8.Florence Bravo’s story 弗洛伦丝·布拉沃的讲述
My name is Mrs Florence Bravo. I am 31 years old. I live at The Priory, in Balham. At the time of his death, my husband, Charles Bravo, lived there too. My friend and companion, Jane Cox, was also living in the house …
我叫弗洛伦斯·布拉沃太太。我今年31岁。住在巴勒姆的普赖厄里宅邸。在我丈夫查尔斯·布拉沃去世时，他也住在那里。我的朋友兼伴侣简·考克斯也住在这栋房子里……
When Jane Cox told me what Charles had said, I was very worried. Jane was very important to me. I didn’t want to lose her.
当简·考克斯告诉我查尔斯说的话时，我非常担心。简对我来说非常重要，我不想失去她。
On Tuesday, April 18th, I felt a little better, so I got up. It was my first day out of bed. Jane went to Worthing to look at a holiday house for us, and I went to London with Charles. In the carriage he said: ‘I’m pleased Jane’s gone to Worthing, Florence. We haven’t been alone together for two weeks. I’ll be happy when that woman is gone.’
4月18日星期二，我感觉好了一些，便起了床。那是我病愈后第一天离开卧床。简去沃辛为我们看度假屋，我和查尔斯则去了伦敦。在马车上他说：“简去了沃辛我很高兴，弗洛伦斯。我们已经两周没有单独相处了。等那个女人走了我就开心了。”
‘Please don’t say that, Charles,’ I said. ‘Jane is my best friend.’
“请别这么说，查尔斯，”我说，“简是我最好的朋友。”
‘She was your best friend, darling,’ said Charles, smiling. ‘Before you met me. Now I’m your best friend, aren’t I?’
“她曾经是你最好的朋友，亲爱的，”查尔斯笑着说，“在你遇到我之前。现在我是你最好的朋友了，不是吗？”
‘Well yes,’ I answered. ‘But you’re my husband, Charles. I need Jane, to talk about women’s things. That’s what I pay her for.’
“嗯，是的，”我回答，“但你是我的丈夫，查尔斯。我需要简来聊聊女人的心事。这就是我付钱雇她的原因。”
‘Well, she’s too expensive,’ Charles said. ‘I spoke to her yesterday. I told her to leave at the end of the month.’
“可她太贵了，”查尔斯说，“我昨天跟她谈过了。我让她月底走人。”
‘But Charles, you can’t do that!’ I said. ‘She needs the money to look after her children. Anyway, she works for me, not you. So she’s staying, Charles. All right?’
“可是查尔斯，你不能这样做！”我说，“她需要这笔钱来抚养孩子。况且她是为我工作，不是为你。所以她得留下来，查尔斯。好吗？”
‘No!’ he shouted. He held my arm hard, really hard, and it hurt. He was strong – much stronger than me – and his face was close to mine. ‘You’re my wife, Florence – you do what I say! Do you understand?’
“不行！”他吼道。他死死抓住我的胳膊，抓得非常紧，弄疼了我。他力气很大——比我大得多——脸凑得离我很近。“你是我妻子，弗洛伦斯——你得听我的！明白了吗？”
I was frightened. ‘Let go of my arm, Charles! People in the street are watching – what will they think?’
我吓坏了。“放开我的胳膊，查尔斯！街上的人都看着呢——他们会怎么想？”
‘I don’t care,’ he said. ‘It’s none of their business. What are you going to do – call Dr Gully?’ We were driving past Dr Gully’s house at the time.
“我不在乎，”他说，“这不关他们的事。你想怎么样——去叫格利医生吗？”当时我们的马车正经过格利医生的家。
‘Don’t be stupid, Charles,’ I said. ‘You know I don’t talk to Dr Gully any more. I told you – you’re my husband, I love you, not him!’
“别犯傻了，查尔斯，”我说，“你知道我已经不再跟格利医生来往了。我跟你说过的——你是我丈夫，我爱的是你，不是他！”
‘Do you?’ he said. He still held my arm. ‘Well, kiss me then. And forget about Jane and Dr Gully.’
“是吗？”他说。他依然抓着我的胳膊。“那就吻我一下。然后把简和格利医生都忘掉。”
I was afraid, so I kissed him. Then we drove on in silence. It was a bad start to the day, but before we got to London Charles was happy again. He talked to me kindly and told funny stories. He was often like that – angry for a short time, then friendly a few minutes later. He was a difficult man, but I tried to understand him. That’s what a wife has to do, isn’t it? Understand her husband and love him. But I was very worried about losing Jane.
我很害怕，于是吻了他。然后我们在沉默中继续赶路。这一天开局很糟，但在到达伦敦之前，查尔斯又高兴起来了。他和颜悦色地跟我说话，还讲了些有趣的故事。他经常这样——短时间内暴怒，几分钟后又变得友善。他是个难以相处的人，但我努力试着去理解他。做妻子的不就该这样吗？理解并爱自己的丈夫。但我仍然非常担心会失去简。
In London Charles visited his cousin, Dr Royes Bell. I went shopping. After lunch I went home and had a rest; it was my first day out of bed. Charles came home later. He was happy and excited. ‘I’m going out for a ride,’ he said. He went outside and called the groom.
在伦敦，查尔斯拜访了他的表亲罗伊斯·贝尔医生。我去逛了街。午饭后我回家休息，毕竟这是我病愈后第一天起床。查尔斯晚些时候回来了，显得很高兴也很兴奋。“我要出去骑马兜兜风，”他说。他走到外面喊马夫。
‘Get that big horse, Cremorne, ready for me, man. Quickly, now.’
“把那匹叫克雷莫恩的大马给我备好，伙计。快点。”
‘Is that a good idea, sir?’ the groom asked. ‘Cremorne’s been a little difficult this week.’
“这主意好吗，先生？”马夫问道，“克雷莫恩这周有点难驾驭。”
Charles thought he knew a lot about horses but he didn’t, really. He shouted angrily at the groom. ‘Don’t argue with me, man! Get him ready! I know how to ride my own horse, damn you!’
查尔斯自以为很懂马，其实不然。他愤怒地对马夫吼道：“别跟我顶嘴，伙计！把马备好！我知道怎么骑我自己的马，该死的！”
But an hour later he came home, shaking. His face was white and his shirt was wet with sweat. ‘That horse Cremorne is dangerous!’ he said. ‘We’ll have to sell it.’
然而一小时后他回到家时浑身发抖。他脸色苍白，衬衫被汗水浸透了。“那匹克雷莫恩太危险了！”他说，“我们得把它卖掉。”
‘Why, Charles,’ I asked, ‘what happened?’
“怎么了，查尔斯，”我问，“发生什么事了？”
‘The horse ran away with me. For six miles he wouldn’t stop.’
“那匹马驮着我失控狂奔了整整六英里都不肯停。”
‘How awful! Are you hurt? Did you fall off?’
“太可怕了！你受伤了吗？有没有摔下来？”
‘No, thank God, I didn’t. But my arms and chest hurt. He’s very strong, that horse – like a wild animal!’
“没有，谢天谢地，我没摔下来。但我的胳膊和胸口很痛。那匹马力气太大了——简直像头野兽！”
‘Go upstairs and rest before dinner. I’m sorry you were frightened, Charles.’
“上楼去休息一会儿再吃晚饭吧。很抱歉让你受惊了，查尔斯。”
He walked slowly upstairs with his hand on his chest. At the top, he looked down angrily.
他一手捂着胸口慢慢走上楼。到了楼梯顶端，他愤怒地向下瞪了一眼。
‘I wasn’t frightened, Florence, don’t be silly. Anyway, it’s the groom’s fault, not mine. He gave the horse too much food, that’s all.’
“我没有受惊，弗洛伦斯，别胡说八道。不管怎样，这都是马夫的错，不是我的。他只是给马喂得太多了，仅此而已。”
Charles still looked ill at dinner that evening. Jane talked to him about the holiday house in Worthing but he didn’t answer. He ate a lot of food and drank three glasses of wine. After dinner I was tired, so I went up to my bedroom. Jane came up a few minutes later.
那天晚上吃饭时查尔斯看起来仍不舒服。简跟他谈起沃辛的度假屋，但他没有回应。他吃了很多东西，喝了三杯酒。晚饭后我觉得累了，便上楼回了卧室。几分钟后简也上来了。
My maidservant, Mary Ann, brought me a glass of wine to help me sleep. But Charles came into my bedroom and saw it. He didn’t like me drinking wine in the evening. He often tried to stop me.
我的女仆玛丽·安给我端来一杯酒助眠。但查尔斯走进我的卧室看到了。他不喜欢我晚上喝酒，经常试图阻止我。
‘You drink too much, Florence,’ he said. ‘I’ve told you before. You’ll make yourself ill.’
“你喝得太多了，弗洛伦斯，”他说，“我以前就告诉过你。你会把自己喝出病的。”
It’s true. I did sometimes feel ill after drinking wine. I was sick once or twice, I don’t know why. But wine usually made me feel warm, and sleepy. I liked that.
确实如此。有时喝完酒后我确实会觉得不舒服，甚至呕吐过一两次，我也不知道为什么。但酒通常让我感到温暖和困倦，我喜欢那种感觉。
‘I’m tired, Charles,’ I said. ‘Leave me alone.’
“我累了，查尔斯，”我说，“让我一个人待会儿。”
Charles went out. I lay down in bed, and Jane sat beside me, reading aloud from a book. It was peaceful in my bedroom and I was very sleepy. My maid came back in.
查尔斯出去了。我躺在床上，简坐在我旁边大声朗读着一本书。卧室里很宁静，我也非常困倦。这时我的女仆回来了。
‘Do you want anything else, madam?’ she asked.
“您还需要什么吗，夫人？”她问。
‘No, thank you, Mary Ann,’ I said. ‘Just take the dogs downstairs, will you, please?’
“不用了，谢谢你，玛丽·安，”我说，“请把狗带到楼下去，好吗？”
Mary Ann went out with my two dogs and closed the doors behind her. There are two doors to my bedroom – an outside door and an inside door – and she closed them both. I like that; it makes the room very quiet. I lay there for a minute or two, listening to Jane’s voice reading to me, and then …
玛丽·安带着我的两条狗出去了，并随手关上了门。我的卧室有两扇门——一扇外门和一扇内门——她把两扇都关上了。我喜欢这样，这让房间非常安静。我躺了一两分钟，听着简为我读书的声音，然后……
… I fell asleep.
……我就睡着了。
I don’t know what happened next. Mary Ann says that Charles called for help. But I didn’t hear him. I was asleep.
我不知道接下来发生了什么。玛丽·安说查尔斯曾呼救过。但我没听见，我当时睡着了。
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