第七章（第6/10页）

“我要带她去看医生。”希尔达最后说。“你能就近推荐位好医生么？”“恐怕我做不到。”“那我就带她去伦敦，那儿有我们信赖的医生。”虽然怒不可遏，但克利福德还是一声没吭。

"I suppose I may as well stay the night," said Hilda, pulling off her gloves, "and I'll drive her to town tomorrow.” Clifford was yellow at the gills with anger, and at evening the whites of his eyes were a little yellow too. He ran to liver. But Hilda was consistently modest and maidenly.

“我想我最好在这里过夜，”希尔达边说，边摘掉手套。“明天再开车带她去伦敦。”克利福德气得脸色蜡黄，傍晚时分，连眼白都泛出黄色。他的脸变成猪肝色。但希尔达依然保持着端庄温柔的姿态。

"You must have a nurse or somebody, to look after you personally. You should really have a manservant," said Hilda as they sat, with apparent calmness, at coffee after dinner. She spoke in her soft, seemingly gentle way, but Clifford felt she was hitting him on the head with a bludgeon.

“你得雇个护士，或者别的什么人，来照顾你的生活起居。你早就应该找个男仆。”希尔达说。吃过晚饭，大家围坐在一起，看似心平气和地品着咖啡。她的语气轻柔，如同和风细雨，而在克利福德听来，却好似当头棒喝。

"You think so?" he said coldly.

“是么？”他冷冷地说。

"I'm sure! It's necessary. Either that, or Father and I must take Connie away for some months. This can't go on.” "What can't go on?” "Haven't you looked at the child!" asked Hilda, gazing at him full stare. He looked rather like a huge, boiled crayfish at the moment; or so she thought.

“那当然！必须这么做。要么你答应雇人，不然父亲和我得把康妮接走几个月。这种情况不可以再继续下去。”“哪种情况不能再继续下去？”“难道你没看到康妮憔悴的样子吗？”希尔达质问道，圆睁二目，死死盯着克利福德。怒火中烧的他此时活像只煮熟的大个龙虾，至少她这么认为。

"Connie and I will discuss it," he said.

“我会和康妮商量此事。”他说。

"I've already discussed it with her," said Hilda.

“我已经和她商量过了。”希尔达寸步不让。

Clifford had been long enough in the hands of nurses; he hated them, because they left him no real privacy. And a manservant!...he couldn't stand a man hanging round him. Almost better any woman. But why not Connie? The two sisters drove off in the morning, Connie looking rather like an Easter lamb, rather small beside Hilda, who held the wheel. Sir Malcolm was away, but the Kensington house was open.

克利福德曾长年接受护士的照料，他对她们并无好感，因为有她们存在，自己便不得清静。至于男仆！……他无法忍受一个男人不离自己左右。但凡是女人就比男仆强。可为什么就不能由康妮来照看自己呢？次日清晨，姐妹俩乘车离开拉格比，康妮活像只复活节羔羊，坐在开车的希尔达旁边，显得又瘦又小。马尔科姆爵士此刻没在伦敦，但肯辛顿的房子却可供他们落脚。

The doctor examined Connie carefully, and asked her all about her life. "I see your photograph, and Sir Clifford's, in the illustrated papers sometimes. Almost notorieties, aren't you? That's how the quiet little girls grow up, though you're only a quiet little girl even now, in spite of the illustrated papers. No, no! There's nothing organically wrong, but it won't do! It won't do! Tell Sir Clifford he's got to bring you to town, or take you abroad, and amuse you. You've got to be amused, got to! Your vitality is much too low; no reserves, no reserves. The nerves of the heart a bit queer already: oh, yes! Nothing but nerves; I'd put you right in a month at Cannes or Biarritz. But it mustn' go on, MUST'T, I tell you, or I won't be answerable for consequences. You're spending your life without renewing it. You've got to be amused, properly, healthily amused. You're spending your vitality without making any. Can't go on, you know. Depression! Avoid depression!” Hilda set her jaw, and that meant something.

医生仔细为康妮做完检查，又询问了她日常生活的情况。“我在图片新闻报上见过几次你的照片，还有克利福德爵士的。倒也算是名声在外，没错吧？昔日文静的小姑娘就这样长成大人，现在虽说你上过几回报纸，但还是个羞涩的小女孩。别担心，别担心！身体器官都很健康，但不能这样继续下去！不能这样浑噩下去！告诉克利福德爵士，让他带你到伦敦来，或者去国外，放松一下心情。你必须要快活起来，必须！你的精力几近衰竭，又缺乏足够的储备。心脏的神经状况有些异常，哦，没错！只是精神方面的问题，去戛纳（注：法国东南部港口城市，度假胜地）或者比亚里茨（注：法国西南部旅游胜地）玩上一个月，保证可以恢复如常。但千万不能再这样生活下去，必须牢记我的话，否则后果将不堪设想。你一味消耗着自己的生命，让它无法恢复元气。你必须找点乐子，找到适合自己、同时有益健康的消遣方式。你的活力几乎耗尽，但却从不补充。决不能再继续下去，你得清楚。意志消沉！不要消沉下去！”希尔达咬碎银牙，难掩心中的愤怒。

Michaelis heard they were in town, and came running with roses. "Why, whatever's wrong?" he cried. "You're a shadow of yourself. Why, I never saw such a change! Why ever didn't you let me know? Come to Nice with me! Come down to Sicily! Go on, come to Sicily with me. It's lovely there just now. You want sun! You want life! Why, you're wasting away! Come away with me! Come to Africa! Oh, hang Sir Clifford! Chuck him, and come along with me. I'll marry you the minute he divorces you. Come along and try a life! God's love! That place Wragby would kill anybody. Beastly place! Foul place! Kill anybody! Come away with me into the sun! It's the sun you want, of course, and a bit of normal life.” But Connie's heart simply stood still at the thought of abandoning Clifford there and then. She couldn't do it. No...no! She just couldn't. She had to go back to Wragby.

米凯利斯听说他们到了伦敦，忙不迭地捧着玫瑰赶来。“怎么会这样？到底哪里不舒服？”他嚷道。“你简直瘦得脱了相。天呢，简直换了一个人！为什么瞒着我？跟我去尼斯吧！跟我去西西里！现在就起程，跟我去西西里！眼下那儿正是风光明媚。你需要阳光！需要真正的生活！噢，你已经虚弱成这副模样！跟我走吧！去非洲！啊，该死的克利福德！甩了他，跟我走。你俩一离婚，我立刻就娶你。来尝试全新的生活吧！上帝啊！拉格比那种鬼地方，任谁都会被闷死。丑陋的地方！肮脏的地方！谁都会被闷死的！跟我走，去享受阳光！你需要阳光的照耀，需要过点正常的生活。”但想到就此弃克利福德于不顾，康妮于心不忍。她没办法那样绝情。不行……不可以！她就是做不到。她得回拉格比去。