死亡约会 Part II Chapter 16（2）

 

Lennox Boynton had no longer the will to freedom. He was content to sink into acondition of apathy¹ and melancholy².

‘Now I have no doubt at all, madame, but that you love your husband. Your decision to leavehim was not actuated by a greater love for another man. It was, I think, a desperate ventureundertaken as a last hope. A woman in your position could only try three things. She could tryappeal. That, as I have said, failed. She could threaten to leave herself. But it is possible that eventhat threat would not have moved Lennox Boynton. It would plunge³ him deeper in misery⁴, but itwould not cause him to rebel. There was one last desperate throw. You could go away withanother man. Jealousy⁵ and the instinct of possession is one of the most deeply rooted fundamentalinstincts in man. You showed your wisdom in trying to reach that deep underground savageinstinct. If Lennox Boynton would let you go without an effort to another man—then he mustindeed be beyond human aid, and you might as well then try to make a new life for yourselfelsewhere.

‘But let us suppose that even that last desperate remedy failed. Your husband was terribly upsetat your decision, but in spite of that he did not, as you had hoped, react as a primitive⁶ man mighthave done with an uprush of the possessive instinct. Was there anything at all that could save yourhusband from his own rapidly failing mental condition? Only one thing. If his stepmother were todie, it might not be too late. He might be able to start life anew as a free man, building up inhimself independence and manliness⁷ once more.’

Poirot paused, then repeated gently: ‘If your mother-in-law were to die…’

Nadine’s eyes were still fixed⁸ on him. In an unmoved gentle voice she said: ‘You are suggestingthat I helped to bring that event about, are you not? But you cannot do so, M. Poirot. After I hadbroken the news of my impending⁹ departure to Mrs Boynton, I went straight to the marquee andjoined Lennox. I did not leave it again until my mother-in-law was found dead. Guilty of her deathI may be, in the sense that I gave her a shock—that, of course, presupposes a natural death. But if,as you say (though so far you have no direct evidence of it and cannot have until an autopsy¹⁰ hastaken place) she was deliberately¹¹ killed, then I had no opportunity of doing so.’

Poirot said: ‘You did not leave the marquee again until your mother-in-law was found dead.

That is what you have just said. That, Mrs Boynton, was one of the points I found curious aboutthis case.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘It is here on my list. Point nine. At half- past six, when dinner was ready, a servant wasdispatched to announce the fact to Mrs Boynton.’

Raymond said: ‘I don’t understand.’

Carol said: ‘No more do I.’

Poirot looked from one to the other of them.

‘You do not, eh? “A servant was sent”— why a servant? Were you not, all of you, mostassiduous in your attendance on the old lady as a general rule? Did not one or other of you alwaysescort her to meals? She was infirm. It was difficult for her to rise from a chair without assistance.

Always one or other of you was at her elbow. I suggest then, that on dinner being announced thenatural thing would have been for one or other of her family to go out and help her. But not one ofyou offered to do so. You all sat there, paralyzed, watching each other, wondering, perhaps, whyno one went.’

Nadine said sharply: ‘All this is absurd, M. Poirot! We were all tired that evening. We ought tohave gone, I admit, but—on that evening—we just didn’t!’

‘Precisely—precisely—on that particular evening! You, madame, did perhaps more waiting onher than anyone else. It was one of the duties that you accepted mechanically. But that eveningyou did not offer to go out to help her in. Why? That is what I asked myself—why? And I tell youmy answer. Because you knew quite well that she was dead…‘No, no, do not interrupt me, madame.’ He raised an impassioned hand. ‘You will now listen tome — Hercule Poirot! There were witnesses to your conversation with your mother- in- law.

Witnesses who could see but could not hear! 

 

1 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

2 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

3 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

6 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

7 manliness   

刚毅

参考例句：

• She was really fond of his strength, his wholesome looks, his manliness. 她真喜欢他的坚强，他那健康的容貌，他的男子气概。
• His confidence, his manliness and bravery, turn his wit into wisdom. 他的自信、男子气概和勇敢将他的风趣变为智慧。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

10 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

11 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。