双语·面纱 第七十二章

72

The Townsends lived on the Peak in a house with a wide view over the sea, and Charlie did not as a rule come up to luncheon, but on the day of Kitty's arrival Dorothy (they were Kitty and Dorothy to one another by now) told her that if she felt up to seeing him he would like to come and bid her welcome. Kitty reflected that since she must see him she might just as well see him at once, and she looked forward with grim amusement to the embarrassment she must cause him. She saw very well that the invitation to stay had arisen in his wife's fancy and notwithstanding his own feelings he had immediately approved. Kitty knew how great his desire was always to do the right thing, and to offer her a gracious hospitality was obviously very much the right thing. But he could hardly remember that last interview of theirs without mortification: to a man so vain as Townsend it must be galling like an ulcer that would not heal. She hoped that she had hurt him as much as he had hurt her. He must hate her now. She was glad to think that she did not hate, but only despised him. It gave her a sardonic satisfaction to reflect that whatever his feelings he would be obliged to make much of her. When she left his office that afternoon he must have hoped with all his heart that he would never set eyes on her again.

And now, sitting with Dorothy, she waited for him to come in. She was conscious of her delight in the sober luxury of the drawing-room. She sat in an arm-chair, there were lovely flowers here and there, on the walls were pleasing pictures; the room was shaded and cool, it was friendly and homelike. She remembered with a faint shudder the bare and empty parlor of the missionary's bungalow; the rattan chairs and the kitchen table with its cotton cloth, the stained shelves with all those cheap editions of novels, and the little skimpy red curtains that had such a dusty look. Oh, it had been so uncomfortable! She supposed that Dorothy had never thought of that.

They heard a motor drive up, and Charlie strode into the room.

“Am I late? I hope I haven't kept you waiting. I had to see the Governor and I simply couldn't get away.”

He went up to Kitty, and took both her hands.

“I'm so very, very glad you've come here. I know Dorothy has told you that we want you to stay as long as ever you like and that we want you to look upon our house as your home. But I want to tell you so myself as well. If there's anything in the world I can do for you I shall only be too happy.” His eyes wore a charming expression of sincerity; she wondered if he saw the irony in hers. “I'm awfully stupid at saying some things and I don't want to seem a clumsy fool, but I do want you to know how deeply I sympathize with you in your husband's death. He was a thundering good chap, and he'll be missed here more than I can say.”

“Don't, Charlie,” said his wife. “I'm sure Kitty understands.…Here are the cocktails.”

Following the luxurious custom of the foreigners in China two boys in uniform came into the room with savouries and cocktails. Kitty refused.

“Oh, you must have one,” insisted Townsend in his breezy, cordial way. “It'll do you good and I'm sure you haven't had such a thing as a cocktail since you left Hong Kong. Unless I'm very much mistaken you couldn't get ice at Mei-tan-fu.”

“You're not mistaken,” said Kitty.

For a moment she had a picture before her mind's eye of that beggar with the tousled head in the blue rags through which you saw the emaciated limbs, who had lain dead against the compound wall.

第七十二章

查理·汤森一家住在山顶的一栋房子里，能够俯瞰大海。一般情况下，查理不回来吃午饭，但在凯蒂到达那天，多萝西（现在只有凯蒂和多萝西两个人）跟她说，如果她想见见他，他愿意赶回来，欢迎她的到来。凯蒂考虑了一下，觉得既然她不得不见到他，还不如马上就见，她怀着好玩的心情期待着看看他见到自己时的窘迫。她看得很清楚，邀请她住在他们家一定是他妻子的主意，即使他心里不愿意，也会马上表示支持的。凯蒂也知道他总是希望能做出正确的选择，而向她发出好客的邀请显然就是一个非常正确的选择。但是他不会不记得他们最后一次充满屈辱的见面，对于查理这样一个虚荣的男人来说，那次会面肯定让他难堪，就像一个溃疡，不会那么快愈合的。她希望自己能够以其人之道还治其人之身。他现在一定恨她，让她欣慰的是她现在并不恨他了，只是鄙视他。一想到他不管内心怎样想，不得不对她重视，尽显好客主人的殷勤，凯蒂就在暗地嘲笑中心满意足了。从那天下午她离开他的办公室的那一刻起，他一定是满心希望，这辈子再也不要见到她了。

现在，她和多萝西坐在一起，等着他的到来。在这个并不是很奢华的客厅里，她能够感受到心情还是很愉快的。她坐在一把扶手椅上，周围摆满了可爱的鲜花，四周的墙上是赏心悦目的绘画作品，房间阴凉舒适，气氛友好，富有家的气息。她内心有一丝战栗，记起了传教士的平房，那里的客厅可以说是家徒四壁，藤椅和厨房的餐桌铺着棉布，破烂的书架上摆满廉价的小说，不够长的红窗帘满是灰尘。哦，真是太寒酸，太艰苦了！她觉得多萝西绝对想象不到。

她们听到一阵汽车开过来的声音，过了一会儿，查理大步走进了房间。

“我晚了吗？我希望没让你们久等，我不得不去见总督，又不能说走就走。”

他走向凯蒂，握住了她的双手。

“我非常高兴你能来这儿。我想多萝西已经告诉你了，我们想让你和我们住在一起，多长时间都可以，而且我们想让你把我们家当成自己的家。我自己也想告诉你，如果这世上有什么事我能帮上你的话，我将不遗余力。”他的眼睛闪烁着迷人而真诚的神情，但她想知道他是否在她的眼中看到了嘲讽，“我对于一些事情的表达，有点儿笨嘴拙舌，我又不想让人把我看成傻瓜，但我还是想告诉你，对于你丈夫的死，我向你表达深深的同情，他是一个非常好的人，我们这儿无数的人会怀念他。”

“别说了，查理。”他太太说道，“我肯定凯蒂能够理解……鸡尾酒来了。”

按照在华外国人奢华的风俗，两个穿制服的男仆端着开胃食品和鸡尾酒上来了。凯蒂谢绝了。

“哦，你一定得吃一点儿。”查理用他一贯的轻松愉快而又显得真心实意的方式坚持着，“吃点儿对你有好处，我敢保证自从你离开香港，再也没有品尝过像鸡尾酒之类的东西了。除非我弄错了，你在湄潭府是搞不到冰块的。”

“你没有弄错。”凯蒂说道。

有那么一刻，她在脑海中闪过一幅画面，那个头发乱蓬蓬，穿着蓝色破烂衣服，透过衣服的破洞可以看见他瘦骨嶙峋的四肢的乞丐，靠着院落的墙壁，他已经死了。