"Gracious--where did you drop from? I must have been sound asleep in the hammock.
“天哪——你从哪儿来的?我一定是在吊床上睡熟了。
Everybody else has gone to Newport. Did you ring?" she incoherently enquired.
别人全都去纽波特了。你拉门铃了吗?”她前言不搭后语地问道。
Archer's confusion was greater than hers. "I--no-- that is, I was just going to.
阿切尔比她更慌乱。”我——没——是这样,我正要去拉。
I had to come up the island to see about a horse, and I drove over on a chance of finding Mrs. Blenker and your visitors.
我本是来岛上物色匹马,驾车来这儿,想看看能不能碰巧见着布兰克太太和你们家的客人。
But the house seemed empty--so I sat down to wait."
但这房子似乎空荡荡的——所以我坐下来等一会儿。”
Miss Blenker, shaking off the fumes of sleep, looked at him with increasing interest.
布兰克小姐驱走了睡意,兴趣大增地看着他。
"The house IS empty. Mother's not here, or the Marchioness--or anybody but me." Her glance became faintly reproachful.
“家里是空了。妈妈不在,侯爵夫人也不在——除了我其他人都不在。”说着,她的目光流露出淡淡的责备。
"Didn't you know that Professor and Mrs. Sillerton are giving a garden-party for mother and all of us this afternoon?
“你不知道吗?今天下午,西勒顿教授与夫人为妈妈和我们全家举办花园欢迎会。
It was too unlucky that I couldn't go; but I've had a sore throat, and mother was afraid of the drive home this evening.
真遗憾,我不能去,因为我嗓子痛,妈妈怕要等到傍晚才能乘车回来。
Did you ever know anything so disappointing? Of course," she added gaily, "I shouldn't have minded half as much if I'd known you were coming."
你说还有比这更扫兴的事吗?当然啦,”她快活地补充说,“如果知道你来,我根本不会在乎的。”
Symptoms of a lumbering coquetry became visible in her, and Archer found the strength to break in: "But Madame Olenska--has she gone to Newport too?"
她那笨拙地卖弄风情的征兆变得很明显了,阿切尔鼓起勇气插嘴问道:“可奥兰斯卡夫人——她也去纽波特了吗?”
Miss Blenker looked at him with surprise. "Madame Olenska--didn't you know she'd been called away?"
布兰克小姐吃惊地看着他说:“奥兰斯卡夫人——难道你不知道,她被叫走了?”
"Called away?--"
“叫走了?——”
"Oh, my best parasol!
“哎呀,我最漂亮的阳伞!
I lent it to that goose of a Katie, because it matched her ribbons, and the careless thing must have dropped it here.
我把它借给了大笨鹅凯蒂,因为它和她的缎带挺配,一定是这个粗心的家伙把它丢在这儿了。
We Blenkers are all like that . . . real Bohemians!"
我们布兰克家的人都像……真正的波希米亚人!”
Recovering the sunshade with a powerful hand she unfurled it and suspended its rosy dome above her head.
她用一只有力的手拿回伞并撑开它,将玫瑰色的伞盖撑在头上。
"Yes, Ellen was called away yesterday: she lets us call her Ellen, you know.
“对,埃伦昨天被叫走了:你知道,她让我们叫她埃伦。
A telegram came from Boston: she said she might be gone for two days.
从波士顿发来一封电报,她说大概要去呆两天。
I do LOVE the way she does her hair, don't you?" Miss Blenker rambled on.
我真喜欢她的发型,你喜欢吗?”布兰克小姐不着边际地说。
Archer continued to stare through her as though she had been transparent.
阿切尔继续目不转睛地看着她,仿佛她是透明的,可以看穿似的。
All he saw was the trumpery parasol that arched its pinkness above her giggling head.
他所看到的无非是一把无价值的粉红色遮阳伞罩在她痴笑的脑袋上。
After a moment he ventured: "You don't happen to know why Madame Olenska went to Boston?
过了一会儿,他试探地问:“你是否碰巧知道奥兰斯卡夫人为什么去波士顿?
I hope it was not on account of bad news?"
我希望不是因为有坏消息吧?”
Miss Blenker took this with a cheerful incredulity.
布兰克小姐兴致勃勃地表示怀疑。
"Oh, I don't believe so. She didn't tell us what was in the telegram.
“咳,我认为不会。她没告诉我们电报的内容,我想她不愿让侯爵夫人知道。
I think she didn't want the Marchioness to know. She's so romantic-looking, isn't she?
她看上去是那么浪漫,对吗?
Doesn't she remind you of Mrs. Scott-Siddons when she reads `Lady Geraldine's Courtship'? Did you never hear her?"
当她朗读《杰拉尔丁小姐的求婚》时,是不是让人想起斯科特·西登斯太太?你从没听她读过?”
Archer was dealing hurriedly with crowding thoughts.
阿切尔的思绪纷至沓来。
His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen.
仿佛突然间,他未来的一切全都展现在面前:沿着无止无尽的空白望去,他看到一个逐渐渺小的男人的身影,他一生什么事情都不会发生。
He glanced about him at the unpruned garden, the tumble-down house, and the oak- grove under which the dusk was gathering.
他打量着四周未经修剪的花园,摇摇欲坠的房舍,暮色渐浓的橡树林。这似乎正是他应该找到奥兰斯卡夫人的地方;
It had seemed so exactly the place in which he ought to have found Madame Olenska; and she was far away, and even the pink sunshade was not hers...
然而她却已远走高飞,甚至这把粉红色遮阳伞也不是她的……
He frowned and hesitated. "You don't know, I suppose-- I shall be in Boston tomorrow. If I could manage to see her--"
他皱着眉犹豫不决地说:“我想,你还不知道——明天我就要去波士顿。如果我能设法见到她——”
He felt that Miss Blenker was losing interest in him, though her smile persisted.
尽管布兰克小姐依然面带笑容,但阿切尔却感到她已对自己失去了兴趣。‘
"Oh, of course; how lovely of you! She's staying at the Parker House; it must be horrible there in this weather."
“啊,那当然,你可真好!她住在帕克旅馆;这种天气,那儿一定糟透了。”
After that Archer was but intermittently aware of the remarks they exchanged.
在这之后,阿切尔只是断断续续地听进他们之间的对话。
He could only remember stoutly resisting her entreaty that he should await the returning family and have high tea with them before he drove home.
他只记得自己坚决回绝了她让他等她的家人回来、用过茶点再走的恳求。
At length, with his hostess still at his side, he passed out of range of the wooden Cupid, unfastened his horses and drove off.
最后,在这位女主人陪伴下,他走出了木雕丘比特的射程,解开马僵绳,驾车走了。
At the turn of the lane he saw Miss Blenker standing at the gate and waving the pink parasol.
在小巷的转弯处,他看见布兰克小姐正站在门口挥动那把粉红色的阳伞。