第七章（第9/10页）

不久，他变得趾高气昂，对女佣表现出骄横跋扈的态度。这早在康妮的意料之中，他恢复贵族老爷的派头，自己却全然不知。他人的期待总会对我们产生极大的影响！过去她为受伤的矿工包扎，照料他们，而矿工们也温顺得像是孩子，跟她倾谈，吐露自己心中的伤痛。这让她觉得自己从事护理工作时，是如此的不可或缺，超凡脱俗。而现在，克利福德使她感觉自己如此微不足道，跟下人没什么两样，她只能默默接受这一切，调整自己的心态，努力迎合上层阶级。

She came very mute, with her long, handsome face, and downcast eyes, to administer to him. And she said very humbly: "Shall I do this now, Sir Clifford? Shall I do that?" "No, leave it for a time. I'll have it done later.” "Very well, Sir Clifford." "Come in again in half an hour." "Very well, Sir Clifford." "And just take those old papers out, will you?" "Very well, Sir Clifford." She went softly, and in half an hour she came softly again. She was bullied, but she didn't mind. She was experiencing the upper classes. She neither resented nor disliked Clifford; he was just part of a phenomenon, the phenomenon of the high-class folks, so far unknown to her, but now to be known. She felt more at home with Lady Chatterley, and after all it's the mistress of the house matters most.

服侍克利福德的时候，她总是噤若寒蝉，一张端庄秀丽的瓜子脸，双目低垂。她唯唯诺诺地说：“我现在该做这个吗，克利福德爵士？”那个呢？”“不用，过会再说。需要的时候我会吩咐你。”“遵命，克利福德爵士。”“过半小时再来吧。”“遵命，克利福德爵士。”“把这些旧报纸捎走吧。”“遵命，克利福德爵士。”她轻手轻脚地退出去，半小时后，又悄无声息地回来。她被呼来喝去，但却毫不介意。她在体验统治阶级高高在上的感觉。她并不怨恨克利福德，对他也不反感，他只代表着某种现象，代表着与众不同的上层阶级。她对这个阶级尚不了解，而现在正开始慢慢熟悉。在查泰莱夫人面前，她要放松许多，毕竟这座府邸是女主人当家。

Mrs. Bolton helped Clifford to bed at night, and slept across the passage from his room, and came if he rang for her in the night. She also helped him in the morning, and soon valeted him completely, even shaving him, in her soft, tentative woman's way. She was very good and competent, and she soon knew how to have him in her power. He wasn't so very different from the colliers after all, when you lathered his chin, and softly rubbed the bristles. The stand-offishness and the lack of frankness didn't bother her; she was having a new experience.

博尔顿太太每晚都要伺候克利福德就寝，自己则睡在走廊对面的房间，如果他夜里按铃，她就得随叫随到。早上她还要服侍他起床，并很快接管男主人所有的饮食起居，甚至还要替他刮脸，以女性特有的方式，柔情款款，小心翼翼地照料着他。她称职又能干，很快就知道如何掌控克利福德。当你在他下颚涂满肥皂泡，轻轻地摩挲着胡茬，这位爵爷倒也跟低贱的矿工没什么不同。他冷漠而不坦诚的性格，并未让她感到难堪，反倒觉得是在体会新的经验。

Clifford, however, inside himself, never quite forgave Connie for giving up her personal care of him to a strange hired woman. It killed, he said to himself, the real flower of the intimacy between him and her. But Connie didn't mind that. The fine flower of their intimacy was to her rather like an orchid, a bulb stuck parasitic on her tree of life, and producing, to her eyes, a rather shabby flower.

然而，在克利福德心里，始终无法原谅康妮，认为妻子把自己的分内之事推给陌生的女佣。他对自己说，这种行为活活将夫妻之间的亲密之花扼杀。但康妮并不在乎他的感受。对她而言，这朵优雅的亲密之花更像是兰花，球茎寄生在她的生命之树上，在她眼里，结出一支破烂不堪的花朵。

Now she had more time to herself she could softly play the piano, up in her room, and sing: "Touch not the nettle, for the bonds of love are ill to loose." She had not realized till lately how ill to loose they were, these bonds of love. But thank Heaven she had loosened them! She was so glad to be alone, not always to have to talk to him. When he was alone he tapped-tapped-tapped on a typewriter, to infinity. But when he was not "working", and she was there, he talked, always talked; infinite small analysis of people and motives, and results, characters and personalities, till now she had had enough. For years she had loved it, until she had enough, and then suddenly it was too much. She was thankful to be alone.

如今，她拥有更多独处的时间，可以端坐在楼上的起居室里，优雅地弹奏起钢琴，高唱着：“路边荨麻莫采撷，爱的纠葛总难解。”直到现在，她才晓得这纠葛，这爱情的纠葛，是何等难解。但谢天谢地，她终于从束缚中摆脱出来！她很享受这种形影相吊的时光，再也不必总和克利福德瞎扯。女仆不在身边的时候，他就咔嗒咔嗒地轻敲着打字机，片刻也不停歇。但当他处于闲暇状态，碰巧她又在身边，他又会口若悬河，滔滔不绝，没完没了地细致分析着人物形象和作品主题，故事结局和人物性格，而现在她已经烦透了这些。多年以来，她始终很享受这种倾谈，而如今，她已经厌倦了这一切，突然无法再容忍下去了。能清清静静的，真是谢天谢地。

It was as if thousands and thousands of little roots and threads of consciousness in him and her had grown together into a tangled mass, till they could crowd no more, and the plant was dying. Now quietly, subtly, she was unravelling the tangle of his consciousness and hers, breaking the threads gently, one by one, with patience and impatience to get clear. But the bonds of such love are more ill to loose even than most bonds; though Mrs. Bolton's coming had been a great help.

仿佛两人的心灵深处有成千上万的根须和细丝相互连结，缠绕成纷乱繁复的一团，直至再也无法孽生，生命之树奄奄一息。现在，她得以解开两人心灵间纠结的乱麻，从容不迫，慢条斯理，轻柔地将细丝一根根扯断，时而耐心，时而急躁，让自己从束缚中摆脱出来。但畸爱的束缚往往最难解开，而博尔顿太太的到来帮了大忙。

But he still wanted the old intimate evenings of talk with Connie: talk or reading aloud. But now she could arrange that Mrs. Bolton should come at ten to disturb them. At ten o'clock Connie could go upstairs and be alone. Clifford was in good hands with Mrs. Bolton.