第十八章（第12/17页）

"Why should we not just disappear, separately, to British Columbia, and have no scandal?" said Connie.

“我们为何不干脆销声匿迹，分头前往英属哥伦比亚，这样不就没有丑闻了？”康妮说。

But that was no good. The scandal would come out just the same. And if Connie was going with the man, she'd better be able to marry him. This was Hilda's opinion. Sir Malcolm wasn't sure. The affair might still blow over.

可这主意行不通。丑闻照样会不胫而走。如果康妮打算跟情郎私奔，那最好能够嫁给他。这是希尔达的建议。马尔科姆爵士拿不定主意。事情或许还有转圜的余地。

"But will you see him, Father?" Poor Sir Malcolm! he was by no means keen on it. And poor Mellors, he was still less keen. Yet the meeting took place: a lunch in a private room at the club, the two men alone, looking one another up and down.

“可你不想见见他吗，爸爸？”可怜的马尔科姆爵士！他根本没兴趣见这位未来女婿。而可怜的梅勒斯，更不愿与准岳父碰面。但会面还是成为事实，两人在俱乐部的私人会客室里共进午餐，互相打量，大眼瞪小眼。

Sir Malcolm drank a fair amount of whisky, Mellors also drank. And they talked all the while about India, on which the young man was well informed.

马尔科姆爵士喝威士忌喝得有点高，梅勒斯也来了几杯。印度成为他俩的中心谈资，因为梅勒斯对那里非常熟悉。

This lasted during the meal. Only when coffee was served, and the waiter had gone, Sir Malcolm lit a cigar and said, heartily: "Well, young man, and what about my daughter?" The grin flickered on Mellors' face.

整个午餐时间全部围绕着这一话题。直到咖啡端上桌，侍应退出房间，马尔科姆爵士才点燃雪茄，说出掏心掏肺的话：“我说，年轻人，我女儿到底怎么办？”梅勒斯脸上闪过一丝苦笑。

"Well, Sir, and what about her?" "You've got a baby in her all right.” "I have that honour!" grinned Mellors.

“呃，爵爷，什么怎么办？”“是你让他怀孕的。”“很荣幸！”梅勒斯笑道。

"Honour, by God!" Sir Malcolm gave a little squirting laugh, and became Scotch and lewd. "Honour! How was the going, eh? Good, my boy, what?" "Good!" "I'll bet it was! Ha-ha! My daughter, chip of the old block, what! I never went back on a good bit of fucking, myself. Though her mother, oh, holy saints!” He rolled his eyes to heaven. "But you warmed her up, oh, you warmed her up, I can see that. Ha-ha! My blood in her! You set fire to her haystack all right. Ha-ha-ha! I was jolly glad of it, I can tell you. She needed it. Oh, she's a nice girl, she's a nice girl, and I knew she'd be good going, if only some damned man would set her stack on fire! Ha-ha-ha! A game-keeper, eh, my boy! Bloody good poacher, if you ask me. Ha-ha! But now, look here, speaking seriously, what are we going to do about it? Speaking seriously, you know!” Speaking seriously, they didn't get very far. Mellors, though a little tipsy, was much the soberer of the two. He kept the conversation as intelligent as possible: which isn't saying much.

“荣幸，天呢！”马尔科姆爵士笑得几乎把咖啡喷出来，然后摆出那副苏格兰人的下流面孔。“荣幸！感觉怎么样？很棒吧，年轻人，是不是？”“很棒！”“我敢打包票你会这么说！哈哈！那可是我的女儿，正所谓虎父无犬女，对吧？我从来不会为绝妙的性经历感到后悔。虽说她母亲，噢，愿神保佑她！”他仰头眼望天空。“可是你让她温暖起来，噢，是你让他重获激情，这逃不过我的眼睛。哈哈！她身上流着我的血液！你将她的激情重新点燃。哈哈哈！我不妨告诉你，我开心极了。她需要爱情的滋润。噢，她是个好姑娘，地道的好姑娘，我早就知道，只要哪个家伙能让她激情重燃，她准会容光焕发。哈哈哈！守林人，呵，小伙子！要我说的话，你可是个偷猎的好手。哈哈！可现在，听着，咱们言归正传，咱们到底该怎么处理这件事？说点正经的，你晓得！”真说正经的，他俩可真有点聊不到一起。梅勒斯虽说微醺，但却比老爵爷清醒得多。他尽量让交谈保持在理性的范围内，也就是说话越少越好。