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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

Chapter 6
Nonverbal Messages

From eye contact to clothing to the use of space, nonverbal communication affects every aspect
of our lives. This chapter focuses on the different channels of communication, its functions, as
well as the influence of culture on nonverbal behavior.

Chapter Outline

I. Nonverbal communication – communication without words

A. Effective nonverbal communication enhances attraction, popularity and well-being.


B. It also leads to better close relationships as well as improved organizational, teacher-
student, intercultural communication, courtroom, health and political communication.

II. Principles of nonverbal communication

A. Nonverbal messages interact with verbal messages.


1. Accent – emphasize some part of the verbal message.
2. Complement – to add nuances of meaning.
3. Contradict – deliberately contradict your verbal message.
4. Control – the flow of verbal messages.
5. Repeat – restate the verbal message.
6. Substitute – for verbal messages.
7. Emoticons are used in online communication to serve the same purposes.

B. Nonverbal messages help manage impressions.


1. To be liked – smiling, shaking hands warmly.
2. To be believed – eye contact
3. To excuse failure – look sad
4. To secure help – open hand gesture
5. to hide faults – avoid self-adaptors
6. To be followed – dress the part of a leader
7. To confirm self-image and to communicate it to others – dress in a certain way

C. Nonverbal messages help form relationships.


1. You communicate both positive and negative emotions.
2. You also use nonverbal signals to communicate the nature of your relationship to
another person and with each other.
3. You can use it to signal dominance and status.

D. Nonverbal messages structure conversation – turn-taking cues

E. Nonverbal messages can influence and deceive.


1. You can influence with a focused glance.
2. You can deceive through your eyes and facial expressions.

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

3. You can use nonverbal messages to detect deception in others.

F. Nonverbal messages are crucial for expressing emotions – both revealing and hiding.

III. Channels of nonverbal communication

A. Body gestures
1. Kinesics – the study of communication through body movement.
2. Five types:
a. Emblems – substitutes for words such as “OK” or “Peace.”
b. Illustrators -- accompany and literally illustrate verbal messages.
c. Affect displays -- movements of the face that convey emotional meaning
d. Regulators -- monitor, maintain, or control the speaking of another individual.
e. Adaptors – satisfy some need.
• Self-adaptors – satisfy a physical need.
• Alter-adaptors – in response to current interactions.
• Object-adaptors – involve the manipulation of objects.
3. Gestures and cultures – there are many variations across cultures.

B. Body appearance -- communication that does not involve movement – body build, height,
hair color, etc.
1. Taller people often have an advantage.
2. Attractive people get better grades and are more valued.

C. Facial communication
1. Facial movements alone convey pleasantness, agreement and sympathy.
a. Conveys 8 emotions: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt
and interest. Some also add bewilderment and determination.
b. Interpretation of facial expressions depends on context.

2. Facial management techniques – enable you to achieve the effect you want.
a. Intensify - to exaggerate a feeling
a. Deintensify - to underplay a feeling
b. Neutralize - to hide a feeling
c. Mask - to show an emotion to cover up another one
d. Simulate - when you express an emotion you don’t feel

3. Facial feedback
a. The Facial Feedback Hypothesis holds that your facial expression influences
physiological arousal.
b. Facial expressions can produce or heighten sadness, fear, disgust and anger.

4. Culture and facial communication


a. Differences are due to what is publically permissible rather than in a fundamental
difference.

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b. Cultural display rules are rules about the appropriate display of emotions in
public.

D. Eye communication (Oculesics)

1. Messages communicated by the eyes which vary in duration, direction, and quality of
the eye behavior.
a. In the U.S., the average length of gaze is 2.95 seconds; the average length of
mutual gaze is 1.18 seconds.
b. Direct eye contact means honesty and forthrightness in much of the U.S., but
shows a lack of respect in Japan and signifies a certain equality, which should be
avoided when with a person of authority, in many Hispanic cultures.
c. The direction of the eye also communicates as does the quality of the gaze.

2. Eye contact has several functions.


a. To monitor feedback
b. To secure attention
c. To regulate or control the conversation
d. To signal the nature of the relationship
e. To signal status
f. To compensate for physical distance

3. Eye avoidance -- functions


a. Civil inattention – averting your eyes to allow others to maintain their privacy
b. Eye avoidance - may signal a lack of interest

4. Pupil dilation – pupillometrics is the study of pupil dilation


a. Pupil dilation and reactions to changes in pupil size of others seem to function
below the level of conscious awareness.
b. Dilated pupils are judged more attractive than constricted ones.
c. Reveals interest and emotional arousal

5. Culture and eye communication – variations in both culture and gender.


a. Women make more eye contact and maintain it longer.
b. Cultures differ in how they decode the meanings of facial expressions.

E. Touch communication – Haptics or tactile communication is communication by touch.


1. The meanings of touch
a. Positive emotions
b. Playfulness
c. Control
d. Ritual
e. Task-related

2. Touch avoidance
a. It is positively related to communication apprehension.

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

b. It is high among those who self-disclose little.


c. Older people have higher same-sex touch avoidance.
d. Men have higher same-sex touch avoidance than women.

3. Culture and touch


a. The functions and examples in this chapter were based on studies conducted in
North America. Other cultures these functions are not served in the same way.
b. Some cultures are contact cultures and some are non-contact cultures.

F. Paralanguage -- the vocal but nonverbal dimension of speech.


1. Includes stress, rate, volume, vocalizations and pitch
2. People perception – when listening to people’s paralanguage, we make evaluations of
what kind of people they are.
a. Physical impressions
b. Personality impressions
c. Evaluative impressions
d. Socioeconomic status

3. Persuasion
a. Persons who talk fast are more persuasive and are evaluated more highly than
those who talk at or below normal speeds.
b. Fast speakers are rated more intelligent and objective.

4. Culture and paralanguage – differences in individualist and collectivist cultures.

G. Silence – communicates just as intensely as anything you vocalize.


1. There are several functions.
a. Gives you time to think
b. To hurt others
c. A response to personal anxiety
d. To prevent communication
e. To communicate emotional responses
f. To achieve specific effects
g. To say nothing

2. The spiral of silence


a. You are more likely to voice agreement than disagreement.
b. The effect is stronger with minority group members.
c. As minority views aren’t stated, majority views strengthen.
d. The internet may counteract this spiral effect.

3. Culture and silence – some cultures view it positively and others view it negatively.

H. Spatial messages and Territoriality


1. According to Hall, proxemics is the study of spatial communication. He defined 4
distances:

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a. Intimate distance – touching to 18 inches, lovemaking, wrestling


b. Personal distance – 18 inches to 4 feet, allows you to stay protected and
untouched
c. Social distance – 4 to 12 feet, lose visual detail
d. Public distance – 12 to more than 25 feet

2. There are many predictors of space:


a. Gender - women stand closer to each other than men do.
b. Age - people of similar ages stand closer together.
c. Personality – Introverts and anxious people maintain greater distances.

3. Territoriality -- the possessive reaction to an area or to particular objects


a. Three types of territory
• Primary -- are yours alone, such as your room or your desk.
• Secondary -- are associated with you, such as your neighborhood or the seat
you choose in this classroom.
• Public -- belong to all people, such as a city park.
b. The home field advantage – in their own home or office, people take on
leadership roles.
c. Markers – indicate appropriation of space.
• Central -- items reserving a place for you.
• Boundary – a fence, armrests between chairs
• Ear – identifying marks indicating your possession of a territory or object
d. Territorial encroachment -- unwritten law granting the right of invasion by higher
status individuals, but not vice versa. You can withdraw, defend your turf,
engage in insulation or linguistic collusion.

I. Artifactual communication – messages conveyed by objects made by human hands


1. Space decoration
a. Decoration or surroundings of a place exert influence on perceptions of that
space.
b. The way you decorate communicates about who you are, and others judge your
personality by decoration.

2. Color communication
a. Language abounds in color symbolism – “in the red,” “blue,” “green with envy.”
b. Colors vary in their meanings from one culture to another.
c. Colors affect us physiologically.
• Respiratory movements increase in red light and decrease in blue light.
• Eye blinks increase in frequency in red light and decrease in blue light.

d. Colors influence perceptions and behaviors.

3. Clothing and body adornment


a. Protection and modesty functions
b. Cultural display – communicate cultural and co-cultural affiliations.
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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

c. Clothes show the groups with which we identify, for example, - White Sox jersey.
d. College students perceive instructors differently according to their dress.
e. Your clothing can influence your own behavior.
f. Jewelry communicates messages – engagement ring, college ring, political
buttons, Rolex watch.
g. Body piercings – may communicate negative messages
h. Tattoos – communicate a symbol of allegiance or affiliation.
i. Hair style – long or short, up-to-date, shock value, concern for appearance
j. Glasses – those without glasses viewed more positively

4. Scent – olfactics is its study, important in such fields as aromatherapy. Several


functions
a. To attract others - such as pheromones
b. To aid taste – Try the old game of holding your nose and trying to eat; your sense
of taste is diminished.
c. To aid memory – Grandma’s cookies and the holidays
d. To create an image -- smell can be used to create images, identify and create
images for products, and identify significant others.

J. Temporal communication – Chronemics is the communicative function of time.


1. Psychological time (Self Test, What Time Do You Have?)
a. Past orientation – reverence to the past, reliving old times and regarding old
methods
b. Present orientation – live in the present for the present
c. Future orientation – primary attention to the future by saving working hard in
college, saving for retirement and so on
d. Psychological time is heavily influenced by culture.

2. Formal and informal time – cultural in origin.


a. Formal time – seconds, minutes, days, years etc…
b. Informal time – forever, right away, soon etc…

3. Monochronism and polychronism


a. Monochonic – schedule one thing at a time. Time is compartmentalized.
b. Polychronic – schedule multiple things at one time.

4. The social clock – time schedule for the right time to do various important things.

IV. Nonverbal communication competence – be mindful of nonverbal messages.

A. Decoding nonverbal messages


1. Seek alternative judgments
2. Be tentative
3. Notice that messages come from many channels
4. Consider that you may be incorrect
5. Interpret against a cultural context

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6. Consider the influences on nonverbal communication

B. Encoding nonverbal messages


1. Consider your choices
2. Be consistent with your verbal message
3. Monitor your own messages
4. Avoid extremes and monotony
5. Take the situation into consideration
6. Maintain eye contact with the speaker
7. Avoid using certain adaptors in public
8. Avoid strong cologne or perfume
9. Be careful with touching

Applications and Exercises

This group of experiences deals with nonverbal messages and provides opportunities to work
with these various channels of communication.

Integrating Verbal and Nonverbal Messages

Think about how you integrate verbal and nonverbal messages in your own everyday
communications. Try reading each of the following statements and describing (rather than acting
out) the nonverbal messages that you would use in making these statements in normal
conversation.

1. I couldn’t agree with you more.


2. Absolutely not, I don’t agree.
3. Hurry up; we’re an hour late already.
4. You look really depressed. What happened?
5. I’m so depressed I can’t stand it.
6. Life is great, isn’t it. I just got the job of a lifetime.
7. I feel so relaxed and satisfied.
8. I’m feeling sick; I feel I have to throw up.
9. You look fantastic; what did you do to yourself?
10. Did you see that accident yesterday?

This experience was probably a lot more difficult than it seemed at first. The reason is that we’re
generally unaware of the nonverbal movements we make; often they function below the level of
conscious awareness. What values might there be to bringing these processes to consciousness?
Can you identify any problems with this?

Facial Expressions

The objective of this exercise is to gain a greater understanding of the role of facial features in
communicating different emotions. Draw faces, depicting only eyebrows, eyes, and mouth, to
illustrate the primary emotions: happiness (provided as an example), surprise, fear, anger,

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

sadness, disgust, contempt, and interest. In the space provided, write a verbal description of how
one would facially express each of these emotions. Follow the format provided in the happiness
example.

Compare your faces and descriptions with those done by others. What do the several faces for
each emotion have in common? How do they differ? What do the verbal descriptions have in
common? How do they differ?

Eye Contact

Form dyads and talk about any topic of mutual interest—sports, film, politics. For the first two
minutes, the conversation should be conducted without any special rules. At an agreed-upon
signal, eye-face contact is to cease. The conversation should continue for another two minutes, as
before, ideally without interruption. At another signal, focused eye-to-eye contact is to be
established. Each person is to maintain direct focused eye contact for two minutes and continue
the conversation. At another signal, the participants should return to their customary means of
communication for the final two minutes. Each person should share her or his feelings during the
four periods:

1. Normal interaction situation


2. No-eye-contact situation
3. Focused eye contact
4. Normal situation but with heightened awareness and perhaps some awkwardness carried
over from the two periods of abnormal interaction

What influences do changes in eye contact have on such variables as:


• fluency, nonfluencies, and silences
• general body movements, especially of the head, hands, and legs
• comfort or discomfort
• interest in the other person and in the conversation
• time perception (did some eye-contact situations seem longer than others?)

What suggestions for effective interpersonal interaction might we derive from this brief
experience?

The Meanings of Color

This exercise raises questions about the meanings colors communicate and focuses on the ways
advertisers and marketers use colors to influence your perception of a product.

Assume that you are working for an advertising agency and that your task is to select colors for
the objects in the following list. For each object, select the major color as well as any secondary
colors you would use in its packaging. Record these choices in the spaces provided by selecting
the numbers corresponding to the colors of the spectrum.

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

Objects Major Color Secondary Colors


Coffee can for rich
Colombian coffee

A children’s cereal

An especially rich ice


cream

Expensive freshly
squeezed orange juice

Packaging for upscale


jewelry store

Dietetic TV dinners

Microwave popcorn

Shampoo for gray hair

Liquid detergent for


heavy-duty washing

A textbook in
interpersonal
communication

After each person has recorded his or her decisions, discuss them in small groups of five or six or
with the class as a whole. You may find it helpful to consider the following questions:

1. What meanings did you wish to communicate for each of the objects?
2. How much agreement is there among the group members that these meanings are the
appropriate ones for these products?
3. How much agreement is there among the group members on the meanings that he
different colors communicate?
4. How effectively do the colors selected communicate the desired meanings?
5. Pool the insights of all group members and recolor the products. Are these group designs
superior to those developed individually? If a number of groups are working on this
project at the same time, it may be interesting to compare the final group colors for each
of the products.

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

Communicating Emotions Nonverbally

This exercise has several parts and asks you to explore the various channels of nonverbal
communication discussed here in different ways.

The objective of this first exercise is to gain a greater understanding of the role of nonverbal
channels in communicating emotions. Using any nonverbal channels you wish, communicate
these primary emotions: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt, and interest.
In a small group discussion, brief talk, e-mail, or brief paper, describe the nonverbals you would
use in communicating any one of these emotions. Consider as many of the ten channels
discussed here as possible.

Praising and Criticizing

Consider how paralanguage variations can communicate praise and criticism by reading each of
the following ten statements, first to communicate praise and second, criticism. Then consider
which paralanguage cues you used to communicate the praise and criticism? Although this
exercise focused on paralanguage, did you also read the statements with different facial
expressions, eye movements, and body postures.
a) Now that looks good on you.
b) You lost weight.
c) You look younger than that.
d) You’re gonna make it.
e) That was some meal.
f) You really know yourself.
g) You’re an expert.
h) You’re so sensitive. I’m amazed.
i) Your parents are really something.
j) Are you ready? Already?

Artifacts and Culture: The Case of Gifts

An aspect of artifactual communication that’s frequently overlooked is the giving of gifts, a


practice in which rules and customs vary according to each culture. Here are a few situations
where gift giving backfired and created barriers rather than bonds. These few examples should
serve to illustrate the wide variations that exist among cultures in the meaning given to artifacts
and in the seemingly simple process of giving gifts (Axtell 1990a; Dresser, 1996; Smith, 2002).
What might have gone wrong in each of these situations?

1. You bring chrysanthemums to a Belgian colleague and a clock to a Chinese colleague.


Both react negatively.
2. Upon meeting an Arab businessman for the first time—someone with whom you wish to
do considerable business—you present him with a gift. He seems to become disturbed.
To smooth things over, when you go to visit him and his family in Oman, you bring a
bottle of your favorite brandy for after dinner. Your host seems even more disturbed now.
3. Arriving for dinner at the home of a Kenya colleague, you present flowers as a dinner
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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

gift. Your host accepts them politely but looks puzzled. The next evening you visit your
Swiss colleague and bring 14 red roses. Your host accepts them politely but looks
strangely at you. Figuring that the red got you in trouble, on your third evening out you
bring yellow roses to your Iranian friend. Again, there was a similar reaction.
4. You give your Chinese friend a set of dinner knives as a gift but she doesn’t open it in
front of you; you get offended. After she opens it, she gets offended.
5. You bring your Mexican friend a statue of an elephant drinking water from a lake. Your
friend says he cannot accept it; his expressions tell you he really doesn’t want it.
6. You bring a gift to a Chinese colleague wrapped in a blue box with a white ribbon. Your
colleague looks puzzled.
Possible reasons:

1. Chrysanthemums in Belgium and clocks in China are both reminders of death and that
time is running out.
2. Gifts given at the first meeting may be interpreted as a bribe and thus should be avoided.
Further, alcohol is prohibited by Islamic law, so should be avoided when selecting gifts
for most Arabs.
3. In Kenya, flowers are only brought to express condolence. In Switzerland red roses are a
sign of romantic interest. Also, an even number of flowers (or 13) is generally considered
bad luck, so should be avoided. Yellow flowers to Iranians signify the enemy and means
that you dislike them.
4. The custom in China is simply not to open gifts in front of the donor. Knives (and
scissors) symbolize the severing of a relationship.
5. Among many Latin Americans the elephant’s upward trunk symbolizes a holding of good
luck; an elephant’s downward trunk symbolizes luck slipping away.
6. Among many Chinese white is the color of death and is avoided in wrapping gifts.

In-Class Activities

Small-Group Discussions

These discussions are designed to enable each student in the class to critically encounter the
concepts behind nonverbal communication in light of his own experience and beliefs. Divide the
class into small groups of about four to five people each, and assign each one of the following
questions. (If you wish, they can pick topics to pursue.) Give them about 10 to 15 minutes to
discuss each question. Then, have one student from each group stand to report her group’s
proceedings. Below are some suggested topics:
• Look around at the classroom in which you’re sitting. Regarding its nonverbal properties,
how does it facilitate your learning?
• How mindful of you about the way you dress, wear your hair, or do your makeup? What
messages are you intentionally sending? To what extent do the people in your group
receive your message accurately?
• Think about your dorm room, apartment, or house. How do you decorate it? What
messages are you intentionally trying to send?

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

• Have you ever received on-the-job training regarding helpful nonverbal behaviors? (For
example, servers are often instructed to touch restaurant patrons lightly on the elbow or
arm so they’ll get a bigger tip.)
• What do you think about tattoos and body piercings? If you have one or both, why did
you get them? Do you regret it? What do you want to communicate with them?
• Has your territory ever been violated in class by someone taking your seat? How did you
react? Have you ever taken someone else’s seat?
• Have you ever had a conflict with someone because you two had a different view of
informal time? What happened?

Breaking the Rules

Divide the class into groups of four or five. Instruct them to create a list of nonverbal rules for
behavior in the United States. When a thorough list is compiled, instruct students to choose
TWO rules to break over the next 24 hours. Student should try not to reveal their task during
rule-breaking. However, they must debrief their “victims” after the rule breaking.
Students will love completing and sharing this exercise. To ensure completion, a one-page
description of the experience could be required. The following questions can be used to stimulate
class discussion:

• Was it difficult for you to break the rules? What type of rule did you choose? Why? How
did you feel while rule-breaking?
• How did your “victims” react to your rule-breaking? Were you surprised by the reaction?
• What did you learn about nonverbal rules for interpersonal behavior?

Body Language Experts?

Show the class a taped segment of a show such as The O’Reilly Factor, when they have one of
their “body language experts” on talking about a famous person’s body language. After showing
the segment, ask the students if they agree or disagree with the expert. What channels was the
person using? Was there enough information in the person’s behavior to make an assessment?
Discuss the ambiguous nature of nonverbal communication and how even the experts can get it
wrong.

First Impressions

Divide the class into small groups of 4 or 5 each. Ask them to think back to the first day of class.
What were they wearing? Where did they sit? What did they notice about the nonverbal
communication of their classmates (clothing, piercings, use of space, chronemics, etc…). Did
they make any assumptions about people based on their initial nonverbal communication? Did
the individual students sent out any unintended messages that first day (coming late, dressing in a
sloppy manner, etc….) Talk about how we form impressions very quickly based on nonverbal
communication which can be accurate or very inaccurate.

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

Video Recommendations

• Clueless – The characters’ appearances serves as a shorthand regarding identity and


how to be treated. To what extent does real life mirror what the movie depicts?
• Erin Brockovich -- The story of a woman’s fight for the rights of victims of corporate
misconduct is told in Erin Brockovich. Throughout the film you see how people base their
initial impressions of Erin Brockovich on how she looks and dresses.
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – The very time frame of this funny movie indicates it will
enable you to explore how the use of time figures into scripts, that is, what behaviors are
appropriate when in different situations.
• The Mummy or The Mummy Returns – How do these action-adventure films use
nonverbal communication in the sets, costumes, etc. to convey a sense of romance,
mystery, and intrigue?
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding – This movie explores how appearance is tied to self-esteem
in the United States. The differences between cultures are reflected in the characters’
costumes and the set decorations.
• Spanglish – A married man and a Spanish-speaking housekeeper find love without verbal
communication.
• Legally Blonde – With heart-shaped notepad and feather pen in hand, one young woman
heads to law school and learns that her nonverbal communication speaks volumes.

Journal Assignments

• What do you want your physical appearance to say about you? How do you try to
accomplish this?
• Have you ever had a nonverbal misunderstanding? What happened?
• To what extent do you honestly believe image is everything, a common belief in the
United States?
• Whom do you touch the most? Who touches you the most? What do these touches mean?
• How do the theories about space occur in your life?
• How specifically can you improve your nonverbal communication on the job? With a
significant other? With your friends?
• How do you mark your primary space? Have you ever experienced an invasion and/or
contamination of your primary space? How did you react?
• Regarding nonverbal communication, how specifically could you communicate better?
• What nonverbal features do you notice when you first meet someone? What conclusions
do you draw about these features?
• Do you have a specialized license plate on your car? If so, what does it say and what
message are you trying to get across?
• Have you ever traveled out of the United States? Did you notice any nonverbal
differences while you were there? If so, what were they?

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

Chapter 06: Nonverbal Messages


6.0.1–6.1 Multiple Choice

6.0.1.1. Which of the following is an example of a regulator?


a. the “peace sign”
b. pointing to show where your car is
c. raising a hand to speak in class
d. playing with a pen when anxious

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 144
Skill: Application
Answer: c. raising a hand to speak in class

6.0.1.2. Which of the following is NOT a facial management technique?


a. contradicting
b. deintensifying
c. intensifying
d. neutralizing

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 147
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. contradicting

6.0.1.3. Scratching to relieve an itch is an example of what type of body movement?


a. adaptor
b. regulator
c. emblem
d. illustrator

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 144
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. adaptor

6.0.1.4. _____________________ are substitutes for words.


a. Emblems
b. Kinesics
c. Olfactics
d. Chronemics

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 143
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. Emblems

166

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.1.5. Which of the following is an example of an object-adaptor?


a. clicking a ball point pen
b. crossing your arms over your chest
c. scratching an itch
d. responding with nonverbal feedback

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 144
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. clicking a ball point pen

6.0.1.6. Which of the following is FALSE?


a. Facial movements alone seem to communicate the degree of pleasantness, agreement, and
sympathy felt.
b. Facial management techniques are learned behavior.
c. Research finds that men are more accurate judges of facial emotional expression than women.
d. Happiness, in one study, was judged with an accuracy ranging from 55 percent–100 percent.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 146–147
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: c. Research finds that men are more accurate judges of facial emotional expression than
women.

6.0.1.7. _____________________ is the study of spatial communication.


a. Kinesics
b. Haptics
c. Proxemics
d. Chronemics

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 157
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: c. Proxemics

6.0.1.8. Jose notices that two people are arguing near him so he looks away from them. This is an example
of
a. eye avoidance.
b. the facial feedback hypothesis.
c. disconfirmation.
d. civil inattention.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 149
Skill: Application
Answer: d. civil inattention.

167

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

6.0.1.9. Covering up your own joy in the presence of a friend who didn’t receive such good news is called
a. facial reduction.
b. deintensifying.
c. neutralizing.
d. masking.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 147
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. deintensifying.

6.0.1.10. When you lean forward to ask a question you are using nonverbal communication to _________
the verbal message.
a. complement
b. contradict
c. accent
d. control

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 140
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. control

6.0.1.11. When you smile while telling a humorous story you are using nonverbal communication to
___________ your verbal message.
a. accent
b. complement
c. control
d. substitute

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 139
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. complement

6.0.1.12. Anne made sure she dressed professionally, shook hands firmly, and spoke confidently at the
meeting. She was demonstrating how nonverbal messages can be used to manage impressions in
order to
a. be liked.
b. be followed.
c. secure help.
d. hide faults.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 140–141
Skill: Application
Answer: b. be followed

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.1.13. Jocilyn stood 6 inches away from Mary’s face when she told her how angry she was. Jocilyn
invaded Mary’s __________ space.
a. intimate
b. public
c. personal
d. social

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 157
Skill: Application
Answer: a. intimate

6.0.1.14. When Marquis was trying to close the sale with a customer, he used direct eye contact, a
confident stance, and open gestures. He was using nonverbal messages that serve to
a. secure help.
b. confirm self image.
c. hide faults.
d. be believed.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 140–141
Skill: Application
Answer: d. be believed.

6.0.1.15. Touch may communicate many different meanings including


a. positive emotions.
b. playfulness.
c. control.
d. all of the above.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 151–152
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. all of the above

6.0.1.16. The word “multitasking” is evidence of a _____________________.


a. polychronic time orientation
b. formal time
c. social clock
d. psychological time

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 166
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. polychronic time orientation

169

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

6.0.1.17. Which of the following about culture and touch is FALSE?


a. Muslim children are not supposed to touch members of the opposite sex.
b. Koreans prefer task-related touching.
c. Japan is a noncontact culture.
d. Southern European cultures are contact cultures.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 152
Skill: Evaluation
Answer: b. Koreans prefer task-related touching.

6.0.1.18. Paralanguage is
a. the nonvocal and nonverbal dimension of speech.
b. the same as metacommunication.
c. the dialect of a particular culture.
d. the vocal but nonverbal dimension of speech.

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 153
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: d. the vocal but nonverbal dimension of speech.

6.0.1.19. Kelsey is planning for her retirement and is goal-oriented. This is evidence of (a)
a. future time orientation
b. present time orientation.
c. polychronism.
d. monochronism.

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 164–165
Skill: Application
Answer: a. future time orientation

6.0.1.20. Which of the following is NOT true?


a. Pointing with your index finger would be impolite in many Middle Eastern countries.
b. Waving your hand would be insulting in Nigeria and Greece.
c. Resting your feet on a table or chair is a show of respect in many Middle Eastern countries.
d. Gesturing with the thumb up would be rude in Australia.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 145
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: c. Resting your feet on a table or chair is a show of respect in many Middle Eastern
countries.

170

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.1.21. Silence can serve to do all of the following EXCEPT


a. hurt others.
b. convey specific thoughts.
c. convey emotions.
d. give you time to think.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 154–155
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. convey specific thoughts.

6.0.1.22. The theory that holds that you establish a body buffer zone around yourself against unwanted
touching or attack is _____________________ theory.
a. turf defense
b. expectancy violations
c. equilibrium
d. protection

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 160
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. protection

6.0.1.23. The theory that intimacy and distance vary together is _____________________theory.
a. turf defense
b. expectancy violations
c. equilibrium
d. protection

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 160
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: c. equilibrium

6.0.1.24. You’re more likely to voice agreement than disagreement. This is known as
a. the linguistic relativity hypothesis.
b. confirmation.
c. other-orientation.
d. the spiral of silence.

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 156
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. the spiral of silence.

171

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

6.0.1.25. Which of the following is FALSE?


a. Central markers are items you place in a territory to reserve it for others.
b. Boundary markers set boundaries that divide your territory from that of others.
c. Ear markers are identifying marks that indicate your possession of a territory or object.
d. “Ear markers” is a term taken from the practice of branding animals on their ears.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 159
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. Central markers are items you place in a territory to reserve it for others.

6.0.1.26. Territories that are yours and yours alone are called _____________________ territories.
a. personal
b. social
c. intimate
d. primary

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 158
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: d. primary

6.0.1.27. Your watch or ring is an example of which of the following?


a. a marker
b. a status indicator
c. an artifact
d. body adornment

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 159
Skill: Application
Answer: c. an artifact

6.0.1.28. Which of the following groups is likely to display touch avoidance?


a. People who have communication apprehension.
b. People who don’t self-disclose easily.
c. Men when communicating with other men.
d. All of the above are likely to display touch avoidance.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 152
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. All of the above are likely to display touch avoidance.

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.1.29. When in her own office, Louise feels more confident and more readily takes on leadership roles.
This is an example of
a. the home field advantage.
b. personal space.
c. protection theory
d. territoriality.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 159
Skill: Application
Answer: a. the home field advantage.

6.0.1.30. Which of the following is FALSE?


a. Colors are relatively stable in their meanings from one culture to another.
b. The way you decorate your private spaces communicates something about who you are.
c. People who dress casually tend to act more informally.
d. People with tattoos seem themselves as more creative and risk-prone.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 161–163
Skill: Evaluation
Answer: a. Colors are relatively stable in their meanings from one culture to another.

6.0.1.31. Attractive people


a. get better grades in school.
b. are more valued as friends and lovers.
c. are preferred as coworkers.
d. all of the above.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 146
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: d. all of the above.

6.0.1.32. Nonverbal communication can be used to manage impressions to foster


a. liking.
b. believability.
c. the hiding of faults.
d. all of the above.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 140–141
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: d. all of the above.

173

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

6.0.1.33. College students will perceive an instructor dressed formally as


a. fair and friendly.
b. knowledgeable and organized.
c. enthusiastic and authoritative.
d. professional and flexible.

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 162
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: b. knowledgeable and organized.

6.0.1.34. The importance we place on the past, present, or future is called


a. cultural time.
b. biological time.
c. psychological time.
d. physiological time.

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 164
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: c. psychological time.

6.0.1.35. Which of the following is NOT true in regard to a monochronic culture?


a. Being on time is very important.
b. Interpersonal relationships are more important than tasks.
c. Tasks are scheduled to be accomplished one at a time.
d. The United States is primarily monochronic.

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 166–167
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. Interpersonal relationships are more important than tasks.

6.0.2–6.2 True and False

6.0.2.1. Emblems have rather specific translations.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 143
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.2. Effective nonverbal communication enhances attraction, popularity, and well-being.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 139
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. true

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.2.3. The “OK” sign is an example of an illustrator.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 143
Skill: Application
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.4. Affect displays can’t consciously be controlled.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 144
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.5. Men perceive men whom women smile at as being less attractive than men who are not smiled at.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 146
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.6. Pushing your hair out of your eyes while talking functions as an alter-adaptor.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 144
Skill: Application
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.7. The average length of eye gaze in the United States is 6.5 seconds.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 148
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.8. Tall presidential candidates have a better record of winning elections.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 146
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

175

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Chapter Six: Nonverbal Messages

6.0.2.9. Research shows that women smile more than men do.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 147
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.10. Facial feedback hypothesis states that most of our feedback to other people is through facial
expression.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 147
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.11. The study of how we organize, react to, and communicate messages through time is known as
chronemics.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 164
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.12. Kinetics is the study of communication through body movement.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 143
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.13. Immediacy is the use of nonverbal messages to convey power.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 150
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.14. Haptics is the communication of touch.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 151
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

176

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

6.0.2.15. A constricted, or smaller, pupil indicates attraction and interest.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 149
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.16. Self-disclosing, maintaining appropriate eye contact, and talking about commonalities are ways
to communicate immediacy.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 150
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.17. The four space zones are intimate, personal, social, and public.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 157
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

6.0.2.18. Lila positioned her file cabinet so that it served as a barrier between her desk and Jan’s. This is
an example of turf defense.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 2
Page-Reference: 159
Skill: Application
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.19. The more past-oriented a person is, the greater the person’s income is likely to be.
a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 165
Skill: Comprehension
Answer: b. false

6.0.2.20. In China, red signifies prosperity and rebirth.


a. true
b. false

Difficulty: 1
Page-Reference: 162
Skill: Knowledge
Answer: a. true

177

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6.0.3–6.3 Essay

6.0.3.1. What do you think your artifactual communication says about who you are?
Describe three ways you use artifactual communication to communicate messages.

Difficulty: 3
Page-Reference: 159–164
Skill: Application
Answer: Students should be able discuss examples relating to space decoration, color,
communication, and clothing and body adornment.

6.0.3.2. How specifically can you improve the way you communicate nonverbally on the job?
Be as thorough as possible regarding the concepts in this chapter, and provide at
least three examples.

Difficulty: 3
Page-Reference: 143–167
Skill: Evaluation
Answer: Answers will vary according to the student and his or her profession.

6.0.3.3. What differences in nonverbal communication have you noticed between men and
women? Give three specific examples of how men and women tend to use nonverbal
communication in differing ways.

Difficulty: 3
Page-Reference: 146–158
Skill: Application
Answer: Students can discuss differences in space, touch avoidance, eye contact, etc.

6.0.3.4. Explain the six principles of nonverbal communication, giving examples of each.

Difficulty: 3
Page-Reference: 139–143
Skill: Synthesis
Answer: Nonverbal messages: interact with verbal messages; help manage impressions;
help form relationships; structure conversation; can influence and deceive; and are
crucial for expressing emotion.

6.0.3.5. In what ways does the United States display a monochronic or polychronic time
orientation? Be specific as possible, and cite examples where appropriate.

Difficulty: 3
Page-Reference: 166–167
Skill: Application
Answer: Students might want to discuss how technological advances (cell phones, PCs,
etc.) encourage us to multitask, or display a polychronic time. Traditionally, a working
dad’s life might have been monochronic, with a scheduled lunch break, and so on,
whereas a stay-at-home mom’s life might be polychronic, in which she does several
things at once. But there are many different avenues through which students might
explore this question.

178

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The Interpersonal Communication Book, 13th edition

179

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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mr. Jervis, Vol. 3
(of 3)
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Mr. Jervis, Vol. 3 (of 3)

Author: B. M. Croker

Release date: December 6, 2023 [eBook #72342]


Most recently updated: December 31, 2023

Language: English

Original publication: London: Chatto & Windus, 1894

Credits: MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at


https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MR. JERVIS,


VOL. 3 (OF 3) ***
MR. JERVIS
NEW NOVELS AT ALL
LIBRARIES.
AT MARKET VALUE. By Grant Allen. 2 vols.
RACHEL DENE. By Robert Buchanan. 2
vols.
A COUNTRY SWEETHEART. By Dora
Russell. 3 vols.
DR. ENDICOTT’S EXPERIMENT. By Adeline
Sergeant. 2 vols.
IN AN IRON GRIP. By Mrs. L. T. Meade. 2
vols.
LOURDES. By E. Zola. 1 vol.
ROMANCES OF THE OLD SERAGLIO. By H.
N. Crellin. 1 vol.
A SECRET OF THE SEA. By T. W. Speight. 1
vol.
THE SCORPION. A Romance of Spain. By E.
A. Vizetelly. 1 vol.

London: CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly.


MR. JERVIS
BY
B. M. CROKER
AUTHOR OF
“PRETTY MISS NEVILLE,” “DIANA BARRINGTON,” “A BIRD OF PASSAGE,”
“A FAMILY LIKENESS,” ETC.

IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. III.

London
CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1894
“Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.”

Sir H. Wotton.
CONTENTS OF VOL. III.
CHAPTER PAGE
XXX. What People said—especially what Two 1
People said
XXXI. The Summons 22
XXXII. “The Pela Kothi,” or “Yellow House” 39
XXXIII. “Hereditary” 57
XXXIV. The Initials “H. G.” 81
XXXV. “Osman’s Substitute” 98
XXXVI. “Good-bye for Ever! Good-bye, Good- 114
bye!”
XXXVII. The Son and the Heir 126
XXXVIII. The Voice in the Condemned Cantonment 142
XXXIX. A Friendly Visit 156
XL. The New Wearer of the Cornelian Ring 173
XLI. “It was a Hyena” 186
XLII. By the Old Rifle-Range 198
XLIII. “Raffle it!” 217
XLIV. A Rose—Carriage Paid 240
XLV. Only Mr. Jervis 257
XLVI. A Wedding with Two Cakes 276
MR. JERVIS.
CHAPTER XXX.
WHAT PEOPLE SAID—ESPECIALLY WHAT TWO
PEOPLE SAID.

When Mark Jervis came all eagerness to claim his supper dance
from Miss Gordon, he saw at once that something was wrong. The
merry smile—her greatest charm—he sought in vain upon her face;
her expression was grave, almost stern. She was actually looking at
him as if he was an absolute stranger. She knew!
He glanced quickly at her partner, and the mystery was instantly
solved. Yes, he recollected the man’s goggling blue eyes. Where had
he seen him? Where? The cordial accost—
“Hallo, Jervis! Came out with you in the Victoria!” promptly
dispelled his last hope.
“Yes, so you did,” nodding. “Glad to see you here to-night. I
suppose you have been globe-trotting, like the rest of us!”
“You have not done much trotting, by all accounts, of late.”
“No, not much,” rather shortly. Then, to Honor, “This is our waltz.”
She gazed at him for an instant in haughty silence, then she
answered—
“Yes; but I don’t think I shall dance, thank you.”
“Oh do,” he urged, as the stranger moved off. “Let us have just
one dance. After the dance—the deluge! I see you know. We can
have that out later on—but don’t let us miss this.”
The young lady was passionately fond of dancing, the floor, the
inspiriting waltz, a first-rate partner, proved too tempting—“Yes,” she
said to herself, “just one last waltz, and then—the deluge.” Not one
word did she utter when they halted for a few seconds. She kept her
face purposely averted, and appeared to find an absorbing interest in
other people. When they once more launched into the vortex, it
appeared to him that she did not dance with her usual buoyancy and
light-heartedness. She was as stiff and as rigid as a china doll—
apparently she shrank from the support of a millionaire’s arm—his
embrace was contamination. At last the waltz was over, every one
was streaming out, and they naturally followed the crowd. They
passed Mrs. Brande, concealing (she fondly believed) enormous
yawns behind a black transparent fan; they passed Mrs. Langrishe,
issuing bulletins of Sir Gloster’s condition to several interested
matrons. They went through the verandah side by side, down the
steps, and were brought up at last by the rustic railing overlooking
the gardens and tennis-court. It was a warm moonlight night, bright
as day, and breathlessly still. Dozens of other couples were strolling,
standing, or sitting about in the open air, even the chaperons had
come forth (a new and in some instances fatal departure) to taste the
sweets of a June night in the Himalayas.
Before their eyes rose the long range of snows—India’s white
crown; beneath them lay the gardens—a jungle of dew-steeped
roses, tall lilies, and great shrubs of heliotrope. Balsac declares that
perfume reminds more vividly than words; be that as it may, the
slightest perfume of heliotrope invariably recalled that scene and
hour to Honor Gordon’s memory.
“So I see that it has all come out!” began Jervis, intrepidly, on the
principle that the first blow is half the battle, “and that you know.”
“Yes”—turning slowly to face him—“and no thanks to you, Mr.
Jervis.”
“Of course you are awfully angry with me. Nearly” (oh, most
unfortunate speech!) “as angry as you were with that imp the day
you tore up her picture.”
“I am not exactly angry,” she replied with tremulous dignity. “Why
should I be angry? I am merely enlightened. I know who is who now.
I dare say you found the little game of deceiving every one most
entertaining. You seem to have quite a genius for playing a double
part.”
“You are awfully rough on me,” he interrupted. “But I suppose I
deserve it.”
“Now I have but one character, such as it is, so I cannot
reciprocate your surprise. I am merely what you have always seen—
a country-bred girl, without fortune, or prospect of one, with a taste
for playing the violin, and for speaking out my mind at any cost.”
(Yes, there never was any one less at pains to be on the safe side
than this young woman.)
“You are disgusted to find that I am not a poor relation,” he
ventured to remark.
“I am. You remember that on this very spot”—touching the railings
with her fan—“two months ago, Colonel Sladen, with his usual
delicate taste, joked pleasantly about the millionaire, your cousin.
You laughed immoderately then. Yes, I remember, you actually
shook the railings! And”—with increasing wrath—“you are smiling
now. Of course it must be capital fun to take people in so
successfully! to be able to laugh openly—as well as in your sleeve.”
“Will you permit me to remind you of one small fact? Do you
remember that you turned to me and said, that if I were rich you
would never speak to me again? You were offering a premium on
poverty.”
“And I repeat that speech here,” she said, once more turning to
face him. “Now that I find you are rich”—she caught her breath—“I
will never speak to you again.”
“Oh, come, I say, Miss Gordon, you can’t mean that,” he
expostulated. “At least you will give me a hearing. Be angry—but be
just.”
She made no reply, but began to strip little bits of bark from the
rustic railing, to the utter destruction of her gloves.
“Admitted that I am the millionaire, that is merely to accept the
nickname; for it is not I, but my uncle, who is wealthy. He made a
fortune in trade, you know—Pollitt’s pearl barley—and I am his
adopted son. He has brought me up ever since I was ten years old,
and has been awfully good to me.”
Here she made an impatient movement, as much as to say, What
was Mr. Pollitt’s goodness to her?
He hurried on faster.
“I wanted to see something of the world. I was deadly sick of the
routine of English life—hunting, balls, regattas, theatres; and I got
my uncle’s consent, with great difficulty, to spend a year in India. I
was despatched with a valet, a cargo of kit, and the reputation of
millions, with Waring as my guide, companion, and adviser. He is not
related to me.”
Honor looked at him with a half ironic smile, as much as to say, “Of
course not! I should be surprised if he were.”
“He is Mrs. Pollitt’s brother; and she got him the berth, such as it
was,” pursued the young man doggedly.
“Little dreaming how luxurious it would become,” added the young
lady sarcastically.
“No, that was quite unpremeditated. When I first landed, I found
that I had achieved a celebrity far beyond my wishes. I was
supposed to be a Rothschild. I was bothered to death with touts and
hawkers and all that sort of thing”—with a constrained laugh. “I saw
that I’d have no peace till I got rid of all my extra luggage and the
man. The combination branded me as ‘valuable.’ Waring had been in
the country before, he knew the language and customs, so I made
over my account at the bank into his name. He became paymaster,
and we held our tongues—that was all. Waring looks rich, and has a
genius for spending and making a splash. Now I have not. My tastes
are inexpensive, and I have always told my uncle that nature
intended me for a poor man.”
Miss Gordon picked off another piece of bark with elaborate care,
and then threw it away with an air of profound disgust.
“Our arrangement worked splendidly, as long as we were merely
shooting and moving about; but when we came up here and began
to know people, I saw that things were getting rather mixed—that it
would not do, that we were carrying the idea too far. I spoke to
Waring, and suggested taking the public into our confidence. He
treated the matter as a joke, and asked if he should announce it in
the Pioneer? I said, I thought that if he told it to one or two people as
a dead secret, that it would be amply sufficient. But he would not
hear of this, either in jest or earnest. He had, he acknowledged,
played first fiddle too long to wish to change parts. He was most
urgent that I should leave what he considered ‘well’ alone, and
worked himself up into such a frightful state of mind—he put the
whole thing so—so—so strongly—that I was obliged to leave matters
in statu quo.”
“Obliged!” echoed his fair listener, in a cool, incredulous tone.
“Yes, forced to do so.” (He could not tell her of the reason which
had been Waring’s sole alternative.) “He said we had only a short
time to put in, that it would make him look such an awful fool, that he
had taken the reins to please me, and now I must sit tight to oblige
him. In fact—to tell you a secret—that he would be in dreadful
financial difficulties. All he wanted was time. If his creditors believed
him to be a poor man, they would be down on him like a flock of
kites. Two or three months would set him straight. So I yielded. But I
made one stipulation; I said I must tell the truth to one person.”
“And that highly honoured person?” she asked, with arched brows.
“Was yourself.”
“Oh, monsieur, c’en est trop!” And she made him a deep
inclination.
“Don’t jeer at me, please,” he exclaimed, in a low, sharp voice.
“Once I was about to speak, and I was interrupted by the panther.
Afterwards that intolerable child took the words out of my mouth, and
you scorned them. For once in her life she told you the truth, the
whole truth—I do love you.”
There was no tremble or hesitation about these four syllables, but
there was considerable amount of trembling about the hand which
held a certain white feather fan, resting on the railings. The fan,
unaccustomed to such uncertain treatment, slid swiftly away, and fell
like a dead white bird into a lily bed below. No one sought it; seconds
and sensations were priceless.
“I do love you, better than my own life; but I was afraid to speak,
you were so down on money.”
How could he guess at the nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles
of certain busy old ladies near Hoyle, who had more than hinted at a
speedy wedding and a rich husband, as the result of a trip to India?
How could he know of blazing eyes and scarlet cheeks, and of a
passionate repudiation of, if not India, at any rate a handsome future
partner, and money?
“I meant to have told you to-night, on my honour I did; but with my
usual cruel bad luck, that little beggar cut in before me. And you are
dead against me, and with some reason, I confess; but you must not
say that you will never speak to me again. Come, Miss Gordon, give
me another chance.” As she remained obdurately dumb, he
continued with an air of quiet determination, “You will give me an
answer by the time I have fetched your fan?”
Honor’s anger had as usual cooled. She now began to see things
from his point of view, and her indignation immediately transferred
itself to Captain Waring. Mr. Jervis had been the tool and catspaw of
that unscrupulous free-and-easy gentleman. Yes, she now
understood the former’s halting allusions to hunting and polo, his
half-uttered sentences, and how he had suddenly paused,
stammered, and would evidently have been glad to recall his own
words. Once or twice she had caught a glimpse, instantly
suppressed, of a slightly peremptory manner, the tone and air of one
accustomed to being obeyed. She remembered, too, his easy
familiarity with money, his—as she had hitherto considered it—
insane generosity.
Meanwhile Mark ran down and picked up the white fan from its lily
bed, shook the dew-drops from its delicate feathers, and, as he
restored it to its owner, he looked straight into her eyes.
“Honor,” he said, in a low eager voice, “you will let bygones be
bygones, and forgive me, won’t you?”
Honor hesitated, her lips trembled as if uncertain whether to laugh
or to cry.
“You like me a little—I hope,” he pleaded anxiously.
The lips broke into a faint but unmistakable smile.
“You are the only girl I have ever cared two straws about. I swear
that this is the truth, and not the usual stock statement. I had a
presentiment that you were my fate that night we walked along the
railway line. That Eurasian fellow in the hut had a prophetic eye!”
“I am not so sure of that!” she said, with sudden vehemence. “You
knew very well that you ought to have spoken out long ago.”
“I would have spoken to you weeks ago, but that I was uncertain
what answer you would give me.”
“Oh!” recoiling with a gesture of indescribable horror. “What do you
think I meant? I mean, that you might have let us all know who you
were.”
“Better late than never, I hope,” he rejoined quickly. “My uncle
knows all about you. May I speak to your aunt to-night?”
“What do you wish to tell her?” she faltered.
“That I am going to be her nephew,” he answered, with the utmost
composure.
“No—no—no,” bursting into a half-hysterical laugh, “you must give
me time—I want to think it over.”
“Honor,” coming close to her, and resolutely taking her trembling
hand in his, “can you not think it over now? Will you marry me?”
Although her fingers shook in his hold, she held herself nervously
erect, as she stood looking out over the moon-flooded mountains in
silence, her eyes fixed on the far-away horizon with the gaze of one
lost in meditation. She was crowding many thoughts into the space
of seconds. Among them this—
“The gloved hand in which hers was imprisoned, how strong and
steadfast—a brave hand to guide and support and defend her
through life.”
At last, with tremulous nervous abruptness, she made this totally
irrelevant and unexpected remark—
“I wonder what people will say when they hear what a dreadful
impostor you have been! Of course, I know what they will say of me
—that I have guessed the truth all along—and have played my cards
beautifully! Oh, I can hear them saying it!”
And she hastily withdrew her fingers, and looked at him with a
mixture of defiance and dismay.
“You think more of what people will say than of me, Honor!” he
exclaimed reproachfully.
“No, no!” filled with instant compunction, and her blushes as she
spoke were visible even by moonlight. “I think more of you than of
any one, Mark.” Then, as if frightened at her own confession, she
hastened to add, “Every one is going in, and here is my next partner
coming to look for me.”
“Let him look!” was the unprincipled answer. “Shall we go down
and sit on the seat in the tennis-ground, by the big verbena tree?”
“But I am engaged to Major Lawrence,” she objected, though she
knew that resistance was useless.
“No doubt; but you are engaged to me—you and I are to be
partners for life. Ah, ha!” with a triumphant laugh. “There, he has
been waylaid by Mrs. Troutbeck—he won’t get away from her under
an hour. They are all going back,” glancing at many other couples
who were gravitating towards the club; “we shall have the place to
ourselves. Come along,” and leading her down the steps, they
passed among glimmering flower-beds, and faint sweet flowers, to a
recently vacated rustic bench. “I dare say you have often wondered
what kept me at Shirani?” he began. “I came, in the first instance,
hoping to meet my father. He has been thirty years out here, he was
in the Indian Cavalry, and settled in this country, which he loves. My
uncle is my adopted father, and I have seen very little of my real
father since I was a kid; he lives in mysterious retirement in these
hills, about fifty miles away, and is a widower for the second time. I
have been waiting on week after week, hoping that he would send
for me—that was my chief motive for remaining at Shirani. It is no
longer so—as you very well know—in fact, of late, you have driven
him clean out of my head!”
“If he were my father, I would go and visit him, without waiting for
an invitation,” said Honor, resolutely.
“I have written several times to say that I should like to see him,
and asking when I might start—a plain enough hint, surely?”
“You are too punctilious. Why wait to be asked? There, that waltz
is over; what a short one it was. Now I must really go in.”
“What a thing it is to have a conscience! A strong sense of duty to
one’s partners!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “However, I am one of
them myself, and I will let you off easily.”
“No, thank you,” she answered, with uncompromising rectitude.
“Pray what about your own partners? And you are one of the hosts,
too!”
“I see that I may always look to you now to remind me of my duty,”
he said, rising with extreme reluctance. “And I never felt more
inclined to shirk it than now.”
“I am sure I shall have quite enough to do to remember my own
shortcomings; but at any rate I can manage to remind you of yours
to-night. We,” with a happy little sigh, “shall have to-morrow,” and
she also stood up to depart.
“Yes, please God, thousands of to-morrows. But, Honor, this one
moment that you are so anxious to pass by and leave behind can
never be repeated or effaced; this hour, when you gave yourself to
me here, in this over-grown Indian garden, under the Southern
Cross. When we are old Darby and Joan, sitting by our fireside in
cold work-a-day England, we shall—at any rate, I shall—look back
on this hour as sacred,” and he put his arm round her and kissed
her.
The intelligence that Jervis was the Simon Pure, the real, true, and
only millionaire, was buzzed from ear to ear, and had soon spread
over the club like wild-fire. Mrs. Brande ceased to yawn, fanned
herself feverishly, and snappishly refused to believe “one single word
of it.” Mrs. Langrishe, for once, sat dumb and glum. More unlikely
things had happened within her somewhat extensive experience.
Colonel Sladen spluttered out his whole vocabulary of ejaculations
and expletives, and Lalla Paske’s eyebrows were almost lost to sight
under her fringe! Of course it was the one and only topic; the air was
still throbbing with the news, when, during a pause between two
dances, Mr. Jervis and Miss Gordon walked into the ball-room. Their
entrance produced quite a dramatic effect. How well-bred his air,
how fine his profile and the pose of his head; with what easy grace
his clothes sat upon him—clothes that were undeniably fashioned by
a first-rate London tailor. These little details now struck people who
had hitherto scarcely spared him a glance. As for Miss Gordon, she
was always beautiful and charming. The pair made an uncommonly
effective couple, and they looked so radiant, that their future
happiness was evidently a settled thing. Yes, now that one came to
think of it, they had always been good friends.
“And was it really thirty thousand a year? Was it in soap or pork?
At any rate, it was a magnificent match for a penniless girl!”
whispered a married lady to her partner.
“Of course the old woman was in the secret all along,” remarked
Mrs. Langrishe to a neighbour; “she is much cleverer than any of us
have supposed. Oh, what a deep game she has played! What an old
serpent!”

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