狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第34章Part8

'I have hung about a family, my deary,' said the mother, even more humbly and submissively than before.
'What family?'
'Hush, darling. Don't be angry with me. I did it for the love of you. In memory of my poor gAl beyond seas.' She put out her hand deprecatingly, and drawing it back again, laid it on her lips.
'Years ago, my deary,' she pursued, glancing timidly at the attentive and stem face opposed to her, 'I came across his little child, by chance.'
'Whose child?'
'Not his, Alice deary; don't look at me like that; not his. How could it be his? You know he has none.'
'Whose then?' returned the daughter. 'You said his.'
'Hush, Ally; you frighten me, deary. Mr Dombey's - only Mr Dombey's. Since then, darling, I have seen them often. I have seen him.'
In uttering this last word, the old woman shrunk and recoiled, as if with sudden fear that her daughter would strike her. But though the daughter's face was fixed upon her, and expressed the most vehement passion, she remained still: except that she clenched her arms tighter and tighter within each other, on her bosom, as if to restrain them by that means from doing an injury to herself, or someone else, in the blind fury of the wrath that suddenly possessed her.
'Little he thought who I was!' said the old woman, shaking her clenched hand.
'And little he cared!' muttered her daughter, between her teeth.
'But there we were, said the old woman, 'face to face. I spoke to him, and he spoke to me. I sat and watched him as he went away down a long grove of trees: and at every step he took, I cursed him soul and body.'
'He will thrive in spite of that,' returned the daughter disdainfully.
'Ay, he is thriving,' said the mother.
She held her peace; for the face and form before her were unshaped by rage. It seemed as if the bosom would burst with the emotions that strove within it. The effort that constrained and held it pent up, was no less formidable than the rage itself: no less bespeaking the violent and dangerous character of the woman who made it. But it succeeded, and she asked, after a silence:
'Is he married?'

“我一直在一個家庭附近閒蕩，我的寶貝”母親說道，她甚至比先前更低聲下氣、更順順從從的了。
“哪個家庭？”
“輕一點，我親愛的。別生我的氣，我是因爲愛你才那麼做的。我那麼做是爲了想念我在海外的可憐的女兒。”她向她求情地伸過手去，然後又縮回來，放在嘴脣上。
“好多年以前，我的寶貝，”她怯生生地朝對面那張專注而又嚴厲的臉孔看了一眼，繼續說道，”我無意間碰上了他的小女孩。”
“誰的小女孩？”
“不是他的，親愛的艾麗斯；別那樣看我；不是他的。怎麼能是他的呢？你知道他沒有孩子。”
“那麼是誰的呢？”女兒問道，”你剛纔說是他的。”
“輕一點，艾麗；你嚇了我一跳，我的寶貝。董貝先生的小女兒--只是董貝先生的。從那時候起，親愛的，我就經常看到他們。我看到?他。”
在說出最後這個字的時候，老太婆往後退卻，縮成一團，彷彿害怕女兒會打她似的。可是女兒的臉孔雖然一動不動地對着她，流露出激烈的憤怒的神情，但卻依舊靜靜地坐着，只不過把胳膊愈來愈緊地往胸脯收攏，彷彿用這辦法來抑制它們，免得在突然襲擊她身心的暴怒的盲目衝動下，會傷害她自己或其他人。
“他沒有想到我是誰！”老太婆揮揮握緊的拳頭，說道。
“他也根本沒有注意到！”女兒咬牙切齒地嘟囔着。
“可是有一次我們面對面地碰見了，”老太婆說道，”我跟他說話，他也跟我說話。我坐着，眼看着他穿過一個長長的小樹林走開了；他每走一步，我就咒罵他一次，咒罵他的靈魂，也咒罵他的肉體。”
“不管你怎樣咒罵，他還照樣飛黃騰達！”女兒用鄙棄的語氣回答道。
“不錯，他現在是飛黃騰達。”母親說道。
她不再說話，因爲坐在她面前的那張臉孔已經由於憤怒而改變了樣子。看上去彷彿她胸中翻騰起伏的情感都要把她的胸膛給炸裂了。她爲了抑制和管束這種情感而做的努力與憤怒本身同樣可怕，同樣有力地表明這個女人的激烈的、危險的性格。不過她所做的努力成功了。她沉默了一會兒之後，問道：
“他結婚了嗎？”