第十七章（第12/13页）

Meanwhile, my dear Connie, if you would enjoy to stay in Venice or in Switzerland till the beginning of August, I should be glad to think you were out of all this buzz of nastiness, which will have died quite away by the end of the month.

因此，我亲爱的康妮，如果你愿意在威尼斯或者瑞士呆到八月初，我会感到很高兴，因为那样的话，你就可以完全跟这些污言秽语绝缘，月底之前一切都会销声匿迹。

So you see, we are deep-sea monsters, and when the lobster walks on mud, he stirs it up for everybody. We must perforce take it philosophically. The irritation, and the lack of any sympathy in any direction, of Clifford's letter, had a bad effect on Connie. But she understood it better when she received the following from Mellors: The cat is out of the bag, along with various other pussies. You have heard that my wife Bertha came back to my unloving arms, and took up her abode in the cottage: where, to speak disrespectfully, she smelled a rat, in the shape of a little bottle of Coty. Other evidence she did not find, at least for some days, when she began to howl about the burnt photograph. She noticed the glass and the back-board in the square bedroom. Unfortunately, on the back-board somebody had scribbled little sketches, and the initials, several times repeated: C.S.R. This, however, afforded no clue until she broke into the hut, and found one of your books, an autobiography of the actress Judith, with your name, Constance Stewart Reid, on the front page. After this, for some days she went round loudly saying that my paramour was no less a person than Lady Chatterley herself. The news came at last to the rector, Mr. Burroughs, and to Sir Clifford. They then proceeded to take legal steps against my liege lady, who for her part disappeared, having always had a mortal fear of the police.

你瞧瞧，我们的确是深海的怪物，当龙虾从泥潭淌过，就会将水全部搞浑。我们必须冷静地接受这一点。克利福德的信里表现出十足的愤怒，并无半点同情，这让康妮感觉糟糕。但收到梅勒斯的来信时，她才更加透彻地了解到事情的真相。大猫从袋子里面跑出来，还带着形态各异的小猫。你应该已经听说，我妻子贝莎重新投入我冰冷的怀抱，将我家据为己有。在那儿，请原谅我的不敬，她在科蒂香水瓶里嗅到老鼠的气味。之后的几天里，她没能找到任何蛛丝马迹，就开始为我烧掉结婚照的事呼天抢地。她在卧室里找到玻璃框和后挡板。糟糕的是，有人在后挡板上涂抹了幅素描，落款留的首字母是C.S.R.，且留了数处。尽管如此，仅凭这些，她无法获取任何线索，直到她闯进林中小屋，找到你留下的一本书，女演员朱迪斯的自传，扉页上写有你的全名，康斯坦斯·斯图瓦特·里德。之后，她便四处宣扬，说我的情妇并非普通女子，而是查泰莱夫人。最终，这消息还是没逃过牧师，伯勒斯先生以及克利福德爵士的耳朵。接着，他们就对我忠诚的妻子提起控诉，那女人一向极为惧怕警察，见状不妙，立马溜之大吉。

Sir Clifford asked to see me, so I went to him. He talked around things and seemed annoyed with me. Then he asked if I knew that even her ladyship's name had been mentioned. I said I never listened to scandal, and was surprised to hear this bit from Sir Clifford himself. He said, of course it was a great insult, and I told him there was Queen Mary on a calendar in the scullery, no doubt because Her Majesty formed part of my harem. But he didn't appreciate the sarcasm. He as good as told me I was a disreputable character also walked about with my breeches' buttons undone, and I as good as told him he'd nothing to unbutton anyhow, so he gave me the sack, and I leave on Saturday week, and the place thereof shall know me no more.

克利福德爵士说要见我，我就去了拉格比。他反复盘问，似乎很生我的气。之后，他问我是否知道连从男爵夫人都被牵扯进来。我说我对什么丑闻毫不知情，从克利福德爵士口中得知此事深感惊讶。他说这对他而言是个莫大的侮辱，我跟他讲，我的洗涤间里挂着画有玛丽女王肖像的日历，那样说来，女王陛下岂不是也成了我的姘头。但他并不欣赏我的玩笑。他说我是个声名狼藉的家伙，总是开着裤裆四处招摇，我反唇相讥，说他即便开着裤裆，也没啥可看的。于是，他就炒了我的鱿鱼，下周六我就会离开，从此，这地方跟我再无瓜葛。

I shall go to London, and my old landlady, Mrs. Inger, 17 Coburg Square, will either give me a room or will find one for me.

我会去伦敦落脚，旧房东英格太太住在科堡广场17号，她应该会收留我，或者帮我找到住处。

Be sure your sins will find you out, especially if you're married and her name's Bertha— There was not a word about herself, or to her. Connie resented this. He might have said some few words of consolation or reassurance. But she knew he was leaving her free, free to go back to Wragby and to Clifford. She resented that too. He need not be so falsely chivalrous. She wished he had said to Clifford: "Yes, she is my lover and my mistress and I am proud of it!" But his courage wouldn't carry him so far.

要知道你们的罪必追上你们，尤其是在娶到像贝莎这样的妻子的情况下——信里没有一个字提到她，没有一句话对她倾诉。这让康妮深感不满。他本应该说些安慰或保证的话。但她明白，他这样做是为了给她选择的自由，选择重回拉格比，重返克利福德身边。而这样的意图同样令她不满。他何必装出这副伪善的气度。她巴不得他当面告诉克利福德：“没错，她是我的情人，我的爱人，而且我为此深感自豪！”可他的勇气显然还没达到如此高度。

So her name was coupled with his in Tevershall! It was a mess. But that would soon die down.

这么说，在特弗沙尔，他和她的私情已经成为茶余饭后的谈资！真是一团糟。可事情很快就会平息。

She was angry, with the complicated and confused anger that made her inert. She did not know what to do nor what to say, so she said and did nothing. She went on at Venice just the same, rowing out in the gondola with Duncan Forbes, bathing, letting the days slip by. Duncan, who had been rather depressingly in love with her ten years ago, was in love with her again. But she said to him: "I only want one thing of men, and that is, that they should leave me alone." So Duncan left her alone: really quite pleased to be able to. All the same, he offered her a soft stream of a queer, inverted sort of love. He wanted to be with her.

她异常愤怒，难以消解的愤怒让人心烦意乱，她因此变得毫无生气。她不知道该做些什么，说些什么，索性也就不说不做。她继续在威尼斯过着自在的日子，跟邓肯·福布斯乘凤尾船过湖畅泳，任凭时光从指缝中溜走。十年前，邓肯曾经追求过她，可惜受挫而回，如今对她旧情复炽。可她只是冷冷地说：“我只要求男人做一件事，那就是别来烦我。”于是，邓肯也听之任之，甚至很高兴能够达到她的要求。不过，他仍然表现出淡淡的奇妙爱意。他想要跟她长相厮守。