第三章（第7/10页）

"I know! I know! It should be so! You're FRIGHTFULLY good to me..." he cried miserably.

“我知道！我了解！应该是这样没错！你对我简直太好了……”他叫道，语调中满是悲切。

She wondered why he should be miserable. "Won't you sit down again?" she said. He glanced at the door.

她搞不懂这悲切是何来由。“你干嘛不再坐下来？”她问。而他的眼神却瞥向房门。

"Sir Clifford!" he said, "won't he...won't he be...?” She paused a moment to consider. "Perhaps!" she said.

“克利福德爵士！”他说，“他会不会……他会不会觉察……？”她沉思片刻。“或许会！”她答道。

And she looked up at him.

说着抬头凝视着他。

"I don't want Clifford to know not even to suspect. It WOULD hurt him so much. But I don't think it's wrong, do you?” "Wrong! Good God, no! You're only too infinitely good to me...I can hardly bear it.” He turned aside, and she saw that in another moment he would be sobbing.

“我不想让克利福德知道，甚至不愿他有所怀疑。那会使他异常痛苦。况且我不觉得这样做有什么错误，你觉得呢？”“错误！仁慈的上帝，当然没有！你只是对我太好了……几乎让我承担不起。”他扭过脸去，她看得出他几乎就要哽咽。

"But we needn't let Clifford know, need we?" she pleaded. "It would hurt him so. And if he never knows, never suspects, it hurts nobody." "Me!" he said, almost fiercely; "he'll know nothing from me! You see if he does. Me give myself away! Ha! Ha!" he laughed hollowly, cynically, at such an idea. She watched him in wonder. He said to her:" May I kiss your hand arid go? I'll run into Sheffield I think, and lunch there, if I may, and be back to tea. May I do anything for you? May I be sure you don't hate me?—and that you won't?”—he ended with a desperate note of cynicism.

“但咱们没必要让克利福德知道，不是么？”她央求道。“那样只会伤他的心。只要他不明真相，不曾起疑，也就不会有人受到伤害。”“我！”他说，用近乎斩钉截铁的语气，“他绝不会从我口中知道任何事！”不信你就瞧着吧。我竟然会出卖自己？！哈！哈！”他的笑声空洞，显示出对这种想法的不屑一顾。她不明就里地望着他。他再次提出请求：“可否让我在动身前亲吻你的手？我想我要去趟谢菲尔德，可能的话，在那里吃顿午餐，下午茶的时候回来。有什么可以为你效劳的么？我当真可以确信你没有恨我？以后也永远不会恨我？”结束时的语气有强烈的讥诮意味。

"No, I don't hate you," she said. "I think you're nice.” "Ah!" he said to her fiercely, "I'd rather you said that to me than said you love me! It means such a lot more… Till afternoon then. I've plenty to think about till then.” He kissed her hands humbly and was gone.

“放心，我不恨你，”她说，“反倒觉得你是个好人。”“啊！”他的语调饱含热情，“这句话甚至比你说爱我还要令我感动！对我而言，它意味着更多……那么下午见。在那之前，我有好多事情要好好思考一下。”他恭顺地吻了她的双手，转身离去。

"I don't think I can stand that young man," said Clifford at lunch.

吃午餐的时候，克利福德说：“我真有点受不了那小子。”

"Why?" asked Connie.

“为什么？”康妮问。

"He's such a bounder underneath his veneer...just waiting to bounce us.” "I think people have been so unkind to him," said Connie.

“揭去光鲜的外表，他就是个不折不扣的下流坯……随时可能给我们带来威胁。”“我倒觉得是人们对他太不友善。”康妮说。

"Do you wonder? And do you think he employs his shining hours doing deeds of kindness?" "I think he has a certain sort of generosity." "Towards whom?" "I don't quite know.” "Naturally you don't. I'm afraid you mistake unscrupulousness for generosity.” Connie paused. Did she? It was just possible. Yet the unscrupulousness of Michaelis had a certain fascination for her. He went whole lengths where Clifford only crept a few timid paces. In his way he had conquered the world, which was what Clifford wanted to do. Ways and means...? Were those of Michaelis more despicable than those of Clifford? Was the way the poor outsider had shoved and bounced himself forward in person, and by the back doors, any worse than Clifford's way of advertising himself into prominence? The bitch-goddess, Success, was trailed by thousands of gasping, dogs with lolling tongues. So Michaelis could keep his tail up. The queer thing was, he didn't.