The Guilty River E-Book

Wilkie Collins

• Herausgeber: Wilkie Collins
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Gerard Roylake, returned from Germany on the death of his father to take up his inheritance at Trimley Deen, stays with his stepmother, who is keen to introduce him to local society and in particular to the sister of her friend Lady Rachel. On his first evening Gerard walks to the nearby River Loke and recognizes his childhood friend, Cristel Toller, the miller's daughter. He also meets a deaf man living at the mill known only as the Lodger, who has the most beautiful face Gerard has ever seen. Gerard and Cristel gradually fall in love. The Lodger, who is obsessed with Cristel, becomes insanely jealous. He lends Gerard a manuscript autobiography which describes his fear of inherited evil (from both his father and grandfather) as well as his study of medicine, his illness and subsequent deafness. Pretending friendship, the Lodger invites Gerard to tea, intending to poison him. Despite warnings, the naive Gerard accepts. Cristel realises the Lodger's deadly intentions and with the help of his servant, Gloody, administers an antidote that saves Gerard's life. Gerard proposes marriage, but Cristel refuses him because of their difference in station. She then disappears and although the Lodger is suspected and followed no trace of her is found. After a year away on a Pacific island, Gerard receives a letter from the now dying and repentant Lodger. He reveals that Cristel, with the aid of her father and Lady Rachel, had been abducted by means of the 'guilty' River Loke. She has been cruising on a yacht with her wealthy uncle, Stephen Toller, whose wife has been improving Cristel's education. On her return to England she marries Gerard.

Leseprobe

The Guilty River

by

Wilkie Collins

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On the Way to the River 1.

The River Introduces Us 2.

He Shows Himself3.

He Explains Himself 4.

He Betrays Himself 5.

The Return of the Portfolio 6.

The Best Society 7.

The Deaf Lodger 8.

Mrs Roylake’s Game: First Move 9.

Warned! 10.

Warned Again! 11.

Warned for the Last Time! 12.

The Claret Jug 13.

Gloody Settles the Account 14.

The Miller’s Hospitality 15.

Bribery and Corruption 16.

Utter Failure 17.

The Mistress of Trimley Deen 18.

Chapter 1

On the Way to the River

FOR reasons of my own, I excused myself from accompanying my stepmother to a dinner-party given in our neighborhood. In my present humor, I preferred being alone — and, as a means of getting through my idle time, I was quite content to be occupied in catching insects.

Provided with a brush and a mixture of rum and treacle, I went into Fordwitch Wood to set the snare, familiar to hunters of moths, which we call sugaring the trees.

The summer evening was hot and still; the time was between dusk and dark. After ten years of absence in foreign parts, I perceived changes in the outskirts of the wood, which warned me not to enter it too confidently when I might find a difficulty in seeing my way. Remaining among the outermost trees, I painted the trunks with my treacherous mixture — which allured the insects of the night, and stupefied them when they settled on its rank surface. The snare being set, I waited to see the intoxication of the moths.

A time passed, dull and dreary. The mysterious assemblage of trees was blacker than the blackening sky. Of millions of leaves over my head, none pleased my ear, in the airless calm, with their rustling summer song.