第十五章（第2/18页）

如今，他每晚都会与博尔顿太太玩21点，这是英国行伍间喜闻乐见的纸牌游戏，以六便士作为赌注。赌牌的时候，他便会变得神志不清，陷入茫然的沉醉或者沉醉的茫然状态，鬼才分得清。康妮实在不忍见他变成这样。可她就寝之后，他和博尔顿太太仍不会罢手，奋战直至凌晨两三点，平平静静地，并带着一种奇怪的欲望。博尔顿太太沉溺的程度丝毫不逊克利福德，因为她几乎没有胜绩，可越是输，就越是着迷。

She told Connie one day: "I lost twenty-three shillings to Sir Clifford last night.” "And did he take the money from you?" asked Connie aghast.

有一天，她对康妮说：“我昨晚输给克利福德爵士23先令。”“他收下你的钱了吗？”康妮颇感惊讶地问。

"Why of course, my Lady! Debt of honour!"

“当然，夫人！这可是赌债！”

Connie expostulated roundly, and was angry with both of them. The upshot was, Sir Clifford raised Mrs. Bolton's wages a hundred a year, and she could gamble on that. Meanwhile, it seemed to Connie, Clifford was really going deader.

康妮狠狠申斥了两人，甚至大发雷霆。结果是，克利福德将博尔顿太太的年薪提高了100镑，她总算有了赌资。而在康妮心目中，克利福德的形象变得更加不可救药。

She told him at length she was leaving on the seventeenth.

她终于将行程告诉他，言明自己17日将会离开格拉比。

"Seventeenth!" He said. "And when will you be back?" "By the twentieth of July at the latest." "Yes! The twentieth of July." Strangely and blankly he looked at her, with the vagueness of a child, but with the queer blank cunning of an old man.

“17日！”他说。“那你什么时候回来？”“最迟7月20日。”“是吗？7月20号。”他失神落魄地怪怪地望着他，茫然的样子活像个孩子，但狡黠的神态又好似老朽。

"You won't let me down, now, will you?" he said.

“你不会让我失望，对吗？”他说。

"How?" "While you're away, I mean, you're sure to come back?” "I'm as sure as I can be of anything, that I shall come back.” "Yes! Well! Twentieth of July!"

“让你失望？”“我是说，你走之后，确定还会回来是吗？”“我肯定会回来，绝不食言。”“好吧！很好！7月20号！”

He looked at her so strangely.

他表情怪异地望着她。

Yet he really wanted her to go. That was so curious. He wanted her to go, positively, to have her little adventures and perhaps come home pregnant, and all that. At the same time, he was afraid of her going.

但在心里，他其实希望她走。这确实有些奇怪。他盼着她离开，盼着她遇到露水情缘，或许还能够怀胎而返。但与此同时，他又害怕她弃他而去。

She was quivering, watching her real opportunity for leaving him altogether, waiting till the time, herself himself should be ripe.

她激动得全身震颤，等待着真正机会的到来，可以完全脱离他的束缚，等待着她和他都成熟的一天。

She sat and talked to the keeper of her going abroad.

她坐在守林人家中，说起自己要出国旅行的事情。

"And then when I come back," she said, "I can tell Clifford I must leave him. And you and I can go away. They never need even know it is you. We can go to another country, shall we? To Africa or Australia. Shall we?" She was quite thrilled by her plan.

“等我回来，”她说，“就会跟克利福德摊牌，告诉他我要离开。你我便可以远走高飞。他们甚至都不会知道我的情郎是你。我们可以离开英国，不是吗？去非洲或者澳大利亚。没错吧？”讲到自己对未来的计划，康妮激动不已。

"You've never been to the Colonies, have you?" he asked her.