双语·面纱 第三十五章

35

The first time she was alone with Waddington she brought the conversation round to Charlie. Waddington had spoken of him on the evening of their arrival. She pretended that he was no more than an acquaintance of her husband.

“I never cared much for him,” said Waddington. “I've always thought him a bore.”

“You must be very hard to please,” returned Kitty, in the bright, chaffing way she could assume so easily. “I suppose he's far and away the most popular man in Hong Kong.”

“I know. That is his stock in trade. He's made a science of popularity. He has the gift of making everyone he meets feel that he is the one person in the world he wants to see. He's always ready to do a service that isn't any trouble to himself, and even if he doesn't do what you want he manages to give you the impression that it's only because it's not humanly possible.”

“That is surely an attractive trait.”

“Charm and nothing but charm at last grows a little tiresome, I think. It's a relief then to deal with a man who isn't quite so delightful but a little more sincere. I've known Charlie Townsend for a good many years and once or twice I've caught him with the mask off--you see, I never mattered, just a subordinate official in the Customs--and I know that he doesn't in his heart give a damn for any one in the world but himself.”

Kitty, lounging easily in her chair, looked at him with smiling eyes. She turned her wedding-ring round and round her finger.

“Of course he'll get on. He knows all the official ropes. Before I die I have every belief that I shall address him as Your Excellency and stand up when he enters the room.”

“Most people think he deserves to get on. He's generally supposed to have a great deal of ability.”

“Ability? What nonsense! He's a very stupid man. He gives you the impression that he dashes off his work and gets it through from sheer brilliancy. Nothing of the kind. He's as industrious as a Eurasian clerk.”

“How has he got the reputation of being so clever?”

“There are many foolish people in the world and when a man in a rather high position puts on no frills, slaps them on the back, and tells them he'll do anything in the world for them, they are very likely to think him clever. And then of course, there's his wife. There's an able woman if you like. She has a good sound head and her advice is always worth taking. As long as Charlie Townsend's got her to depend on he's pretty safe never to do a foolish thing, and that's the first thing necessary for a man to get on in Government service. They don't want clever men; clever men have ideas, and ideas cause trouble; they want men who have charm and tact and who can be counted on never to make a blunder. Oh, yes, Charlie Townsend will get to the top of the tree all right.”

“I wonder why you dislike him?”

“I don't dislike him.”

“But you like his wife better?” smiled Kitty.

“I'm an old-fashioned little man and I like a well-bred woman.”

“I wish she were well-dressed as well as well-bred.”

“Doesn't she dress well? I never noticed.”

“I've always heard that they were a devoted couple,” said Kitty, watching him through her eye-lashes.

“He's very fond of her: I will give him that credit. I think that is the most decent thing about him.”

“Cold praise.”

“He has his little flirtations, but they're not serious. He's much too cunning to let them go to such lengths as might cause him inconvenience. And of course he isn't a passionate man; he's only a vain one. He likes admiration. He's fat and forty now, he does himself too well, but he was very good-looking when he first came to the Colony. I've often heard his wife chaff him about his conquests.”

“She doesn't take his flirtations very seriously?”

“Oh, no, she knows they don't go very far. She says she'd like to be able to make friends of the poor little things who fall to Charlie; but they're always so common. She says it's really not very flattering to her that the women who fall in love with her husband are so uncommonly second-rate.”

第三十五章

她第一次单独和威廷顿待在一起时，故意把话题引向了查理。在他们到达这里的那天晚上，威廷顿曾经谈起过他，她假装查理只不过是她丈夫的一个熟人。

“我不怎么待见他。”威廷顿说道，“我总是觉得他这个人挺烦人的。”

“您一定很挑剔。”凯蒂回应道，用一种她信手拈来的打趣方式，把话说得很轻松，“我认为他在香港可是数一数二的炙手可热的人物。”

“我知道。那正是他的钻营之道，他非常善于笼络人心，他有一种天赋，能让每个和他见面的人都觉得遇见了知音，如果对他来说是轻而易举的事，他总是愿意效劳，甚至他没有去做你让他帮忙的事，也会让你觉得这事是非人力所能及的，对他也充满感激。”

“那可真是有魅力。”

“除了魅力还是魅力，最后魅力变成了让人厌倦的东西。我这样觉得，跟一个更真诚一点儿，而不是特别殷勤的人打交道会更放松些。我认识查理很多年了，有那么一两次，我看到他摘下面具——你知道，我是个无足轻重的小人物，在海关也是个下级官员——我知道在这个世界上他不会为任何人付出一丁点儿东西的，他心里只有他自己。”

凯蒂很悠闲地坐在椅子上，用带着微笑的眼睛看着他，她在手指上一圈又一圈地转动着结婚戒指。

“当然，他会升官。他对官场的那一套很娴熟，在我有生之年，我坚信我会等到称呼他阁下大人，等他一进屋，我们都会起立致敬的那一天的。”

“很多人都认为他很有能力，应该得到提拔重用。”

“有能力？那可是看走了眼了，他很笨，可总给人一种印象，好像他能很麻利地干完手里的活，完全是由于他的聪明才干，实际上完全不是这么回事，他勤快得像个欧亚混血的职员，整天加班加点才能应付手头的工作。”

“那他怎么会赢得聪明能干的好名声呢？”

“这世界上有很多笨蛋，当一个身处高位的人，又没有什么架子，在这些人的后背友好地拍那么一下，告诉他们他将竭尽全力为他们服务，他们就很可能认为他聪明能干。当然啦，还有他的妻子，如果你愿意，也可以把她看作一个能干的女人，她的脑瓜儿相当灵光，她的建议总是切实可行，只要查理背后有了她，依靠她出主意，他就不会做出什么蠢事来，而在政府部门工作，这是一个男人的第一要务。政府部门并不想要聪明的人，聪明的人都有思想，而有思想又会招致麻烦，他们只想要有亲和力和会使手腕又绝不会捅娄子的人。哦，是的，查理一定会爬到官场的金字塔顶的。”

“我很好奇你为什么不喜欢他？”

“我没有不喜欢他。”

“但好像你更喜欢他太太？”凯蒂微笑着说。

“我是个传统的男人，喜欢有教养的女人。”

“我倒是希望她的穿着打扮配得上她的教养。”

“她的穿着打扮不得体吗？我从没注意到。”

“我总听到人们说，他们是一对模范夫妻。”凯蒂说道，同时眯着眼睛观察着他的表情。

“他很爱她，这点上他倒是值得称赞，我觉得这是有关他最体面的事了。”

“多苛刻的表扬。”

“他也经常跟人打情骂俏，但他从不会当真。他太狡猾了，不会让调情发展得太快太深，因为这样会给他造成不便。当然了，他不是一个用情很深的人，只会逢场作戏。他希望别人对他仰慕。他人已经发福，而且四十岁了，可是保养得很好，他刚到香港时，人长得很漂亮，我经常听他的妻子拿他的仰慕者们打趣。”

“她难道对他的风流韵事不在意吗？”

“哦，一点儿也不。因为她知道这些事都长久不了，她说她倒是愿意和那些爱上查理的可怜的小妇人交朋友，但是她们总是那么稀松平常。她说她对那些迷恋她丈夫的女人实在没法恭维，她们都是些二流货色。”