第十八章（第7/10页）

“他父亲在特弗沙尔做矿工。可他绝非平庸之辈。”爵士艺术家简直暴跳如雷。

"Looks to me like a gold-digger," he said. "And you're a pretty easy gold-mine, apparently.” "No, Father, it's not like that. You'd know if you saw him. He's a man. Clifford always detested him for not being humble.” "Apparently he had a good instinct, for once." What Sir Malcolm could not bear was the scandal of his daughter's having an intrigue with a game-keeper. He did not mind the intrigue: he minded the scandal.

“在我看来，他不过是个淘金者。”他说。“而很明显，你就是那座极易采掘的金矿。”“不，爸爸，并非你想的那样。如果你见见他，就会明白真相。他是个男子汉。克利福德对他深恶痛绝，只因为他不肯低声下气，唯命是从。”“看来，克利福德的预感也有准的时候。”自己的女儿跟守林人偷情，并传出丑闻，这让马尔科姆爵士无法容忍。私通他并不介意，但他却无法忍受丑闻的出现。

"I care nothing about the fellow. He's evidently been able to get round you all right. But, by God, think of all the talk. Think of your step-mother how she'll take it!” "I know," said Connie. "Talk is beastly: especially if you live in society. And he wants so much to get his own divorce. I thought we might perhaps say it was another man's child, and not mention Mellors' name at all.” "Another man's! What other man's?” "Perhaps Duncan Forbes. He has been our friend all his life." "And he's a fairly well-known artist. And he's fond of me.” "Well I'm damned! Poor Duncan! And what's he going to get out of it?” "I don't know. But he might rather like it, even.” "He might, might he? Well, he's a funny man if he does. Why, you've never even had an affair with him, have you?” "No! But he doesn't really want it. He only loves me to be near him, but not to touch him.” "My God, what a generation!" "He would like me most of all to be a model for him to paint from. Only I never wanted to." "God help him! But he looks down-trodden enough for anything.” "Still, you wouldn't mind so much the talk about him?” "My God, Connie, all the bloody contriving!" "I know! It's sickening! But what can I do?” "Contriving, conniving; conniving, contriving! Makes a man think he's lived too long.” "Come, Father, if you haven't done a good deal of contriving and conniving in your time, you may talk.” "But it was different, I assure you." "It's always different.” Hilda arrived, also furious when she heard of the new developments. And she also simply could not stand the thought of a public scandal about her sister and a game-keeper. Too, too humiliating!

“我对他毫无兴趣。很明显，他清楚如何蒙蔽你的眼睛。不过，天呢，想想那些风言风语吧。想想你的继母吧，她怎能容忍这档子事！”“我知道。”康妮说。“人言可畏，对于上流社会的人来说，尤其如此。他希望尽快办妥离婚。我想或许可以说孩子的生父另有其人，而不必提及梅勒斯的名字。”“另有其人！谁？”“或许可以说是邓肯·霍布斯。他是我们的发小。又是位知名的画家。而且他对我也很有好感。”“呵，真该死！倒霉的邓肯！他干嘛要替你背黑锅？”“我不晓得。但他或许会赞成这主意。”“他会赞成，真的吗？他要是赞成的话，那可倒真很搞笑。他凭什么接受，你从来就没跟他发生过关系，不是吗？”“对！可他并不在意那些。他只是希望常伴我左右，与我相敬如宾。”“天呢，年轻人的想法真是不可理喻！”“他最希望我能够成为他临摹的对象。可我并不愿意。”“可怜的家伙！这家伙连点胆量都没有。”“不过，要是他成为绯闻的主角，您就不会介意了吧？”“天呢，康妮，你在编织弥天大谎！”“我知道！这的确令人作呕！但我又能怎么办？”“除了阴谋，就是诡计！简直会让人嫌自己的命太长。”“算了吧，爸爸，你又何尝不是靠阴谋诡计过活，根本没有谴责别人的资格。”“可我敢保证，两者有质的区别。”“你就会说有区别。”希尔达赶到了，听说事情的最新进展，也不禁大发雷霆。她同样无法忍受妹妹跟守林人私通的事搞得尽人皆知。真是丢脸丢到家了！

"Why should we not just disappear, separately, to British Columbia, and have no scandal?" said Connie.

“我们为何不干脆销声匿迹，分头前往英属哥伦比亚，这样不就没有丑闻了？”康妮说。

But that was no good. The scandal would come out just the same. And if Connie was going with the man, she'd better be able to marry him. This was Hilda's opinion. Sir Malcolm wasn't sure. The affair might still blow over.

可这主意行不通。丑闻照样会不胫而走。如果康妮打算跟情郎私奔，那最好能够嫁给他。这是希尔达的建议。马尔科姆爵士拿不定主意。事情或许还有转圜的余地。

"But will you see him, Father?" Poor Sir Malcolm! he was by no means keen on it. And poor Mellors, he was still less keen. Yet the meeting took place: a lunch in a private room at the club, the two men alone, looking one another up and down.

“可你不想见见他吗，爸爸？”可怜的马尔科姆爵士！他根本没兴趣见这位未来女婿。而可怜的梅勒斯，更不愿与准岳父碰面。但会面还是成为事实，两人在俱乐部的私人会客室里共进午餐，互相打量，大眼瞪小眼。

Sir Malcolm drank a fair amount of whisky, Mellors also drank. And they talked all the while about India, on which the young man was well informed.

马尔科姆爵士喝威士忌喝得有点高，梅勒斯也来了几杯。印度成为他俩的中心谈资，因为梅勒斯对那里非常熟悉。

This lasted during the meal. Only when coffee was served, and the waiter had gone, Sir Malcolm lit a cigar and said, heartily: "Well, young man, and what about my daughter?" The grin flickered on Mellors' face.

整个午餐时间全部围绕着这一话题。直到咖啡端上桌，侍应退出房间，马尔科姆爵士才点燃雪茄，说出掏心掏肺的话：“我说，年轻人，我女儿到底怎么办？”梅勒斯脸上闪过一丝苦笑。

"Well, Sir, and what about her?" "You've got a baby in her all right.” "I have that honour!" grinned Mellors.

“呃，爵爷，什么怎么办？”“是你让他怀孕的。”“很荣幸！”梅勒斯笑道。

"Honour, by God!" Sir Malcolm gave a little squirting laugh, and became Scotch and lewd. "Honour! How was the going, eh? Good, my boy, what?" "Good!" "I'll bet it was! Ha-ha! My daughter, chip of the old block, what! I never went back on a good bit of fucking, myself. Though her mother, oh, holy saints!” He rolled his eyes to heaven. "But you warmed her up, oh, you warmed her up, I can see that. Ha-ha! My blood in her! You set fire to her haystack all right. Ha-ha-ha! I was jolly glad of it, I can tell you. She needed it. Oh, she's a nice girl, she's a nice girl, and I knew she'd be good going, if only some damned man would set her stack on fire! Ha-ha-ha! A game-keeper, eh, my boy! Bloody good poacher, if you ask me. Ha-ha! But now, look here, speaking seriously, what are we going to do about it? Speaking seriously, you know!” Speaking seriously, they didn't get very far. Mellors, though a little tipsy, was much the soberer of the two. He kept the conversation as intelligent as possible: which isn't saying much.