牛津書蟲系列 簡(jiǎn)愛 chapter 10

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10 The mystery of Grace Poole

10 格麗絲·普爾之謎

A fter this sleepless night I was eager to see Mr Rochester in the morning，but there was no sign of him.He had obviously told the servants that he had accidentally set fire to his room by knocking over a lighted candle As I passed his bedroom，I saw Grace Poole sitting inside，calmly mending the curtains She certainly did not look desperate or mad enough to have tried to murder her master But I decided to investigate.

度過一個(gè)不眠之夜后，早晨我很想見到羅切斯特先生，但是根本沒有他的人影。顯然他已經(jīng)告訴仆人們他不小心碰翻了蠟燭，使房間著火了。經(jīng)過他的房間時(shí)，我看見格麗絲·普爾坐在里面，平靜地補(bǔ)著窗簾。她看上去根本不像絕望或瘋狂到要?dú)⑺乐魅说牡夭?。但我還是決定探個(gè)究竟。

Good morning，Grace，I said，entering the room.’Tell me，what happened last night?The servants are talking about it.’

“早上好，格麗絲。”我說(shuō)著走進(jìn)屋里。“告訴我，昨晚出了什么事?仆人們都在議論呢。”

’Good morning，miss，’she replied， looking up innocently.’Well，master was reading in bed and fell asleep，so he must have knocked the candle over It set fire to the sheets，but luckily he managed to put the flames out with some water.

“早上好，小姐。”她回答著抬起頭來(lái)，沒事兒似的。“嗯，主人躺在床上看書睡著了，他肯定是碰翻了蠟燭。蠟燭點(diǎn)著了床單，好在他用水把火撲滅了。”

’How strange!’I said quietly.’Didn’t anybody hear what was happening?At this，she seemed to examine me carefully.

“多怪啊!”我輕聲說(shuō)。“沒有人聽到動(dòng)靜嗎?”聽到這話，她好像仔細(xì)打量了我一眼。

Mrs Fairfax and you sleep nearest this room，miss Mrs Fairfax is a heavy sleeper，like most old people，and didn’t hear anything But you’rs young，miss.Perhaps you heard a noise?’ ’I did，’I whispered.’I’m sure I heard a strange laugh.’

“費(fèi)爾法斯太太和你睡得離他最近，小姐。費(fèi)爾法斯太太像大多數(shù)老年人一樣，睡得很沉，沒聽見什么。不過，小姐，你還年輕。也許你聽到了動(dòng)靜?”

She went on sewing calmly

“是的。”我說(shuō)，“我敢肯定我聽到了一聲怪笑。”

’I don’t think master would have laughed，when he was in such danger，’she said.’You must have been dreaming.’

她繼續(xù)平靜地干著手中的針線活。

’No，I wasn’t dreaming，’I replied sharply. ’You didn’t think of opening your door and looking out into the corridor?’she asked.I suddenly realized that if she suspected I knew of her guilt，she might attack me.

“處在這樣的危險(xiǎn)之中，我想主人是不會(huì)笑的。”她說(shuō)，“你一定在做夢(mèng)。”

’No，in fact I locked my door，’I answered，’and I shall lock it every night from now on.’

“不，我沒有做夢(mèng)。”我厲聲答道。

That’s wise of you，miss We might have burglars at Thornfield one day，you never know.

“你沒想起要開門朝走廊里看看?”她問。我突然意識(shí)到如果她懷疑我知道她的罪過，可能會(huì)襲擊我。

I was amazed by her self-control，and could not understand why Mr Rochester had not asked the police to arrest her，or at least dismissed her from his service.Why had he asked me to keep the attack a secret?How could such a proud gentleman be so much in the power of one of his servants that he could not even punish her for trying to kill him?Did she know a terrible secret fron his past，which she had threatened to tell?Could he ever have been in love with her?’NO，I thought，’he could never love anyone as plain and coarse as she is.But then，I’m not beautiful either，and I sometimes think he loves me.Last night-his words，his look，his voice!’And my cheeks were red as I thought of those precious moments

“不，我把門鎖上了。”我說(shuō)，“從今往后我每天晚上都會(huì)鎖門。”“小姐，這才是明智的。誰(shuí)知道呢，也許有一天特恩費(fèi)得會(huì)闖進(jìn)盜賊的。”她的自我克制讓我吃驚，我納悶為什么羅切斯特先生不叫警察抓她或至少解雇她。為什么他要我保守秘密?一個(gè)那么驕傲的紳士怎么能這樣被自己的仆人左右，那人即使要?dú)⑺膊荒苡枰詰土P呢?她是不是知道他過去的什么可怕的秘密，要挾要講出來(lái)呢?他是不是曾經(jīng)愛過她?“不，”我心想，“他永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)去愛這么個(gè)平淡粗俗的人?？墒俏乙膊黄裂剑袝r(shí)我覺得他愛我。昨天夜里——，他的話，他那眼神，他那聲音!”想到那些珍貴的瞬間，我的雙頰不禁紅了。

I was now even more impatient to see Mr Rochester，but when I was having tea with Mrs Fairfax in the afternoon，the first thing she said was，It’s fine weather for the master’s journey.’

現(xiàn)在我更加急不可耐地想要見到羅切斯特先生，但下午我和費(fèi)爾法斯太太喝茶時(shí)，她第一句話就是：“今天天氣不錯(cuò)，正適合主人旅行。”

’Journey!’I cried.’I didn’t know he’d gone anywhere!’

“旅行!”我叫著，“我不知道他已經(jīng)到別處去了。”

’Oh yes，he went off just after breakfast，to visit a family in a big house about sixteen miles away.I know they’ve invited a lot of guests，who’ll be staying in the house.Mr Rochester is always very popular with the ladies at these parties，so he may not come back for a week or so.’

“噢，是的，他早飯后就走了、去拜訪16英里外的一戶人家。我知道他們請(qǐng)了許多客人，都住在家里。在這種晚會(huì)上羅切斯特先生總是很受女士們的歡迎，所以他可能會(huì)個(gè)把星期不回來(lái)。”

’Who are the ladies at this house-party?

“這次晚會(huì)上有哪些女士?”

’Three sisters，very elegant young ladies，and their friends，Blanche and Mary Ingram.But Blanche is the most beautiful of all.I saw her when she came to a Christmas party at Thornfield，six or seven years ago.’

“三姐妹，都是文雅的年輕女士，還有她們的朋友布朗蒂和瑪麗·英格姆，可布郎蒂是其中最漂亮的一個(gè)。六七年前在特恩費(fèi)得的圣誕晚會(huì)上我見過她。”

’What does she look like?’

“她什么樣兒?”

’She was eighteen then，a lovely girl，with beautiful skin，long curling black hair，and fine black eyes which shone as brightly as her jewels.She looked like a queen.All the gentlemen admired her，not only for her beauty but also for her musical skills.When she and Mr Rochester sang together，it was a delight to hear.’

“她當(dāng)時(shí)18歲，非?？蓯?，有好看的皮膚，長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的鬈發(fā)，美麗的黑眸子像珠寶一樣閃著光。她就像個(gè)皇后。所有的紳士都喜歡她，這不僅因?yàn)樗?，還因?yàn)樗幸魳凡湃A。她和羅切斯特先生一起唱歌時(shí)，那聽起來(lái)非常悅耳。”

’Mr Rochester?I didn’t know he could sing.’

“羅切斯特先生?我不知道他會(huì)唱歌。”

’Oh yes，he has a very fine voice.And then she played the piano later.The master said she played extremely well.’

“噢，是的，他嗓子很好。然后她彈鋼琴，主人說(shuō)她彈得非常出色。”

’And this beautiful lady isn’t married yet?’

“這位漂亮的女士還沒有結(jié)婚?”

’No，I don’t think she or her sister has much money.’

“沒有，我想她或她妹妹都沒什么錢。”

’But I’m surprised some rich gentleman hasn’t fallen in love with her.Mr Rochester，for example.He’s rich，isn’t he?’

“但是我奇怪怎么沒有哪位富有的紳士愛上她，比如說(shuō)羅切斯特先生。他很富，是不是?”

’Oh yes But you see，there’s a considerable difference in age.He’s nearly forty，and she’s only twenty-five.’

“噢，是的?？赡阒?年齡差得太多。他快40歲了，而她只有25歲。”

’Well，marriages like that happen every day.De you think-’But I was interrupted by Adele，who came to Join us，and the subject was changed.

“不過，這樣的婚姻天天都有。你覺得——”但我被阿黛拉打斷了，她來(lái)找我們，話題也就變了。

That night in my room I was stern with myself.

當(dāng)晚我在房間里嚴(yán)厲地剖析自己。

’You，Jane Eyre，’I accused my reflection in the mirror，’you are the biggest fool in the world! How could you imagine that a gentleman of family and wealth would love you，a plain little governess! Just look at yourself!’And I decided that next day I would draw an honest sketch of myself，and then one of Blanche Ingram，painting the most lovely face I could imagine，according to Mrs Fairfax ’s description.In the future，if ever my old feelings about Mr Rochester began to return，I would only have to glance at the two pictures to see the great difference between us，and in this way common sense would destroy my foolish dreams.

“你，簡(jiǎn)·愛，”我指責(zé)著鏡中的我，“你是世界上最大的傻瓜!你怎么能想象一位有家有產(chǎn)的紳士會(huì)愛上你這個(gè)不起眼的小家庭教師呢!好好看看你自己吧!”我決定第二天老老實(shí)實(shí)地畫一張自畫像，再給布朗蒂·英格姆畫一張，根據(jù)費(fèi)爾法斯太太的描述，畫出我能想像的最迷人的臉蛋兒。今后如果我對(duì)羅切斯特先生舊情復(fù)發(fā)，我只要看看兩幅畫，看看我們之間的巨大差別就夠了。這樣理智就會(huì)打破我愚蠢的夢(mèng)。