迟到的情书(7)

　　She paused, as though she did not quite know how to begin.
Then she seemed to give herself, mentally, a little shake. "You must have wondered ", she said, "why I was so upset at the thought of young George's going to England without you. I am an old woman, and perhaps I have the silly fancies¹ of the old, but I should like to tell you my own love story, and then you can decide whether it is wise for your man to leave you before you are married."

　　我走到她的跟前。她拍着身边的椅子，淡淡一笑。"坐下吧，亲爱的，"她说，"我有话要告诉你。"她欲言又止，好像不知道话从何说起似的。接着，她仿佛振作了起来。她说："我听你说乔治要回国，又不带你走，心里非常不安。我这份心事你是不明白的。我是一个老婆子了，大概还怀着老人们的那颗痴心吧。不过，我想把自己的爱情故事讲给你听。这样你就能明白在你们结婚之前让你的未婚夫离开你，是不是一个明智之举。"

　　"I was quite a young girl when I first met Richard Weston. He was an Englishman² who boarded with the Van Rensburgs on the next farm, four or five miles from us. Richard was not strong. He had a weak chest, and the doctors had sent him to South Africa so that the dry air could cure him. He taught the Van Rensburg children, who were younger than I was, though we often played together, but he did this for pleasure and not because he needed money.

　　"我第一次遇见理查德·威斯顿时还是一个年轻姑娘。他是一个英国人，寄宿在我家附近四、五英里一个农场上的范·伦斯堡家里。他身体不好，胸闷气短。医生让他去南非让干燥的气候治好他的病。他教伦斯堡的孩子们念书，他们都比我小，尽管我们经常在一块玩。理查德是以教书为乐，并不是为了赚钱。

　　"We loved one another from the first moment we met, though we did not speak of our love until the evening of my eighteenth birthday. All our friends and relatives had come to my party, and in the evening we danced on the big old carpet which we had laid down in the barn³. Richard had come with the Van Rensburgs, and we danced together as often as we dared, which was not very often, for my father hated the Uitlanders. Indeed, for a time he had quarreled with Mynheer Van Rensburg for allowing Richard to board with him, but afterwards he got used to the idea, and was always polite to the Englishman, though he never liked him.

　　"我和理查德是一见钟情，尽管直到我18岁生日那天我们才表示彼此的爱慕之情。那天晚上的舞会上，我们的亲友都来了。我们在仓房里铺上一条宽大的旧毛毯，翩翩起舞。我和他壮起胆子频频起舞。但事实上，没有多少次，因为我的父亲很讨厌'洋人'。有一次，他曾抱怨说伦斯堡先生不应该让理查德寄住在他的家里，为此还跟他吵过一场，他后来就习以为常了。虽谈不上喜欢，但对这个英国人以礼相待。"那是我一生中最快乐的一个生日，因为理查德在跳舞间歇将我领到外面清凉的月光中，在点点繁星之下对我倾诉爱慕之情，并向我求婚。我二话没说答应了他的要求，因为我早已心醉神迷，想不到父母亲会说什么。我的心中除了理查德和他的爱情，什么也顾不上了。 　　"That was the happiest birthday of my life, for while we were resting between dances Richard took me outside into the cool, moonlit night, and there, under the stars ,he told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. Of course I promised I would, for I was too happy to think of what my parents would say, or indeed of anything except Richard was not at our meeting place as he had arranged. I was disappointed but not alarmed, for so many things could happen to either of us to prevent out keeping our tryst⁴. I thought that next time we visited the Van Ransburgs, I should hear what had kept him and we could plan further meetings…

　　"从那以后，我们就尽可能多地见面，但往往是秘密进行。我们就这样度过了将近1年时间。后来有一天，在他安排的约会处，理查德爽约没有来。失望之际，我没有大惊小怪，因为我们俩谁碰到形形色色的事都可能使我们无法幽会。我想我们以后去范·伦斯堡家看望之时，我就会明白理查德未能赴约的原因，再安排以后的约会……

　　"So when my father asked if I would drive with him to Driefontein I was delighted. But when we reached the homestead and were sitting on the stoep drinking our coffee, we heard that Richard had left quite suddenly and had gone back to England. His father had died, and now he was the heir⁵ and must go back to look after his estates⁶.

　　"所以，当父亲问我是否愿意和他一块开车去德里方丹时，我就高兴地答应了。但待我们赶到范·伦斯堡家，坐在他们家屋前的门廊上喝咖啡时，却听说理查德已经不辞而别回英国去了。他的父亲死了，他是继承人，不得不回去料理遗产。

1 fancies   

n.花式织物，花色货品；想像力( fancy的名词复数 )；爱好；怪想

参考例句：

• He fancies himself, hoping to get that job. 他自视甚高，竟想得到那份工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ann really fancies her chances of promotion to the vacant job of chief supervisor. 安过分自信她会被提升到还空缺的主管人的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Englishman   

n.(pl.Englishmen)英国人；英国男人

参考例句：

• I was astonished that he was not an Englishman.我很惊讶,他竟不是英国人。
• She stared thoughtfully at the Englishman across the table.她若有所思地盯着桌子对面的那个英国人。

3 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

4 tryst   

n.约会；v.与…幽会

参考例句：

• It has been said that art is a tryst,for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet.有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。
• Poor Mr. Sanford didn't stand a chance of keeping his tryst secret.可怜的桑福德根本不可能会守住自己幽会的秘密。

5 heir   

n.继承人，接班人

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

6 estates   

n.（人生的）阶段( estate的名词复数 )；个人财产；不动产权；（较高的）社会地位

参考例句：

• New housing estates have mushroomed on the edge of the town. 城郊的新住宅楼发展得十分迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The two estates join at this point. 两块房地产在这儿邻接。 来自《简明英汉词典》