I almost expected a rebuff for this hardly well-timed question, but, on the contrary, waking out of his scowling abstraction, he turned his eyes towards me, and the shade seemed to clear off his brow.

我几乎以为这个不合时宜的问题会遭到拒绝，但相反，他从皱着眉头的茫然中醒来，把眼睛转向我，眉毛上的阴影似乎消失了。