狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第45章Part7

'It is growing late,' said Carker, after a pause, 'and you are, as you said, fatigued. But the second object of this interview, I must not forget. I must recommend you, I must entreat you in the most earnest manner, for sufficient reasons that I have, to be cautious in your demonstrations of regard for Miss Dombey.'
'Cautious! What do you mean?'
'To be careful how you exhibit too much affection for that young lady.'
'Too much affection, Sir!' said Edith, knitting her broad brow and rising. 'Who judges my affection, or measures it out? You?'
'It is not I who do so.' He was, or feigned to be, perplexed.
'Who then?'
'Can you not guess who then?'
'I do not choose to guess,' she answered.
'Madam,' he said after a little hesitation; meantime they had been, and still were, regarding each other as before; 'I am in a difficulty here. You have told me you will receive no message, and you have forbidden me to return to that subject; but the two subjects are so closely entwined, I find, that unless you will accept this vague caution from one who has now the honour to possess your confidence, though the way to it has been through your displeasure, I must violate the injunction you have laid upon me.'
'You know that you are free to do so, Sir,' said Edith. 'Do it.'
So pale, so trembling, so impassioned! He had not miscalculated the effect then!
'His instructions were,' he said, in a low voice, 'that I should inform you that your demeanour towards Miss Dombey is not agreeable to him. That it suggests comparisons to him which are not favourable to himself. That he desires it may be wholly changed; and that if you are in earnest, he is confident it will be; for your continued show of affection will not benefit its object.'
'That is a threat,' she said.
'That is a threat,' he answered, in his voiceless manner of assent: adding aloud, 'but not directed against you.'
Proud, erect, and dignified, as she stood confronting him; and looking through him as she did, with her full bright flashing eye; and smiling, as she was, with scorn and bitterness; she sunk as if the ground had dropped beneath her, and in an instant would have fallen on the floor, but that he caught her in his arms. As instantaneously she threw him off, the moment that he touched her, and, drawing back, confronted him again, immoveable, with her hand stretched out.
'Please to leave me. Say no more to-night.'
'I feel the urgency of this,' said Mr Carker, 'because it is impossible to say what unforeseen consequences might arise, or how soon, from your being unacquainted with his state of mind. I understand Miss Dombey is concerned, now, at the dismissal of her old servant, which is likely to have been a minor consequence in itself. You don't blame me for requesting that Miss Dombey might not be present. May I hope so?'
'I do not. Please to leave me, Sir.'
'I knew that your regard for the young lady, which is very sincere and strong, I am well persuaded, would render it a great unhappiness to you, ever to be a prey to the reflection that you had injured her position and ruined her future hopes,' said Carker hurriedly, but eagerly.
'No more to-night. Leave me, if you please.'

“時間很晚了，”卡克沉默了一會兒之後，說道，”您說您也累了。但是我不應當忘記這次會晤的第二個目的。我應當勸告您，我應當用最懇切的態度請求您--我是有充分理由這樣做的--，您在向董貝小姐顯示關懷的時候千萬要謹慎。”
“謹慎！您這話是什麼意思？”
“請您小心，別向那位小姐表露出過分的慈愛。”
“過分的慈愛，先生！”伊迪絲站起來，說道，她寬闊的前額皺了起來。”誰來評判我的慈愛或衡量它的多少？是您嗎？”
“不是我做這件事。”他露出或裝出爲難的神色。
“那麼是誰？”
“難道您猜不出是誰嗎？”
“我不想猜，”她回答道。
“夫人，”他稍稍遲疑了一下之後，說道；這時候他們仍舊像先前一樣彼此注視着；”我現在處境困難。您對我說過，您將不接受我傳遞的任何口信，您禁止我回到這個話題上去，但是我感到這兩個話題是這樣緊密地相互聯繫着，所以除非您從一個雖然事前曾引起您的不快、但現在終於榮幸地得到您的信任的人那裏接受這個含糊不清的警告，否則，我就必須違犯您對我所下的禁令了。”
“您知道，您現在可以隨意這樣做，先生，”伊迪絲說道，”說吧。”
她是那麼蒼白，那麼顫抖，那麼激動！看來他對結果沒有估計錯！
“他的指示是，”他低聲說道，”我應當通知您，您對董貝小姐的態度使他不愉快。它啓發他進行比較，這種比較對他是不利的。他希望完全改變這種情形；如果您認真對待這件事，那麼他相信情形將會完全改變，因爲您繼續顯示慈愛，是不會給您慈愛的對象帶來益處的。”
“這是威脅，”她說道。
“這是威脅，”他無聲地表示同意，回答道，接着大聲說道，”但不是針對您的。”
她高傲地、堅毅地、尊嚴地站在他面前，用睜得大大的眼睛逼視着他，輕蔑地、痛苦地微笑着；突然間，她垂頭喪氣，彷彿腳底下的地面已經塌陷下去似的，要不是他用胳膊抱住她，她就會倒在地板上了。他剛一接觸到她，她就立即把他推開，向後退卻，然後伸出一隻手，又一動不動地站在他面前。
“請離開我吧。今天晚上別再說什麼了。”
“我感到這一個使命十分緊迫，”卡克先生說道，”因爲如果您不瞭解他的心情的話，那麼就很難說會在多麼短促的時間裏，發生什麼樣預見不到的後果。我知道，董貝小姐現在由於她的老僕人被解僱而感到悲傷，這件事情本身很可能就是一個小小的後果，您不責怪我先前請求董貝小姐不要在場了吧？我可以指望這一點嗎？”
“我不責怪您。請離開我吧，先生。”
“我知道您對那位小姐的關懷是很真誠很深切的；我深信，這種關懷將使您陷入很大的不幸；每當您想到您已損害了她的地位，毀滅了她未來的希望的時候，您內心將永遠感到痛苦。”卡克急忙地，然而熱切地說道。
“今天晚上不再說什麼了。對不起，請離開吧。”