月亮和六便士 第八章(3)

 　　Finally it occurred to me that I would call as though nothing had happened,  最后我想了个主意：我应该象什么事也没发生那样到她家去，

　　and send a message in by the maid asking Mrs.Strickland if it was convenient for her to see me.  先叫使女进去问一声，思特里克兰德太太方便不方便会客。

　　This would give her the opportunity to send me away.  如果她不想见我，就可以把我打发走了。

　　But I was overwhelmed with embarrassment¹ when I said to the maid the phrase I had prepared,  尽管如此，在我对使女讲起我事前准备的一套话时，我还是窘得要命。

　　and while I waited for the answer in a dark passage I had to call up all my strength of mind not to bolt.  当我在幽暗的过道里等着回话的当儿，我不得不鼓起全部勇气才没有中途溜掉。

　　The maid came back.  使女从里面走出来。

　　Her manner suggested to my excited fancy a complete knowledge of the domestic calamity². 也可能是我过于激动，胡乱猜想，我觉得从那使女的神情看，好象她已经完全知道这家人遭遇的不幸了。

　　Will you come this way, sir? she said. "请您跟我来，先生，"她说。

　　I followed her into the drawing-room.  我跟在她后面走进客厅。

　　The blinds were partly drawn³ to darken the room, and Mrs. Strickland was sitting with her back to the light.  为了使室内光线暗淡，窗帘没有完全拉开。思特里克兰德太太背着光坐着。

　　Her brother-in-law, Colonel MacAndrew, stood in front of the fireplace, warming his back at an unlit fire.  思特里克兰德太太的姐夫麦克安德鲁上校正站在壁炉前面，在没有燃旺的火炉前边烤自己的脊背。

　　To myself my entrance seemed excessively awkward.  我觉得我闯进来是一件极其尴尬的事。

　　I imagined that my arrival had taken them by surprise, and Mrs.Strickland had let me come in only because she had forgotten to put me off.  我猜想我到这里来一定很出他们意料之外，思特里克兰德太太只是忘记同我另外约会日子才不得不让我进来。

　　I fancied that the Colonel resented the interruption. 我还想，上校一定为我打扰了他们非常生气。

　　I wasn't quite sure if you expected me, I said, trying to seem unconcerned. "我不太清楚，你是不是等着我来，"我说，故意装作一副若无其事的样子。

　　Of course I did. Anne will bring the tea in a minute. "当然我在等着你。安妮马上就把茶拿来。"

　　Even in the darkened room, I could not help seeing that Mrs.Strickland's face was all swollen⁴ with tears.  尽管屋子里光线很暗，我也看出来思特里克兰德太太的眼睛已经哭肿了。

　　Her skin, never very good, was earthy. 她的面色本来就不太好，现在更是变成土灰色了。

　　You remember my brother-in-law, don't you? You met at dinner, just before the holidays. "你还记得我的姐夫吧？度假以前，你在这里吃饭的那天和他见过面。"

　　We shook hands.  我们握了握手。

　　I felt so shy that I could think of nothing to say, but Mrs.Strickland came to my rescue.  我感到忐忑不安，想不出一句好说的话来。但是思特里克兰德太太解救了我；

　　She asked me what I had been doing with myself during the summer, and with this help I managed to make some conversation till tea was brought in.  她问起我怎样消夏的事。有她提了这个头，我多少也找到些话说，直捱到使女端上茶点来。

　　The Colonel asked for a whisky-and-soda. 上校要了一杯苏打威士忌。

　　You'd better have one too, Amy, he said. "你最好也喝一杯，阿美，"他说。

　　No; I prefer tea. "不，我还是喝茶吧。"

1 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

2 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。