狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第42章Part6

'Indeed,' said Mr Dombey, in his lofty patronage, 'anyone might say so. As far as it goes, it is a very commodious and well-arranged place - quite elegant.'
'As far as it goes, truly,' returned Carker, with an air of disparagement' 'It wants that qualification. Well! we have said enough about it; and though you can afford to praise it, I thank you nonetheless. Will you walk in?'
Mr Dombey, entering the house, noticed, as he had reason to do, the complete arrangement of the rooms, and the numerous contrivances for comfort and effect that abounded there. Mr Carker, in his ostentation of humility, received this notice with a deferential smile, and said he understood its delicate meaning, and appreciated it, but in truth the cottage was good enough for one in his position - better, perhaps, than such a man should occupy, poor as it was.
'But perhaps to you, who are so far removed, it really does look better than it is,' he said, with his false mouth distended to its fullest stretch. 'Just as monarchs imagine attractions in the lives of beggars.'
He directed a sharp glance and a sharp smile at Mr Dombey as he spoke, and a sharper glance, and a sharper smile yet, when Mr Dombey, drawing himself up before the fire, in the attitude so often copied by his second in command, looked round at the pictures on the walls. Cursorily as his cold eye wandered over them, Carker's keen glance accompanied his, and kept pace with his, marking exactly where it went, and what it saw. As it rested on one picture in particular, Carker hardly seemed to breathe, his sidelong scrutiny was so cat-like and vigilant, but the eye of his great chief passed from that, as from the others, and appeared no more impressed by it than by the rest.
Carker looked at it - it was the picture that resembled Edith - as if it were a living thing; and with a wicked, silent laugh upon his face, that seemed in part addressed to it, though it was all derisive of the great man standing so unconscious beside him. Breakfast was soon set upon the table; and, inviting Mr Dombey to a chair which had its back towards this picture, he took his own seat opposite to it as usual.
Mr Dombey was even graver than it was his custom to be, and quite silent. The parrot, swinging in the gilded hoop within her gaudy cage, attempted in vain to attract notice, for Carker was too observant of his visitor to heed her; and the visitor, abstracted in meditation, looked fixedly, not to say sullenly, over his stiff neckcloth, without raising his eyes from the table-cloth. As to Rob, who was in attendance, all his faculties and energies were so locked up in observation of his master, that he scarcely ventured to give shelter to the thought that the visitor was the great gentleman before whom he had been carried as a certificate of the family health, in his childhood, and to whom he had been indebted for his leather smalls.
'Allow me,' said Carker suddenly, 'to ask how Mrs Dombey is?'

“真的，”董貝先生以他居高臨下的恩主的態度說道，”任何人都會這樣說。就實際情況來說，這是個很寬敞、設計安排得很好的地方--十分優雅。”
“就實際情況來說，”卡克先生露出自我貶損的神態，回答道，”它確實還夠不上那樣的評價。唔，我們對它已說得夠多的了；不過承蒙您稱讚它，我還是謝謝您。請您進去好嗎？”
董貝先生走進房屋裏面，注意到（他有理由注意到）房間完美的佈置和陳列在各處的許多舒適的傢俱和擺設。卡克先生故意裝出一副謙恭的態度，露出尊敬的微笑，對待這注意，並說，他理解這注意所包含着的關懷體貼的意義，並重視它；不過這茅舍儘管簡陋，可是對於像他這樣地位的人來說確實是夠好的了，也許像他這樣的人還不配佔有它呢。
“不過對於像您這樣身份高貴的人來說，它看來確實比實際情況要好一些，”他把他虛僞的嘴巴張開到最寬闊的程度，說道，”就像君主在乞丐的生活中發現一些有趣的東西一樣。”
他一邊說，一邊向董貝先生敏銳地看了一眼和敏銳地微笑了一下；當董貝先生昂首挺胸地站在壁爐前面，擺出他的二把手經常摹仿的姿勢，環視掛在四周牆上的圖畫時，他向他更敏銳地看了一眼和更敏銳地微笑了一下。當董貝先生冷淡的眼光在這些圖畫上匆匆地掃過的時候，卡克先生的機警的眼光緊緊伴隨着他的眼光，確切地留意它投向哪裏，看到的是什麼。當它停留在一張圖畫上的時候，卡克似乎屏住了呼吸；他斜着眼的跟蹤是那麼像貓，那麼警惕，可是他的上司的眼光就像從其他的圖畫上滑過一樣，從這張畫上滑過去了，看來它在他心中並不比其他圖畫留下更深刻的印象。
卡克看着它--這就是那張像伊迪絲的圖畫--，彷彿那是個活着的人似的；他臉上露出惡意的笑容，彷彿是在向這張圖畫致意，但實際上卻是在嘲笑這位毫無猜疑地站在他身旁的偉大人物。早飯很快就擺到桌上，他請董貝先生坐到背對着這張圖畫的椅子中，他自己則像平時一樣，在對着它的位子中坐下。
董貝先生甚至比往常更爲嚴肅，而且十分沉默。那隻鸚鵡在華麗的籠子中的鍍金的圓環中來回搖盪，徒勞地企圖吸引人們對她的注意，因爲卡克先生專心致志地注視着他的主人，顧不到注意她了，而那位客人則出神地陷在沉思之中；他越過硬挺的領飾呆呆地--如果不說是愁眉不展地--看着，眼睛沒有從桌布上擡起。至於在桌旁侍候的羅布，他正聚精會神地注視着他的主人，所以腦子裏根本沒有閃過這樣的念頭：這位客人就是那位他在童年時代、曾經作爲他們家庭的健康證明被抱到他面前的偉大的貴人；由於他的恩惠，他還曾經穿上那條皮短褲。
“請允許我問一下，”卡克突然問道，”董貝夫人身體好吧？”