4.Lorna’s story 洛娜的故事
I went home with my head in the clouds, and my heart on fire with love.
我回家时神魂颠倒,心中充满了爱的火焰。
All that week I could not stop thinking about Lorna, and I did my work on the farm in a dream.
整整一个星期,我都无法停止对洛娜的思念,在农场干活时也如同梦游一般。
Soon, I went to see her again.
不久,我又去见她了。
This time when she saw me, she came quickly towards me.
这次她一看到我,就快步向我走来。
‘Mr Ridd, are you mad?’ she said.
“里德先生,你疯了吗?”她说。
‘There are men on guard all round the valley. We must hide at once.’
“山谷四周都有人把守。我们必须马上躲起来。”
She took my hand and led me to her secret place, which was a kind of room hidden in the rock of the mountain.
她拉着我的手,带我去了她的秘密天地,那是藏在山岩中的一个类似房间的地方。
It was a green, peaceful place, open to the sky above, but the only way into it was through a narrow entrance in a cave.
那是一个绿意盎然、宁静祥和的地方,头顶敞向天空,但唯一的入口是洞穴中一个狭窄的通道。
I gave her the eggs I had brought her as a present, and at this she began to cry.
我把带给她的鸡蛋作为礼物送给她,她却因此哭了起来。
‘What have I done?’ I asked.
“我做错什么了吗?”我问。
‘It’s nothing you’ve done,’ she said.
“不是你做错了什么,”她说。
‘It’s just a sadness that I feel when I see anything from the world outside — and you’ve been very kind, and I’m not used to kindness.’
“只是看到外面世界的东西让我感到悲伤——而且你对我太好了,我不习惯这种善意。”
I wanted to put my arms around her, and kiss her, but I knew this would be wrong.
我想拥抱她、亲吻她,但我知道这样做是不对的。
So I sat and listened, and I think this made her like me more, because she began to tell me her life story.
于是我坐下来倾听,我想这让她更喜欢我了,因为她开始向我讲述她的身世。
She told me everything — everything except what her feelings were towards John Ridd.
她告诉了我一切——除她对约翰·里德的感情之外的一切。
‘Only two people ever listen to me, or try to help me,’ she began.
“只有两个人会听我说话或试图帮助我,”她开口道。
‘One is my grandfather, Sir Ensor Doone, and the other is my uncle, a clever man, whom they call the Counsellor.’
“一个是我的祖父恩索尔·杜恩爵士,另一个是我的叔叔,一个聪明人,他们称他为‘顾问’。”
‘My grandfather is a very old and very hard man — except with me.’
“我的祖父非常年迈且冷酷无情——唯独对我例外。”
‘He seems to know what is right and wrong, but not to want to think about it.’
“他似乎明辨是非,却不愿去思考它。”
‘And the Counsellor smiles a lot and talks about what is right and good — but he never does a good thing himself.’
“而那位顾问总是笑容满面,谈论着正义与善良——但他自己却从未做过一件好事。”
‘My Aunt Sabina used to take care of me, and she taught me very carefully.’
“我的萨比娜阿姨曾经照顾我,她教导我非常用心。”
‘She was a good person, honest and kind, and when she died, it was like losing a mother.’
“她是个好人,诚实又善良,她去世时,我感觉就像失去了母亲一样。”
‘Now there is only one woman I can talk to — Gwenny, my servant. She is my closest friend.’
“现在我能倾诉的女性只有一个——我的侍女格温妮。她是我最亲密的朋友。”
‘I don’t remember my father, but they say he was the eldest son of Sir Ensor Doone, and the bravest and best of them all.’
“我不记得父亲的样子,但据说他是恩索尔·杜恩爵士的长子,是他们所有人中最勇敢、最优秀的。”
‘They say, because of that, that I am their “Queen”.’
“他们说,正因如此,我是他们的‘女王’。”
‘I dream of a world outside this one, Mr Ridd — a world of peace.’
“里德先生,我梦想着这个世界之外的世界——一个和平的世界。”
‘This valley is green and beautiful, but all around me is violence and robbery, and stupid behaviour.’
“这个山谷绿意盎然、美丽如画,但我周围充斥着的却是暴力、抢劫和愚蠢的行径。”
‘I can’t come down to their level. I can’t forget myself and live like them.’
“我无法堕落到他们那个层次。我不能迷失自我,像他们那样生活。”
‘And strange questions come to me, that they can never answer.’
“我心中涌现出许多奇怪的问题,而他们永远无法回答。”
‘When I try to think about the past, about my early childhood, I can’t remember anything.’
“当我试图回忆过去,回忆我的童年早期时,我什么都记不起来。”
‘I want to know what I am, and why I am in this place.’
“我想知道我是谁,以及为什么我会身处此地。”
‘I suppose you think that’s strange.’
“我想你一定觉得这很奇怪。”
‘Perhaps people who are happy and at peace don’t need to ask questions like those.’
“也许那些快乐安宁的人不需要问这样的问题。”
Here, Lorna began to cry again. I could think of nothing to say, but I dried her eyes for her.
说到这里,洛娜又哭了起来。我不知道该说什么好,只是为她擦干了眼泪。
‘Mr Ridd, I am ashamed and angry at myself for talking so much, like this.’
“里德先生,我为自己说了这么多话而感到羞愧和生气。”
‘But you, who have a mother who loves you, and sisters, and a quiet home, can’t tell how lonely it is to live as I do.’
“但是,拥有爱你的母亲、姐妹和安宁家庭的您,无法体会像我这样生活是多么孤独。”
‘I have this secret place to come to, because I begged them for it.’
“我能来这个秘密地方,是因为我苦苦哀求他们才得到的。”
‘Only grandfather and the Counsellor come here — and sometimes Carver, the Counsellor’s son.’
“只有祖父和顾问会来这里——有时还有顾问的儿子卡弗。”
‘No one in the valley is as strong or brave as him.’
“山谷里没有人比他更强壮或更勇敢。”
‘But he is not like his father. He is rough and violent, always quick to be angry, and will listen to no opinion except his own.’
“但他不像他的父亲。他粗鲁暴躁,动不动就发怒,除了自己的意见外听不进任何人的话。”
‘There is talk of him wanting to marry me, but I would rather die than marry Carver Doone.’
“有传言说他想娶我,但我宁死也不愿嫁给卡弗·杜恩。”
‘Now you see how unhappy I am here. I would escape, and go anywhere, but I know it would hurt my grandfather.’
“现在你知道我在这里有多不开心了。我想逃离这里,去任何地方都可以,但我知道这会伤害我的祖父。”
This was too much for Lorna, and she couldn’t tell me any more. She broke down and cried.
这对洛娜来说太沉重了,她再也说不下去了。她情绪崩溃,痛哭起来。
I talked to her gently and kindly until she began to worry again about the danger I was in.
我温柔亲切地安慰她,直到她重新开始担心我的安危。
I said I would come back and see her again, but she made me promise not to come back for another month — so that I would not add to her problems with fears about me.
我说我会再来看她,但她要我答应一个月内不要再来——以免让她因为担心我而增添烦恼。
During that time, we agreed that if she were in any danger, she would put a dark coat over a white rock, near her secret room.
在此期间,我们约定,如果她遇到危险,就在她密室附近的一块白石上放一件深色外套。
I would be able to see this from a hill above the valley, and then I would come.
我在山谷上方的山丘上就能看到信号,然后就会赶来。
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