which overhung her, at the balconies and the wings, at the brick patios which could only be insulted by calling them verandahs, and at the raised rose gardens which surrounded the grand staircase, and found herself being carried forward by Corbeau's hand on her elbow.'Oh, smile at them,' he begged.'They wish only to serve you.'On the patio itself were the overseers and their wives, the bookkeepers and their wives, the engineers and their wives, the chemists and their wives, all with their children, not less than a hundred representatives of the petit-blancs, every one wearing his or her best on this most illustrious occasion, bowing and smiling, and Corbeau was making her halt at the top of the great staircase, while a little girl with long ash-blonde hair and a pale complexion came forward, to make an elaborate curtsy and a short speech in French so rapid Georgiana could understand not a word of it, before presenting the new lady of the plantation with an enormous bouquet of flowers.Then, her head whirling, keeping a fixed smile on her lips, she walked slowly through their ranks, nodding her head to their greetings, listening to her husband calling them byname, praying for the ordeal to end that she might lie down, and have her sweat-sodden gown removed, and perhaps wallow in a warm bath, and being faced with another mountainous staircase as wide as a road, this one carpeted and lined with pink-coated footmen, and overlooked by a continuous row of grim-faced Corbeaux, both men and women.It occurred to her with a start that no doubt her own portrait would shortly hang there.And that of her children.She reached the top of the stairs, and Louis's fingers tightened on her arm.There will be a fete later on,' he said.'But I have explained that you wish to see your own apartments, and to have a bath and change of clothes.Nevertheless, just smile and wave to them before you go.'She turned, and looked down at the throng which had clustered in the great parquet-floored hall, and drew back her lips as she waved her hand, and then, with a sudden inspiration, took off her hat and waved it as well, forgetful about the immediate collapse of her coiffure.Her people responded with loud applause, and even Louis looked pleased.'Oh, well done,' he said.'That will please them all enormously.Now come.'He guided her through double doors, hastily opened, through a succession of withdrawing-rooms to another huge pair of double doors, panelled in pink and white satin.These were thrown open and she discovered herself in a bedroom in which every article of furniture was in pink and white, and every window thrown wide to allow the sea-breeze to enter and rustle the drapes and the mosquito-netting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]