The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
By-and-bye he made his way to the theatre, feeling that he must see Rachel ere he slept
that night. One glance at her face would tell more to him, who knew its every shade and
variation of expression, than all these abominable innuendoes. They disturbed him, but
not for one moment did he believe that there was any real foundation for them. She was
wayward, he knew, and of late, it seemed, had grown heedless of the opinion of the
world. He would judge for himself to-night whether this new-found recklessness
proceeded in truth from a growing love of pleasure, or from her secret pain.
Though the performance was half over he was able to procure a seat; purposely
choosing a cheap one at the back
[334]
of the gallery. The lights, the colours, the sea of faces, the brilliant display of jewels, all
dazzled him for a few moments; but by-and-bye his eyes grew accustomed to the place
and travelled systematically from box to box. Women were there in plenty; richly
dressed dowagers, beautiful girls, young and fresh and innocent-looking, though they
laughed consumedly at a piece which was neither very moral nor very refined; other
women, beautiful too, who laughed still more appreciatively, and who did not even look
innocent. Simon scanned them all, but it was almost with relief that he realised that she
of whom he was in search was nowhere visible.
Having looked in vain for the face he longed and yet dreaded to see, he began to take
note of the theatre itself, and particularly of one large box more handsomely decorated
than the others, the blue panels of which sparkled with stars and were festooned with
roses. A curtain of crimson velvet prevented Simon from obtaining a good view of its
occupants, but he observed that three or four gentlemen and ladies were seated at the
front of the box. One handsome woman, no longer in her first youth, with a sweet and
somewhat melancholy face, was leaning back in her chair, and seemed to be speaking to
no one; now and then her eyes rested attentively on the portly man who sat in the centre,
but who did not once address her, and who indeed bestowed on her no manner of notice.
This personage was handsome in a certain florid way; his full, rather sensual face being
set off by glossy brown whiskers and brown curly hair.