雙語·《刀鋒》 第二章 五

CHAPTER TWO 5
第二章 五

When Isabel entered the drawing-room she found that some people had dropped in to tea. There were two American women who lived in Paris, exquisitely gowned, with strings of pearls round their necks, diamond bracelets on their wrists and costly rings on their fingers.Though the hair of one was darkly hennaed and that of the other unnaturally golden they were strangely alike.They had the same heavily mascaraed eyelashes, the same brightly painted lips, the same rouged cheeks, the same slim figures, maintained at the cost of extreme mortification, the same clear, sharp features, the same hungry restless eyes；and you could not but be conscious that their lives were a desperate struggle to maintain their fading charms.They talked with inanity in a loud, metallic voice without a moment's pause, as though afraid that if they were silent for an instant the machine would run down and the artificial construction which was all they were would fall to pieces.There was also a secretary from the American Embassy, suave, silent, for he could not get a word in, and very much the man of the world, and a small dark Rumanian prince, all bows and servility, with little darting black eyes and a clean-shaven swarthy face, who was for ever jumping up to hand a teacup, pass a plate of cakes, or light a cigarette, and who shamelessly dished out to those present the most flattering, the most gross compliments.He was paying for all the dinners he had received from the objects of his adulation and for all the dinners he hoped to receive.
伊莎貝爾走進(jìn)客廳，看見有幾個客人在那兒喝茶。有兩個是住在巴黎的美國女子，穿著非?？季?，脖子上掛著珍珠項(xiàng)鏈，手上戴著鉆石手鐲，手指上套著價值昂貴的戒指。雖然有一個的頭發(fā)染成了深紅褐色，另一個的頭發(fā)呈金黃色，顏色很不自然，二者看上去卻出奇地相像。她們的眼睫毛都重重地涂了眉毛油，嘴唇都搽得紅艷艷，臉蛋上都抹了胭脂，都有著由于刻苦修行而保持著的苗條身段，均是五官清爽、有棱有角，眼睛一刻不停地滴溜溜亂轉(zhuǎn)。你不由得會想到，她們在拼命地掙扎，竭力想挽留住正在逝去的風(fēng)韻。她們嗓門大、聲音尖，說話一點(diǎn)內(nèi)涵都沒有，如連珠炮一般不停頓，仿佛生怕一停下來體內(nèi)的機(jī)器就會發(fā)生故障，而她們也會像房屋一樣轟然倒塌。在場的還有一個美國大使館的秘書，彬彬有禮、八面玲瓏，一直沒有開口，因?yàn)樗麎焊筒宀贿M(jìn)去話。再有就是一個皮膚黝黑的小個子羅馬尼亞王子，點(diǎn)頭哈腰，一副殷勤相，一雙黑黑的老鼠眼善于察言觀色，黑不溜秋的臉刮得凈光。他時不時會跳起身為他人奉茶、點(diǎn)煙、端點(diǎn)心，厚顏無恥地獻(xiàn)媚，甜言蜜語，極盡阿諛奉承之能事。他如此小心翼翼地恭維，是為了報答對方請他赴宴的恩情，并希望今后能獲得更多的邀請。

Mrs. Bradley, seated at the tea table and dressed to please Elliott somewhat more grandly than she thought suitable to the occasion, performed her duties as hostess with her usual civil but rather indifferent composure.What she thought of her brother's guests I can only imagine.I never knew her more than slightly and she was a woman who kept herself to herself.She was not a stupid woman；in all the years she had lived in foreign capitals she had met innumerable people of all kinds and I think she summed them up shrewdly enough according to the standards of the small Virginian town where she was born and bred.I think she got a certain amount of amusement from observing their antics, and I don't believe she took their airs and graces any more seriously than she took the aches and pains of the characters in a novel which she knew from the beginning（otherwise she wouldn't have read it）would end happily.Paris, Rome, Peking had had no more effect on her Americanism than Elliott's devout Catholicism on her robust, but not inconvenient, Presbyterian faith.
布雷德利夫人坐在茶桌旁。為了讓艾略特高興，她違背自己的心愿特意打扮了一番，此時履行著女主人的義務(wù)，神情似平時那般平靜、禮貌、淡然。至于她如何看待弟弟的客人，我就不得而知了。我和她不太熟悉，而她是個不顯山不露水的人。她并不缺心眼，在外國的首都生活了那么多年，形形色色的人見了不計(jì)其數(shù)，想來能夠根據(jù)生她養(yǎng)她的那座弗吉尼亞小鎮(zhèn)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)對來客做出明智的判斷?？匆妿孜粊砜统髴B(tài)百出，恐怕她心里一定覺得相當(dāng)可笑。對于客人們的風(fēng)情萬種也罷，忸怩作態(tài)也罷，她全然不當(dāng)回事，就跟對待小說里的人物一樣——書中人的悲傷和痛苦引不起她的共鳴，因?yàn)樗婚_始就知道小說的結(jié)局是圓滿的（否則她就不會去讀它了）。巴黎、羅馬、北京對她的美國味沒有產(chǎn)生什么影響，這情形就跟艾略特虔誠的天主教信仰沒有影響到她堅(jiān)定不移地信仰長老會宗教一樣。

Isabel, with her youth, her strapping good looks, and her vitality, brought a breath of fresh air into that meretricious atmosphere. She swept in like a young earth goddess.The Rumanian prince leapt to his feet to draw forward a chair for her and with ample gesticulation did his shift.The two American ladies, with shrill amiabilities on their lips, looked her up and down, took in the details of her dress, and perhaps in their hearts felt a pang of dismay at being confronted with her exuberant youth.The American diplomat smiled to himself as he saw how false and haggard she made them look.But Isabel thought they were grand；she liked their rich clothes and expensive pearls and felt a twinge of envy for their sophisticated poise.She wondered if she would ever achieve that supreme elegance.Of course the little Rumanian was quite ridiculous, but he was rather sweet and even if he didn't mean the charming things he said it was nice to listen to them.The conversation which her entrance had interrupted was resumed, and they talked so brightly, with so much conviction that what they were saying was worth saying, that you almost thought they were talking sense.They talked of the parties they had been to and the parties they were going to.They gossiped about the latest scandal.They tore their friends to pieces.They bandied great names from one to the other.They seemed to know everybody.They were in on all the secrets.Almost in a breath they touched upon the latest play, the latest dressmaker, the latest portrait painter, and the latest mistress of the latest premier.One would have thought there was nothing they didn't know.Isabel listened with ravishment.It all seemed to her wonderfully civilized.This really was life.It gave her a thrilling sense of being in the midst of things.This was real.The setting was perfect.That spacious room with the Savonnerie carpet on the floor, the lovely drawings on the richly-panelled walls, the petit-point chairs on which they sat, the priceless pieces of marquetry, commodes and occasional tables, every piece worthy to go into a museum；it must have cost a fortune, that room, but it was worth it.Its beauty, its discretion struck her as never before because she had still so vividly in her mind the shabby little hotel room, with its iron bed and that hard, comfortless chair in which he had sat, that room that Larry saw nothing wrong in.It was bare, cheerless, and horrid.It made her shudder to remember it.
伊莎貝爾以她的青春、活力和活潑可愛的形象給客廳里庸俗的環(huán)境帶來了一股清新的氣息。她姍姍而至，猶如一個下凡的仙女。羅馬尼亞王子慌不迭地站起來替她拉過一把椅子，手忙腳亂地向她獻(xiàn)殷勤。兩個美國女人尖著嗓子說了些親熱的話，把她從頭到腳打量一番，觀察著她穿戴的細(xì)微之處，面對她那生氣勃勃的青春，心中也許產(chǎn)生了幾分落寞。美國外交官看見伊莎貝爾的出現(xiàn)叫這兩個女人顯得姿態(tài)做作和面容憔悴，不由暗中一笑?？墒?，伊莎貝爾卻覺得她們雍容華貴；她喜歡她們的華裝麗服和昂貴的珍珠，而且還對她們的矯揉造作感到了一絲妒意。她不知道自己將來是不是也能夠擁有如此儀態(tài)萬方的風(fēng)度。當(dāng)然，那位小個子羅馬尼亞人相當(dāng)可笑，不過待人倒是挺殷勤的，就算他講的那些好聽的話言不由衷，聽聽也叫人高興。她進(jìn)來時打斷的談話現(xiàn)在又恢復(fù)了，而且說話人都是那么興致勃勃，那樣的自信篤定，好像她們談的事情都是有價值的，讓你會以為她們的談吐富于理性。其談話內(nèi)容無非是她們參加過什么宴會，以及預(yù)備參加什么宴會。對于近來出現(xiàn)的花邊新聞，她們津津樂道。她們把自己的朋友說得一無是處。談到那些名人大姓，她們?nèi)鐢?shù)家珍。她們好像無人不曉，誰家的秘密都逃不過她們的眼睛。她們幾乎可以一口氣講出一大堆爆料，有最時新的劇目、剛走紅的服裝設(shè)計(jì)師、最近才火起來的肖像畫家、剛上臺的首相才勾搭上的情婦。你會覺得天下沒有她們不知道的事情。聽得伊莎貝爾如癡如醉。她覺得，一切都是那樣美妙和文明。這才是真正的生活，置身于其中給她一種心曠神怡的感覺。眼前的情景是真實(shí)的存在，眼前的環(huán)境完美無缺——房間寬敞，腳下鋪著薩馮內(nèi)里埃地毯，華美的鑲板墻上掛著漂亮的畫作，一把把座椅都是精雕細(xì)鏤的作品，小柜子和茶幾均為價錢不菲的鑲嵌細(xì)工活，每一樣?xùn)|西都是精品，簡直可以放在博物館里展覽。布置這個房間，一定花錢不少，但這筆錢花得值得。她以前從未注意到這兒竟如此美麗，品味如此高——拉里自稱沒有什么不好的旅館里的那個寒磣的小房間，那兒的鐵床和拉里坐的那把硬邦邦、別別扭扭的椅子，都還活躍在她的腦海里，形象是那樣鮮明。拉里的房間空空如也，沒有歡樂，只有悲哀，想起來就叫她不寒而栗。

The party broke up and Isabel was left with her mother and Elliott.
客人散了，只剩下了伊莎貝爾、她母親以及艾略特三個人。

“Charming women，”said Elliott when he came back from seeing the two poor painted drabs to the door.“I knew them when they first settled in Paris. I never dreamt they'd turn out as well as they have.It's amazing, the adaptability of our women.You'd hardly know now they were Americans and Middle West into the bargain.”
“真是叫人著迷的女人?！卑蕴匕涯莾蓚€涂脂抹粉的可憐蛋送到大門外之后，返回來說了這么一句，“她們剛來巴黎時，我就認(rèn)識她們了。做夢也想不到她們竟有這般脫胎換骨的變化。咱們國家的女人之適應(yīng)能力實(shí)在叫人驚嘆。你簡直看不出她們是美國人，而且是中西部來的?！?/p>

Mrs. Bradley, raising her eyebrows, without speaking gave him a look which he was too quick-witted not to understand.
布雷德利夫人抬起眼，什么話也沒說，只是瞅了瞅弟弟。對方善于察言觀色，哪能不曉得姐姐的意思。

“No one could ever say that of you, my poor Louisa，”he continued half acidly and half affectionately.“Though heaven knows, you've had every chance.”
“可憐的路易莎，這你恐怕是做不到的?！彼胱I諷半親熱地說，“不過，老天爺知道，你在過去完全有這個能力?！?/p>

Mrs. Bradley pursed her lips.
布雷德利夫人聽后噘了噘嘴。

“I'm afraid I've been a sad disappointment to you, Elliott, but to tell you the truth I'm very satisfied with myself as I am.”
“恐怕我讓你覺得又失望又丟人，艾略特。不過，實(shí)話告訴你，我對自己現(xiàn)在的樣子十分滿意?！?/p>

“Tous les go?ts sont dans la nature，”Elliott murmured.
“悉聽尊便?！卑蕴貒\里咕嚕來了一句法語。

“I think I ought to tell you that I'm no longer engaged to Larry，”said Isabel.
“我跟拉里解除婚約了，我覺得應(yīng)該告訴你們一聲?！币辽悹栒f道。

“Tut，”cried Elliott.“That'll put my luncheon table out for tomorrow. How on earth am I going to get another man at this short notice?”
“?。俊卑蕴亟谐隽寺?，“這給我明天請的午宴出了個難題。這么短的時間，你叫我去哪兒找人補(bǔ)他的缺？”

“Oh, he's coming to lunch all right.”
“哦，午宴他還是要來的?！?/p>

“After you've broken off your engagement?That sounds very unconventional.”
“解除了婚約他還來？這好像跟一般人的做法不太相同?！?/p>

Isabel giggled. She kept her gaze on Elliott, for she knew her mother's eyes were fixed upon her and she didn't want to meet them.
伊莎貝爾咯咯笑了。她把目光聚焦在艾略特舅舅身上，因?yàn)樗滥赣H在盯著她看，而她不想去直視母親。

“We haven't quarrelled. We talked it over this afternoon and came to the conclusion we'd made a mistake.He doesn't want to come back to America；he wants to stop on in Paris.He's talking of going to Greece.”
“我們沒有吵架。今天下午我們倆談了談心，最后都覺得我們的婚約是個錯誤。他不想回美國，而是想留在巴黎，還說要到希臘去?！?/p>

“What on earth for?There's no society in Athens. As a matter of fact I never thought so much of Greek art myself.Some of that Hellenistic stuff has a certain decadent charm that's rather attractive.But Phidias：no, no.”
“這是為什么？雅典可不是從事社交活動的好地方。事實(shí)上，我對希臘藝術(shù)從來就不大看在眼里。有些古希臘的藝術(shù)品倒是有那么一點(diǎn)頹廢的魅力，還是可以吸引人眼球的。然而要說菲狄亞斯的作品——看不得，看不得?！?/p>

“Look at me, Isabel，”said Mrs. Bradley.
“你看著我，伊莎貝爾！”布雷德利夫人說。

Isabel turned and with a faint smile on her lips faced her mother. Mrs.Bradley gave her a scrutinizing stare, but all she said was，“H'm.”The girl hadn't been crying, that she saw；she looked calm and composed.
伊莎貝爾轉(zhuǎn)過頭來，唇邊掛著淡淡的微笑，把臉朝向母親。布雷德利夫人將她打量一番，最后什么也沒說，只是哼了一聲。布雷德利夫人看得出她沒有哭過，神態(tài)安然、寧靜。

“I think you're well out of it, Isabel，”said Elliott.“I was prepared to make the best of it, but I never thought it a good match. He wasn't really up to your mark, and the way he's been behaving in Paris is a pretty clear indication that he'll never amount to anything.With your looks and your connexions you can aspire to something better than that.I think you've behaved in a very sensible manner.”
“我覺得你解除婚約算是做對了，伊莎貝爾?！卑蕴卣f，“我原本覺得也就湊合著吧，可心里總認(rèn)為不是一樁美滿的婚配。老實(shí)講，他配不上你?？此诎屠璧乃魉鶠榫鸵呀?jīng)很清楚，他絕對不會有大的出息。憑你的容貌和社會關(guān)系，完全可以找一個比他強(qiáng)的對象。我認(rèn)為這件事你處理得很有分寸。”

Mrs. Bradley gave her daughter a glance that was not devoid of anxiety.
布雷德利夫人看了一眼女兒，眼神里有幾分擔(dān)憂。

“You haven't done this on my account, Isabel?”
“你不是為了我才這么做的吧，伊莎貝爾？”

Isabel shook her head decidedly.
伊莎貝爾斷然搖了搖頭。

“No, darling, I've done it entirely on my own.”
“不，親愛的媽媽，我這樣做完全是出于我自己的原因。”