7.Jane Cox’s story 简·考克斯的讲述
My name is Mrs Jane Cox. I am 49 years old. I am Florence Bravo’s friend and companion. At the time of Mr Bravo’s death, I was living at The Priory, in Balham. I now live in my own house in Lancaster Road …
我叫简·考克斯太太。我今年49岁。我是弗洛伦斯·布拉沃的朋友和伴侣。在布拉沃先生去世时，我住在巴勒姆的普赖厄里宅邸。我现在住在兰开斯特路自己的房子里……
Soon after her marriage, Florence became pregnant. She was happy about this, and Charles was pleased too. ‘The baby will be a boy,’ he said. ‘We’ll call him Charles Bravo the Second!’
婚后不久，弗洛伦斯就怀孕了。她对此很高兴，查尔斯也很开心。“这孩子会是个男孩，”他说，“我们要叫他小查尔斯·布拉沃！”
But Florence often felt ill. And she and Charles argued all the time – about money, the servants, the horses, everything. But the worst arguments were about Dr Gully. One day, Charles opened a letter, and started shouting angrily. ‘Look at this,’ he said to Florence. ‘It’s from Dr Gully, isn’t it? This is what he thinks of me!’
但是弗洛伦斯经常感到身体不适。她和查尔斯总是吵架——为了钱、仆人、马匹，什么事都吵。但最激烈的争吵是关于古利医生的。有一天，查尔斯拆开一封信，开始愤怒地大喊。“看看这个，”他对弗洛伦斯说，“这是古利医生写的，对不对？这就是他对我的看法！”
Florence read the letter and showed it to me. It was a horrible letter.
弗洛伦斯看了信并拿给我看。那是一封可怕的信。
‘I know why you married Florence,’ the letter said. ‘You don’t love her. You just wanted her money, that’s all.’
“我知道你为什么娶弗洛伦斯，”信上写道，“你不爱她。你只是想要她的钱，仅此而已。”
‘That’s awful, Charles,’ Florence said. ‘But I don’t understand. There is no name on this letter. Who wrote it?’
“这太糟糕了，查尔斯，”弗洛伦斯说，“但我不明白。这封信上没有署名。是谁写的？”
‘You know very well who wrote it!’ Charles shouted. ‘Dr Gully, of course! That’s his handwriting, I’m sure it is! You’ve been talking to him about me, haven’t you? You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?’
“你很清楚是谁写的！”查尔斯吼道，“当然是古利医生！那是他的笔迹，我敢肯定！你一直在跟他谈论我，是不是？你还爱着他，对不对？”
‘No, Charles, I’m not!’ Florence said. ‘I haven’t spoken to Dr Gully once since we were married. Anyway, look at this letter, this is terrible handwriting. Dr Gully writes much better than this.’
“不，查尔斯，我没有！”弗洛伦斯说，“自从我们结婚以来，我一次也没跟古利医生说过话。再说，看看这封信，这笔迹太潦草了。古利医生的字比这好得多。”
Charles Bravo smiled – a cold, angry smile. ‘Really? Well, let’s see. He’s written lots of letters to you, hasn’t he, Florence? And you’ve kept them, because you’re in love with him. Go and find them, Florence, bring them here. Then we’ll see if this handwriting is the same.’
查尔斯·布拉沃笑了——那是一种冷酷而愤怒的笑。“是吗？好吧，让我们看看。他给你写过很多信，不是吗，弗洛伦斯？你把它们都留着了，因为你还爱着他。去把它们找出来，弗洛伦斯，拿到这儿来。然后我们就能看出这笔迹是不是一样的了。”
Florence’s face went quite red. ‘I haven’t got them, Charles,’ she said. ‘I sent them all back to him, before we got married. And he gave me back all my letters, too – the ones I wrote to him.’
弗洛伦斯的脸涨得通红。“我没有那些信了，查尔斯，”她说，“在我们结婚之前，我把它们全都退还给他了。他也把我写给他的信全都还给了我。”
‘Oh, really? Well, where are those letters? Bring them here, let me see them.’
“哦，是吗？那么，那些信在哪儿？拿来给我看看。”
‘I can’t.’ Florence started to cry. ‘I can’t show you anyway, because I burnt them all on the fire. And I think Dr Gully burnt all my letters too. You see, I don’t love him any more, Charles. That’s over, it’s finished. I’m never going to see Dr Gully again.’
“我拿不出来。”弗洛伦斯哭了起来，“反正我也没法给你看，因为我把它们全都在壁炉里烧掉了。我想古利医生也把我写的信都烧了。你看，我不再爱他了，查尔斯。一切都结束了，彻底过去了。我再也不会去见古利医生了。”
She stopped crying and put her hand on his arm. ‘That’s what you should do with this letter, too. It’s a horrible letter, Charles. Just burn it, forget all about it. Just as I have forgotten Dr Gully.’
她停止了哭泣，把手放在他的手臂上。“你也应该这样处理这封信。这是一封可恶的信，查尔斯。把它烧了吧，把这一切都忘掉。就像我已经忘掉了古利医生一样。”
‘Have you really, Florence? Are you sure?’
“你真的忘了吗，弗洛伦斯？你确定吗？”
‘Yes, Charles, I’m sure.’ She put her arms around him, and leaned her head against his chest. ‘You’re my husband now, Charles. I’m going to have your baby. So we must be kind to each other, and not argue about silly things like this.’
“是的，查尔斯，我确定。”她伸出双臂抱住他，把头靠在他的胸口。“你现在是我的丈夫了，查尔斯。我就要怀上你的孩子了。所以我们要善待彼此，不要再为这种无聊的事情争吵了。”
Very gently, she took the letter from his hand, and threw it into the fire.
她非常轻柔地从他手中拿过那封信，扔进了火里。
Florence didn’t meet Dr Gully, but I did. I met him on the train one day, on 25th March, on the way to London. I told him about my mother in Jamaica, and asked him for some medicine for her. A few days later, he wrote to me at The Priory.
弗洛伦斯没有遇见古利医生，但我遇见了。3月25日那天，我在去伦敦的火车上碰到了他。我跟他说起我在牙买加的母亲，并请他给她开些药。几天后，他写信到了普赖厄里宅邸给我。
I opened the letter, but Charles didn’t like that. ‘Let me see that, Mrs Cox,’ he said, holding out his hand. ‘I’m the man of this house, I should read all the letters first, you know. Who is it from?’
我拆开了信，但查尔斯对此很不高兴。“让我看看，考克斯太太，”他伸出手说道，“我是这个家里的男主人，你应该知道，所有的信件都得先经过我的过目。这是谁寄来的？”
‘It’s from Dr Gully,’ I said. ‘It’s about my mother, that’s all. She’s ill in Jamaica. He writes about some medicine for her.’
“是古利医生寄来的，”我说，“只是关于我母亲的事。她在牙买加生病了。他写了一些关于给她用药的内容。”
He took my letter and read it. There was a list of medicines inside. Then he gave it back to me. ‘Well, don’t write back to him,’ Charles Bravo said. ‘I don’t want anyone in this house to write to that man.’
他拿过我的信读了起来。里面有一张药品清单。然后他把信还给了我。“听着，不要给他回信，”查尔斯·布拉沃说，“我不许这个家里的任何人给那个男人写信。”
Two weeks later, on 6th April, I found Florence crying in her bedroom.
两周后，也就是4月6日，我发现弗洛伦斯在卧室里哭泣。
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked. ‘Have you and Charles been arguing again?’
“怎么了？”我问，“你和查尔斯又吵架了吗？”
‘No, it’s not that,’ she said. ‘It’s worse. Call a doctor. I think I’ve lost the baby.’
“不，不是那样，”她说，“情况更糟。去叫医生来。我觉得我流产了。”
Florence was right; she had lost her baby. She was ill, and spent two weeks in bed. I slept in her bedroom with her. Charles didn’t like that. He didn’t understand how difficult such things are for women. When she stayed in bed crying, that made him angry and impatient. He thought she should get up the next day. He seemed to think that a woman losing her baby was nothing important.
弗洛伦斯说得没错；她确实失去了孩子。她病倒了，在床上躺了两个星期。我和她一起睡在她的卧室里。查尔斯对此很不满。他不理解这种事情对女人来说有多么艰难。当她躺在床上哭泣时，这让他感到愤怒和不耐烦。他认为她第二天就应该起床。他似乎觉得一个女人失去孩子并不是什么大事。
But I was worried, and so I was pleased when I met Dr Gully again on the train. I told him about Florence’s illness, and he promised to send some medicine for her. But he didn’t want to make Charles angry, so he didn’t send it to The Priory. He left it at my house, in Lancaster Road, and I took it to Florence from there.
但我很担心，所以当我在火车上再次遇到古利医生时，我感到很高兴。我告诉他弗洛伦斯生病的事，他答应给她寄些药。但他不想惹查尔斯生气，所以没有把药直接寄到普赖厄里宅邸。他把药留在了我位于兰开斯特路的家里，我再从那里把药带给弗洛伦斯。
A few days later, Charles called me into his study.
几天后，查尔斯把我叫进了他的书房。
‘Mrs Cox,’ he said. ‘I have been thinking. There are too many people in this house.’
“考克斯太太，”他说，“我一直在想。这屋子里的人太多了。”
‘Too many people?’ I said. ‘What do you mean?’
“人太多了？”我说，“您是什么意思？”
‘I mean,’ he said, ‘that I don’t need you in this house any more.’
“我的意思是，”他说，“这个家不再需要你了。”
‘But, sir … I am not here to help you. I work for Mrs Bravo.’
“可是，先生……我不是来伺候您的。我是为布拉沃太太工作的。”
‘Mrs Bravo is my wife. I make the decisions in this house, and I don’t want you here any more. Every time I try to talk to my wife, you are there with her. You even sleep in her bedroom. That isn’t right!’
“布拉沃太太是我的妻子。这个家由我来做主，我不想再看到你待在这里。每次我想和我妻子说话，你都陪在她身边。你甚至还在她的卧室里过夜。这成何体统！”
‘But she’s ill, sir! She’s just lost her baby. She needs me – she wants me there.’
“可是她病了，先生！她刚刚失去了孩子。她需要我——她希望我陪着她。”
‘Well, I don’t want you there. When Florence is better, I want you to leave. Do you understand? I don’t need your help any more.’
“哼，可我不希望你在那儿。等弗洛伦斯身体好了，你就得离开。你听明白了吗？我不再需要你的帮忙了。”
This was a terrible thing for me. I needed my job to pay for my sons’ school. And Florence was my friend. I was worried about her. If I leave, I thought, he can hit Florence every day, and no one will know.
这对我来说真是个噩耗。我需要这份工作来支付儿子们的学费。而且弗洛伦斯是我的朋友。我很担心她。如果我走了，我想，他就可以每天殴打弗洛伦斯，而没人会知道。
As I walked out of the room, I thought: I hate that man, Charles Bravo. I wish he were dead.
当我走出房间时，我心里想：我恨那个男人，查尔斯·布拉沃。我真希望他死掉。
When I told Florence, she cried. ‘Jane, please don’t leave me,’ she said. ‘I need you here to keep me safe. Promise me you won’t go!’
当我告诉弗洛伦斯时，她哭了。“简，请不要离开我，”她说，“我需要你留在这里保护我的安全。答应我你不会走！”
‘I don’t want to leave,’ I said. ‘But what can we do? He’s your husband – he can do what he likes.’
“我也不想走，”我说，“但我们能怎么办呢？他是你的丈夫——他可以随心所欲。”
‘I’ll talk to him,’ she said. She was a brave lady, Florence. She tried to make her own decisions; she didn’t want to obey her husband all the time. But Charles was a dangerous, violent man.
“我会跟他谈谈的，”她说。弗洛伦斯是一位勇敢的女士。她试图自己做决定；她不想事事都顺从丈夫。但查尔斯是个危险且暴力的男人。
‘What if he hits you again?’ I asked. ‘He may hurt you badly.’ I wanted to save her, but I didn’t know how.
“要是他再打你怎么办？”我问，“他可能会把你伤得很重。”我想救她，却不知该如何是好。
She sat up in bed. ‘I won’t let him, Jane,’ she said. ‘You and I – we must work together. We must stop that man, before he destroys both of our lives. This is my house, not his. He must listen to me, and learn to do what I want.’
她在床上坐直了身子。“我不会让他得逞的，简，”她说，“你和我——我们必须联手。我们必须阻止那个男人，趁他还没毁了我们俩的生活之前。这是我的房子，不是他的。他必须听我的，学会按我的意愿行事。”
‘But he doesn’t listen to women,’ I said. ‘He thinks we’re like children, or servants. How can you change that?’
“可他根本不听女人的话，”我说，“他觉得我们就跟小孩或仆人一样。你怎么可能改变这一点呢？”
‘I’ll find a way, Jane,’ she said quietly. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.’
“我会找到办法的，简，”她轻声说道，“别担心，我会找到办法的。”
0 条评论