狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第37章Part3

He offered no reply to the mother, but fixed his eyes on the proud daughter, as though he would only be bidden by her, and was resolved to he bidden by her. Edith, in spite of herself sat down, and slightly motioned with her hand to him to be seated too. No action could be colder, haughtier, more insolent in its air of supremacy and disrespect, but she had struggled against even that concession ineffectually, and it was wrested from her. That was enough! Mr Carker sat down.
'May I be allowed, Madam,' said Carker, turning his white teeth on Mrs Skewton like a light - 'a lady of your excellent sense and quick feeling will give me credit, for good reason, I am sure - to address what I have to say, to Mrs Dombey, and to leave her to impart it to you who are her best and dearest friend - next to Mr Dombey?'
Mrs Skewton would have retired, but Edith stopped her. Edith would have stopped him too, and indignantly ordered him to speak openly or not at all, but that he said, in a low Voice - 'Miss Florence - the young lady who has just left the room - '
Edith suffered him to proceed. She looked at him now. As he bent forward, to be nearer, with the utmost show of delicacy and respect, and with his teeth persuasively arrayed, in a self-depreciating smile, she felt as if she could have struck him dead.
'Miss Florence's position,' he began, 'has been an unfortunate one. I have a difficulty in alluding to it to you, whose attachment to her father is naturally watchful and jealous of every word that applies to him.' Always distinct and soft in speech, no language could describe the extent of his distinctness and softness, when he said these words, or came to any others of a similar import. 'But, as one who is devoted to Mr Dombey in his different way, and whose life is passed in admiration of Mr Dombey's character, may I say, without offence to your tenderness as a wife, that Miss Florence has unhappily been neglected - by her father. May I say by her father?'
Edith replied, 'I know it.'
'You know it!' said Mr Carker, with a great appearance of relief. 'It removes a mountain from my breast. May I hope you know how the neglect originated; in what an amiable phase of Mr Dombey's pride - character I mean?'
'You may pass that by, Sir,' she returned, 'and come the sooner to the end of what you have to say.'
'Indeed, I am sensible, Madam,' replied Carker, - 'trust me, I am deeply sensible, that Mr Dombey can require no justification in anything to you. But, kindly judge of my breast by your own, and you will forgive my interest in him, if in its excess, it goes at all astray.
What a stab to her proud heart, to sit there, face to face with him, and have him tendering her false oath at the altar again and again for her acceptance, and pressing it upon her like the dregs of a sickening cup she could not own her loathing of or turn away from'. How shame, remorse, and passion raged within her, when, upright and majestic in her beauty before him, she knew that in her spirit she was down at his feet!
'Miss Florence,' said Carker, 'left to the care - if one may call it care - of servants and mercenary people, in every way her inferiors, necessarily wanted some guide and compass in her younger days, and, naturally, for want of them, has been indiscreet, and has in some degree forgotten her station. There was some folly about one Walter, a common lad, who is fortunately dead now: and some very undesirable association, I regret to say, with certain coasting sailors, of anything but good repute, and a runaway old bankrupt.'
'I have heard the circumstances, Sir,' said Edith, flashing her disdainful glance upon him, 'and I know that you pervert them. You may not know it. I hope so.'
'Pardon me,' said Mr Carker, 'I believe that nobody knows them so well as I. Your generous and ardent nature, Madam - the same nature which is so nobly imperative in vindication of your beloved and honoured husband, and which has blessed him as even his merits deserve - I must respect, defer to, bow before. But, as regards the circumstances, which is indeed the business I presumed to solicit your attention to, I can have no doubt, since, in the execution of my trust as Mr Dombey's confidential - I presume to say - friend, I have fully ascertained them. In my execution of that trust; in my deep concern, which you can so well understand, for everything relating to him, intensified, if you will (for I fear I labour under your displeasure), by the lower motive of desire to prove my diligence, and make myself the more acceptable; I have long pursued these circumstances by myself and trustworthy instruments, and have innumerable and most minute proofs.'
She raised her eyes no higher than his mouth, but she saw the means of mischief vaunted in every tooth it contained.

他沒有回答母親，眼睛卻一動不動地注視着高傲的女兒，彷彿他只等着她來請他坐，並下定決心讓她來請似的。伊迪絲不由本意地坐下，並向他微微地揮了揮手，讓他也坐下來；她的神態中流露出了優越感與不尊敬，沒有什麼動作能比這更冷淡、更傲慢、更無禮的了，可是她甚至連這點讓步在自己心中也是竭力反對的，只是沒有成功罷了；這是從她那裏硬逼出來的。但是這也已足夠了！卡克先生坐了下來。
“夫人，”卡克先生把雪白的牙齒像一道光一樣照射到斯丘頓夫人身上，說道，”您是一位通曉事理和感覺敏捷的夫人，我是否可以請求您賞光，讓我對董貝夫人說一些我必須說的話，然後再讓她把這些話轉告給您（我相信，這樣做是有充分理由的）；除了董貝先生之外，您就是她最好的、最親愛的朋友了。”
斯丘頓夫人本來想要離開，但是伊迪絲卻阻止了她。伊迪絲本來也想阻止他那樣做，並憤怒地命令他，要說就公開說出來，要不就乾脆別說，可是他卻低聲地說道，”弗洛倫斯小姐--剛剛離開房間的那位姑娘--”
於是伊迪絲就聽任他說下去。現在她看着他。當他極爲殷勤、極爲尊敬地向前彎下身子，向她更接近一些，並在卑躬屈節的微笑中顯示出他排得整整齊齊的全副牙齒的時候，她覺得她真想把他當場打死。
“弗洛倫斯小姐的處境一直來是不幸的。”他開始說道，”我要向您說明這一點是困難的，因爲您對她的父親懷着親密的愛情，所以您對於涉及他的每一句話都是警戒和妒嫉的。”他的話經常是矯揉造作、諂媚取悅的，可是他在講這些話以及其他類似的話的時候那種矯揉造作、諂媚取悅的程度，是沒有語言能夠形容的，”可是，作爲一個從不同的方面對董貝先生忠心耿耿，並在他的一生中始終敬慕董貝先生的性格的人，我是不是可以不觸犯您當妻子的溫柔親切的感情說，弗洛倫斯小姐不幸被--她的父親冷落了？我可以說被她的父親冷落了嗎？”
伊迪絲回答道：”我知道這。”
“您知道這！”卡克先生顯出極爲輕鬆的樣子，說道，”這從我的心頭搬走了一座山。我是不是可以希望您知道，這冷落是由於董貝先生的可愛的驕傲所產生的--我的意思是說，是由於他的性格所產生的呢？”
“您不必停住，先生，”她回答道，”請儘快把您想說的話說出來。”
“自然，我瞭解，夫人，”卡克回答道，”請相信我，我深深地瞭解，董貝先生並不需要向您證明他自己是正確的，可是請用您的心來判斷一下我的心，那麼您就會原諒我對他的關心，即使這種過分的關心有時把我引入岐途。”
跟他面對面地坐在這裏，聽他一次又一次地搬出她結婚時在聖壇前所作的虛假的誓言，硬要她接受，就好像端上一杯令人作嘔的飲料的殘滓，逼迫她喝下去，而她又不能承認她厭惡它並拒絕它，這真像一把刀，對她高傲的心是刺得多麼深多麼痛啊！她姿容美麗，筆直地、威嚴地坐在他面前，心中卻知道，實際在精神上，她是躺在他的腳下的，這時候，羞恥、悔恨、憤怒是怎樣在她心中翻騰不已啊！
“弗洛倫斯小姐，”卡克說道，”過去被交給僕人和僱傭來的人們照料（如果可以把它稱爲照料的話），她們在各方面都比她差、因此，她在童年時代必然需要引導和指點；由於缺乏這些，她過去的行爲自然難免不夠慎重，曾經在一定程度上忘記了她的身份。有一位叫做沃爾特的，是個庸庸碌碌的小夥子，她卻傻里傻氣地愛上了他，幸好他現在已經死了。我遺憾地對您說，她還跟幾位名聲不好的沿岸航行的船員和一位破了產逃跑的老頭子保持過令人討厭的聯繫。”
“這一切情形我已聽說了，先生，”伊迪絲向他輕蔑地看了一眼，說道，”我知道您歪曲了事實。您也許還不知道這一點，我希望是這樣。”
“請原諒我，”卡克先生說道，”我相信沒有什麼人能比我對這些情形知道得更清楚了。夫人，對於您的寬大與熱情的天性，我應當尊敬、服從與崇拜；在爲您心愛與尊敬的丈夫辯護時，您的這種天性多麼高貴地表露出堅強不屈的精神；您的這種天性也使他得到了幸福，雖然他的美德是應當得到這種幸福的。然而說到具體情況--這正是我冒昧地請求您加以注意的--，我卻不能有任何懷疑，因爲我在履行我作爲董貝先生的極爲信任的朋友（我可以冒昧地這樣說）的職責時，我已經完全查清了事實。在履行我的職責時，我對這些具體情況長時間親自調查並利用可靠的人進行調查，取得了許多確鑿的證據；我這樣做，是由於我深深地關心與他有關的一切，這一點您是能很好理解的；如果您想說（因爲我擔心您不喜歡我），我這樣做是被一種更低劣的動機所驅使：我是想要證明我在勤勤懇懇地爲他工作，使他更加器重我，那麼也可以。”
她擡起眼睛，沒有擡到比他的嘴巴更高的地方，但是她卻在他嘴裏每顆牙齒中看到了它所自誇的作惡的工具。