牛津書蟲系列 簡(jiǎn)愛 chapter 16

16 Preparing for the wedding

16 準(zhǔn)備婚禮

I was a little nervous before seeing Mr Rochester next morning.Was I really going to marry him， or was it all a dream?But I soon felt calmer when he came to meet me and kissed me.

第二天早上，我有些害怕見到羅切斯特先生。我是真的要和他結(jié)婚了，還是做了一場(chǎng)夢(mèng)?但是，他來看我，吻了我，我很快平靜下來。

’Jane，you look well and smiling and pretty，’he said.’You will be Jane Rochester in four weeks’ time，not a day more.I’ll send for my family jewels，which are kept in a London bank.They are for my bride，whether she’s a great lady or a governess.’

“簡(jiǎn)，你氣色不錯(cuò)，有了笑容，還那么漂亮。”他說。“四星期后你將成為簡(jiǎn)·羅切斯特，一天也不會(huì)多。我會(huì)派人取來存在倫敦銀行里的祖?zhèn)髦閷?。它們是留給我的新娘的，不管她是位了不起的貴婦還是家庭教師。”

’Oh no，sir!’ I cried.’I’m too plain for jewels!I’m not used to wearing them.’

“噢，不，先生。”我說，“我太平凡了，配不上珠寶，我也不習(xí)慣戴首飾。”

’I insist，Jane.Today I’m taking you in the carriage to Millcote to buy you some elegant clothes.In a month’s time we’ll have a quiet wedding in the local church，and after a few days in London we’ll travel through all the countries of Europe.’

“簡(jiǎn)，我一定要你戴。今天我?guī)阕R車到米爾考特去買些漂亮衣服。一個(gè)月后，我們就在本地的教堂里舉辦安安靜靜的婚禮，在倫敦待幾天后，我們要走遍歐洲所有的國(guó)家。”

’Well，sir，you seem very eager to please me，but I wonder if you will agree to a request of mine.’

“好了，先生，你好像急著要讓我高興，但不知你可否答應(yīng)我一個(gè)小小的請(qǐng)求。”

’Ask me anything，Jane，anything!’

“說吧，簡(jiǎn)，要什么都行!”

’Indeed I will.This is my request.I ask you not to give me jewels and fine clothes.’

“我是要說。這就是我的要求：我請(qǐng)你不要給我珠寶和漂亮的衣服。”

’If that’s really your wish，I agree But can’t you think of anything I can give you?’

“如果你真這么想，我就答應(yīng)你。但是你就不能想想我能送給你點(diǎn)兒什么?”

’Well，I’d like you to give me the answer to a question.’

“我希望你給我一個(gè)問題的答案。”

He looked worried，and turned away from me.

他看上去有些擔(dān)心，轉(zhuǎn)身背對(duì)著我。

’Curiosity is dangerous，’he said.’I may not be able to agree to this particular request.Well，what is it?’

“好奇是危險(xiǎn)的。”他說，“我或許無法答應(yīng)這個(gè)特別的請(qǐng)求。好吧，什么問題?”

’How stern you look!I suppose that’s how you will look when we are married!This is what I want to know.Why did you take such trouble to make me believe you wished to marry Miss Ingram?’

“你怎么這么嚴(yán)厲!我想我們結(jié)婚后你就會(huì)是這個(gè)樣子!這就是我想知道的：你為什么費(fèi)那么大功夫讓我相信你想娶英格姆小姐?”

He stopped frowning at once and smiled down at me.

他立即眉頭舒展，微笑著俯視著我。

’Is that all?What a relief!All right，I shall have to confess，although you may be angry with me，Jane—as angry as you were last night，when you told me we were equal.Well，I pretended to love Miss Ingram to make you madly jealous.I wanted you to be as much in love wlth me as I was with you.’

“就這個(gè)?真讓我松了口氣。好吧，我必須坦白，不過也許會(huì)惹你生氣，就像昨晚上你跟我說我們是平等的那時(shí)候一樣生氣。我假裝愛英格姆小姐，是為了讓你嫉妒得發(fā)狂。我希望你能像我愛你一樣地愛我。”

’And I suppose you didn’t care at all about poor Miss Ingram’s feelings?’

“那么我想你一點(diǎn)兒也不顧及可憐的英格姆小姐的感情?”

’She only has one feeling—pride.Were you jealous，Jane?’

“她只有一種感情——傲慢。簡(jiǎn)，你嫉妒過嗎?”

’Never mind，Mr Rochester.One more request—please explain everything to Mrs Fairfax.She looked so shocked last night!’

“沒什么，羅切斯特先生。還有一個(gè)請(qǐng)求——請(qǐng)向費(fèi)爾法斯太太解釋這一切。昨天晚上她吃驚不校”

When I visited the old housekeeper later that day，I found she was amazed by the news that I was going to marry the master.

那天我去看老管家時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)她對(duì)我要與主人結(jié)婚的消息驚詫不已。

’I would never have thought it!’she kept repeating.’Mr Rochester，so proud and such a gentleman!To marry his governess!’She examined me closely，as if to discover the reason for this strange event，and shook her head，still puzzled.’He’s twenty years older than you!He could be your father!’

“我永遠(yuǎn)想不到!”她一直反復(fù)說著，“羅切斯特先生，這么驕傲，這么一位紳士!要娶他的家庭教師!”她仔細(xì)打量著我，似乎想為這件怪事找出點(diǎn)兒什么緣由。她搖著頭，還是搞不懂。“他比你年長(zhǎng)二十歲，可以當(dāng)你父親了!”

’No，indeed，Mrs Fairfax，’I replied crossly.’He looks much younger than that!’

“不，費(fèi)爾法斯太太。”我不悅地答道，“他看上去當(dāng)然比這年輕。”

’Is he really going to marry you for love?’she asked.

“他真是因?yàn)閻勰悴鸥憬Y(jié)婚嗎?”她問。

I was so hurt by her amazement that tears came to my eyes.

我被她的大驚小怪刺痛了，眼淚不禁涌了上來。

’Why?’I asked.’Do you think he couldn’t possibly love me?’

“怎么了?”我問。“你覺得他不可能愛上我?”

’No，no，Miss Eyre，but you must realize that this is a very unusual situation.You must be careful of your reputation. I advise you to keep him at a distance until you are married.’

“不，不，愛小姐，但你必須知道這種情況很不尋常，你得注意自己的名聲。我建議你結(jié)婚之前和他保持距離。”

Although I was upset by the old lady’s words，I followed her advice，and in the weeks before the wedding I went on teaching Adele as usual.Only in the evenings did I spend some time with Mr Rochester，and I was careful not to allow him to hold me in his arms or kiss me.Sometimes he was angry with me and called me a’hard little thing’or’a cruel spirit’，but I preferred that to being called ’my darling’.I saw that Mrs Fairfax approved of my correct behaviour，and I knew that he respected me for it.But it was not easy for me.I would rather have shown him my love.My future husband was becoming my whole world，and more than that，my hope of heaven.

盡管老太太的話讓我不高興，我還是聽從了勸告，在婚禮前的幾星期里繼續(xù)照常給阿黛拉上課。只有晚上我才和羅切斯特先生待上一會(huì)兒，并小心翼翼地不讓他摟抱或親吻我。有時(shí)他生我的氣，叫我“頑固的小東西”或者“殘酷的精靈”，但我更愿聽這個(gè)，而不愿聽他叫我“我親愛的”。我看出費(fèi)爾法斯太太贊許我的正確舉動(dòng)，也知道他也因此而尊重我。但是，這對(duì)于我并非易事，我寧愿向他表露我的愛。我未來的丈夫已成了我世界的全部，還不止于此，他是我希望的天堂。

At last the night before the wedding arrived.My clothes were packed and I was ready.But I was anxious to see Mr Rochester，who had been away on business，so I ran out of the quiet house to meet him on the road. A wild，stormy wind was blowing，and in the garden I passed the wreck of the great tree Then suddenly I saw him riding towards me.

婚禮的前夜終于來臨，我的衣服都已收拾停當(dāng)，我也做好了準(zhǔn)備。但我很想見到羅切斯特先生，他因事外出了。于是我跑出靜悄悄的屋子，到路上去迎候他?？耧L(fēng)呼嘯著，我走過花園里倒地的大樹，突然看到他策馬向我奔來。

’You see!’he shouted.’You can’t do without me!Jump up onto my horse!’Together we rode back to Thornfield.While he ate dinner，I sat quietly beside him.He looked closely at me.

“你瞧!”他喊道，“你不能沒有我!快上馬!”我們一起騎馬回到特恩費(fèi)得。他吃晚飯時(shí)，我就靜靜地坐在他身邊。他端詳著我。

’You look sad，Jane，’he said.’Is anything wrong?Are you nervous about your new life?’

“簡(jiǎn)，你好像有點(diǎn)悲傷。”他說，“有什么事嗎?你對(duì)新生活擔(dān)心嗎?”

’No，’I replied firmly.’I’m not worried about that，because I love you.But last night I had a strange dream，a terrible dream!It was dark and windy outside，and before I went to sleep I could hear a dog growling in the distance.In my dream I was carrying a small child in my arms down a long road.I was trying to catch up with you，but I couldn’t. ’

“不。”我堅(jiān)定地答道，“我不擔(dān)心，因?yàn)槲覑勰?。可是昨晚我做了一個(gè)奇怪的夢(mèng)，一個(gè)可怕的夢(mèng)!外面很黑，刮著風(fēng)，臨睡前我還聽到遠(yuǎn)處的狗叫。夢(mèng)中我抱著一個(gè)小孩走在一條漫漫長(zhǎng)路上。我努力追趕著你，卻追不上。”

’And you still worry about a foolish dream，when I’m close to you?But say you love me again，Jane.’

“我離你這么近，你還為這個(gè)愚蠢的夢(mèng)擔(dān)心嗎?簡(jiǎn)，再說一遍你愛我。”

’I do love you，Edward.But I haven’t finished my story.’

“愛德華，我真的愛你。不過，我的話還沒說完。”

’Is there more?Well，go on.’

“還有嗎?好吧，接著講。”

’I dreamed that Thornfield was totally destroyed，just a heap of stones.I was still carrying the child，but now I could see you riding away into the distance.I knew you would never come back!Then I woke up.’

“我夢(mèng)見特恩費(fèi)得全被毀了，只剩下一堆石頭。我仍抱著孩子，不過這時(shí)我見你騎馬走向遠(yuǎn)方。我知道你永遠(yuǎn)不回來了!然后我就醒了。”

’That’s all then，Jane.Nothing to worry about.’

“簡(jiǎn)，就這些吧!沒什么好擔(dān)心的。”

’No，wait.There was candle-light in my room，and a strange shape examining the wedding dress hanging in my cupboard.My blood ran cold.It wasn’t Mrs Fairfax or any of the servants，it wasnt’t even Grace Poole.It was a horrible sight!’

“不，等等。我的房間里有燭光，一個(gè)奇怪的人影仔細(xì)察看著我掛在衣柜里的婚紗。我的血都凝住了。那既不是費(fèi)爾法斯太太，也不是哪個(gè)仆人，甚至連格麗絲·普爾都不是。那是一個(gè)可怕的景象!”

’Describe the shape，Jane.’

“簡(jiǎn)，形容一下那個(gè)樣子。”

’It looked like a tall woman，with long thick dark hair hanging down hhe took up the beautiful veil you bought me，put it on her own head，then turned to admire herself in the mirror.It was then that I saw her wild，inhuman face!She removed the veil，tore it in two and threw it on the floor.’

“那看上去像個(gè)高個(gè)子女人，濃濃的長(zhǎng)發(fā)披垂下來。她拿起你給我買的漂亮的面紗，蓋在自己頭上，然后轉(zhuǎn)身照著鏡子欣賞。正是這時(shí)我才看到她那張狂野的、不像人長(zhǎng)的臉!她取下面紗，將它撕成兩半，扔到了地上。”

’And then?’Mr Rochester seemed almost nervous.

“然后呢?”羅切斯特似乎有些緊張起來了。

’She came to my bedside，put her candle close to my face and stared fiercely at me.I must have fainted，and I suppose she left.Now can you tell me who or what that woman was?’

“她來到我床邊，用蠟燭照著我的臉，兇狠地盯著我。我一定暈過去了，她大概也離開了?，F(xiàn)在你能告訴我這女人是誰(shuí)或者是什么嗎?”

’Jane，you are too sensitive.That was just a dream. Don’t think about it any more!’he answered comfortingly.

“簡(jiǎn)，你太敏感了。那只是個(gè)夢(mèng)，別再想它了!”他安慰著。

’That’s just what I said to myself when I woke up this morning，but when I looked on the floor，there was me veil，torn in two halves!’I felt Mr Rochester suddenly tremble.

“這也是早晨醒來時(shí)我對(duì)自己說的，可我看地上的時(shí)候，那兒真有面紗，而且撕成了兩半!”我感到羅切斯特突然抖了一下。

’To think what might have happened!’he cried，throwing his arms around me.’Thank God it was only the veil!’After a few moments he said calmly，’Now，Jane，be sensible.That woman must have been Grace Poole.There is no other explanation.’

“想想可能出什么事吧!”他叫道，伸手抱住了我。“謝天謝地只是個(gè)面紗!”過了一會(huì)兒，他鎮(zhèn)靜地說：“好了，簡(jiǎn)，理智些。那女人一定是格麗絲·普爾。沒有別的解釋。”

’Perhaps you’re right，’I admitted slowly.

“也許你是對(duì)的。”我遲疑地答應(yīng)著。

’One day I’ll explain to you why I keep her in my house.But tonight，go and sleep in Adele’s room You’ll be quite safe there.Just dream about our future!’

“總有一天我會(huì)向你解釋為什么把她留在我家的。不過今晚你到阿黛拉的房間里睡，你會(huì)很安全的。做個(gè)好夢(mèng)，想想我們的未來!”