Lucy Steele’s secret
露西·斯蒂尔的秘密
The Palmers returned to Somerset the next day.
帕默夫妇第二天就回萨默塞特去了。
But it was not long before Sir John had more visitors at Barton park.
但没过多久，约翰爵士在巴顿庄园又迎来了新的客人。
On a morning’s excursion to Exeter, he and his mother-in-law had met two young ladies, the Miss Steeles, whom Mrs Jennings discovered to be distant cousins.
在一次前往埃克塞特的晨间短途旅行中，他和岳母遇到了两位年轻女士——斯蒂尔姐妹，詹宁斯太太发现她们是自家的远房表亲。
Sir John, always eager for society, immediately invited them to stay at the Park as soon as they were available, and, most fortunately, they were able to accept the invitation almost at once.
一向热衷社交的约翰爵士立刻邀请她们一有空就来庄园小住，而非常凑巧的是，她们几乎马上就接受了邀请。
The young ladies arrived.
两位年轻女士到了。
Their appearance was by no means unfashionable, their dress was elegant, and their manners were very polite.
她们的打扮绝不落伍，衣着优雅，举止也十分得体。
They were delighted with the house and furniture, and they happened to be so madly fond of children that Lady Middleton had an excellent opinion of them by the time they had been at the Park for an hour.
她们对房子和家具赞不绝口，而且碰巧极其喜爱孩子，因此到庄园才一个小时，米德尔顿夫人就对她们有了极好的印象。
Sir John hurried off to Barton Cottage to tell the Miss Dashwoods.
约翰爵士急忙赶到巴顿乡舍去告诉达什伍德小姐们。
‘They are the sweetest girls in the world!’ he said.
“她们是世界上最可爱的姑娘！”他说。
Elinor smiled at this.
埃莉诺对此微微一笑。
She knew that, for Sir John, the sweetest girls in the world were in every part of England, with every possible kind of face, figure, and character.
她知道，对约翰爵士来说，英国各地都有“世界上最可爱的姑娘”，长相、身材和性格各式各样。
Sir John wanted the whole family to walk to the Park immediately and look at his guests.
约翰爵士希望全家人立刻步行去庄园看看他的客人。
Kind, thoughtful man!
真是个善良体贴的人啊！
It was painful to him even to keep a third cousin to himself.
哪怕只是独自招待一位三代表亲，他都觉得过意不去。
But in spite of his efforts, he could only gain the Dashwoods’ promise to visit the Park in a day or two.
但尽管他极力劝说，也只得到达什伍德家答应在一两天后去庄园拜访的承诺。
When the promised visit took place, they found nothing to admire in the appearance of the elder Miss Steele, who was nearly thirty, with a very plain face.
当如约前去拜访时，她们发现年长的斯蒂尔小姐相貌平平，已近三十岁，实在没什么可称赞的。
However, the younger, Miss Lucy Steele, who was not more than twenty-three, had a considerable beauty.
然而，年纪较小的露西·斯蒂尔小姐不过二十三岁，却颇有几分姿色。
Her face was pretty, she had a sharp, quick eye, and she held herself with a certain air.
她面容姣好，目光敏锐灵动，举手投足间带着一种特有的神态。
Elinor soon noticed the pleasing manners and constant attentions with which they were winning Lady Middleton’s approval.
埃莉诺很快注意到，她们用讨人喜欢的举止和无微不至的关注赢得了米德尔顿夫人的欢心。
They were full of praise for the beauty and intelligence of her children, and full of admiration for Lady Middleton herself.
她们对她孩子们的美貌与聪明赞不绝口，对米德尔顿夫人本人也满是钦佩。
Fortunately for those who use these clever tricks, a fond mother can never hear enough praise of her children, and therefore will swallow anything.
对于那些善用这种巧妙手段的人来说，幸运的是，溺爱孩子的母亲永远听不够对孩子的赞美，因此什么话都听得进去。
Lady Middleton watched proudly as her spoilt children pulled the Miss Steeles’ hair, stole their sewing scissors, and tore their books; she felt no doubt that the Miss Steeles were enjoying this quite as much as her children.
米德尔顿夫人骄傲地看着她被宠坏的孩子拉扯斯蒂尔姐妹的头发，偷走她们的缝纫剪刀，撕扯她们的书；她毫不怀疑斯蒂尔姐妹和她的孩子们一样乐在其中。
She was only surprised that Elinor and Marianne should sit so calmly, without taking any part in the enjoyment.
她只是惊讶于埃莉诺和玛丽安竟能如此平静地坐着，丝毫不参与这份“乐趣”。
‘How playful dear little William is!’ she said lovingly, as her second boy violently pulled Miss Steele’s finger.
“亲爱的小威廉多顽皮啊！”她慈爱地说，此时她的二儿子正用力拽着斯蒂尔小姐的手指。
‘And here is my sweet Annamaria, such a quiet little thing!’
“还有我亲爱的安娜玛丽亚，多么安静的小宝贝啊！”
She bent to kiss her daughter, but unfortunately a pin in her dress scratched the child’s neck.
她俯身亲吻女儿，不料衣服上的一枚别针划伤了孩子的脖子。
Violent screams rang out, and the Miss Steeles rushed to help the suffering child.
刺耳的尖叫声响起，斯蒂尔姐妹赶紧冲过去安抚受苦的孩子。
The little girl realized that the louder she screamed, the more attention she would receive, and nothing could be done to calm her.
小女孩意识到哭得越响就越受关注，于是怎么也无法让她平静下来。
Finally her mother was forced to carry her upstairs, in search of her nurse, and the four young ladies were left in a quietness which the room had not known for many hours.
最后母亲只好把她抱上楼去找保姆，四位年轻女士这才得以享受房间里许久未曾有过的宁静。
‘Poor little creature!’ said the elder Miss Steele.
“可怜的小东西！”年长的斯蒂尔小姐说。
‘I do not think there was any real cause for alarm,’ said Marianne firmly.
“我觉得并没有什么真正值得大惊小怪的，”玛丽安坚定地说。
‘What a sweet woman Lady Middleton is,’ said Lucy Steele.
“米德尔顿夫人真是个可爱的人，”露西·斯蒂尔说。
Marianne was silent, as it was impossible for her to say what she did not feel.
玛丽安沉默不语，因为她无法说出自己并不认同的话。
It was Elinor who was forced to reply.
埃莉诺不得不代为回答。
‘She is a very fond mother,’ she said, truthfully.
“她是一位非常疼爱孩子的母亲，”她如实说道。
‘And the children!’ cried Lucy. ‘I love to see children full of life and fun! I cannot bear them quiet.’
“还有那些孩子！”露西叫道，“我就喜欢看到孩子们充满活力和乐趣！我可受不了他们安安静静。”
‘I confess,’ replied Elinor, ‘that while I am at Barton Park, I never think of quiet children with any displeasure.’
“我得承认，”埃莉诺答道，“我在巴顿庄园的时候，从不觉得安静的孩子有什么不好。”
A short silence was broken by the elder Miss Steele, who suddenly changed the subject by saying, ‘How do you like Devonshire, Miss Dashwood? I suppose you were very sorry to leave Sussex. Norland is a beautiful place, is it not?’
短暂的沉默被年长的斯蒂尔小姐打破，她突然转换话题问道：“达什伍德小姐，你觉得德文郡怎么样？我想你离开苏塞克斯时一定很舍不得吧。诺兰是个美丽的地方，不是吗？”
‘We have heard Sir John admire it,’ said Lucy quickly.
“我们听约翰爵士称赞过那里，”露西连忙说。
Elinor was surprised that the Miss Steeles seemed to know so much about her family. ‘Indeed, it is a lovely place.’
斯蒂尔姐妹似乎对她的家庭了如指掌，这让埃莉诺感到惊讶。“确实，那是个可爱的地方。”
‘And had you a great many handsome young bachelors there?’ asked Anne Steele. ‘I am afraid you may find it dull here. I do like a place with a lot of good-looking young men, but they must dress well and behave politely. I suppose your brother was quite an elegant young man before he married?’
“那里有很多英俊的年轻单身汉吗？”安妮·斯蒂尔问，“恐怕你会觉得这里沉闷。我确实喜欢有很多帅气年轻人的地方，但他们必须穿着讲究、举止有礼。我想你哥哥结婚前一定是个相当风雅的年轻人吧？”
‘Well,’ replied Elinor, ‘if he was before he married, he still is, because he has not changed at all.’
“嗯，”埃莉诺答道，“如果他婚前是那样，现在依然是，因为他一点也没变。”
‘Oh dear, I never think of married men being handsome young men—they have other things to do.’
“哦天哪，我从没把已婚男人当作英俊小伙子来看——他们有别的正经事要做。”
‘Good heavens, Anne!’ cried her sister. ‘You can talk of nothing but young men—you will make Miss Dashwood believe you think of nothing else!’ And she turned to another subject.
“天哪，安妮！”她姐姐叫道，“你除了年轻男人就没别的话题了——你会让达什伍德小姐以为你脑子里只想这个！”于是她转向了另一个话题。
This one meeting with the Miss Steeles would have been quite enough for Elinor, who disliked the vulgar freedom and foolishness of the elder, and the clever pretences of the younger.
这一次见面就足以让埃莉诺受够了，她不喜欢年长那位粗俗放肆的愚蠢言行，也不喜欢年幼那位精明的虚伪做作。
She left the Park without wishing to know them better.
她离开庄园时，毫无进一步了解她们的愿望。
The Miss Steeles, however, thought differently, and so did the sociable Sir John.
然而斯蒂尔姐妹却不这么想，爱交际的约翰爵士也一样。
Soon the young ladies of both houses were sitting or walking together for an hour or two almost every day.
很快，两家的年轻女士几乎每天都在一起坐上一两个小时或散步。
Anxious that they should get to know each other well, Sir John had helpfully informed the Miss Steeles of all the details of the Dashwoods’ lives, and soon Anne Steele congratulated Elinor on her sister’s fortunate engagement to a very fine young man.
约翰爵士急于让她们熟络起来，便热心地把达什伍德家的生活细节全都告诉了斯蒂尔姐妹，不久安妮·斯蒂尔就向埃莉诺道贺，说她妹妹有幸与一位极好的年轻人订了婚。
‘What a good thing to be married so young,’ she added. ‘I hear he is extremely handsome. I hope you may have such good luck yourself—but perhaps you have someone already.’
“这么年轻就订婚真是好事，”她补充道，“听说他极其英俊。希望你也有这样的好运——不过也许你已经有心上人了。”
The Miss Steeles also heard from Sir John, with many smiles and jokes, about Elinor’s suspected attachment to a young man who had recently visited Devonshire.
斯蒂尔姐妹还从约翰爵士那里听到了许多带着笑容和玩笑的话，暗示埃莉诺可能对最近到访德文郡的一位年轻人有情意。
‘His name is Ferrars,’ whispered Sir John, so that everyone could hear, ‘but it’s a great secret.’
“他姓费拉斯，”约翰爵士低声说，声音却大得人人都能听见，“但这可是个大秘密。”
‘Ferrars!’ repeated the elder Miss Steele. ‘Mr Ferrars? Your sister-in-law’s brother, Miss Dashwood? A very pleasant young man. We know him very well.’
“费拉斯！”年长的斯蒂尔小姐重复道，“费拉斯先生？达什伍德小姐，是你嫂子的弟弟吗？一个非常讨人喜欢的年轻人。我们跟他很熟。”
‘How can you say that, Anne?’ cried Lucy, who nearly always corrected everything her sister said. ‘We have only seen him once or twice at my uncle’s.’
“你怎么能这么说呢，安妮？”露西叫道，她几乎总要纠正姐姐说的话，“我们只在我舅舅家见过他一两次而已。”
Elinor was astonished. Who was this uncle? Where did he live? And how did they come to know Edward? She wished very much to have the subject continued, but nothing more was said about it, and she preferred not to ask questions herself.
埃莉诺大为吃惊。这位舅舅是谁？住在哪里？她们怎么会认识爱德华？她极希望这个话题继续下去，但没人再提此事，她自己又不愿主动发问。
In the next few days, Lucy missed no opportunity of engaging Elinor in conversation.
在接下来的几天里，露西抓住一切机会与埃莉诺交谈。
She was naturally clever, and often amusing, and as a companion for half an hour Elinor found her quite pleasant.
她天资聪颖，谈吐常有趣味，作为半小时的聊伴，埃莉诺觉得她还颇为愉快。
However, she knew nothing of books, music or painting, in spite of her constant efforts to appear well informed.
然而，尽管她竭力表现得见多识广，实际上对书籍、音乐或绘画却一无所知。
Elinor pitied her for her lack of education, but disliked her insincerity, her dishonesty, and the narrow self-interest that lay behind all her words and actions.
埃莉诺同情她缺乏教养，但厌恶她的虚伪、不诚实，以及她一言一行背后狭隘的私心。
One day, as they were walking alone together, Lucy said, ‘You will think my question strange, no doubt, but do you personally know your sister-in-law’s mother, Mrs Ferrars?’
一天，当她们单独散步时，露西说：“你无疑会觉得我的问题很奇怪，但你亲自见过你嫂子的母亲费拉斯太太吗？”
Elinor did think the question strange. ‘I have never seen her,’ she answered, a little distantly.
埃莉诺确实觉得这问题奇怪。“我从未见过她，”她略显疏离地答道。
‘Then you cannot tell me what sort of woman she is?’
“那你没法告诉我她是个什么样的人喽？”
‘No,’ replied Elinor, cautious of giving her real opinion of Edward’s mother. ‘I know nothing of her.’
“是的，”埃莉诺答道，不愿透露自己对爱德华母亲的真实看法，“我对她一无所知。”
Lucy looked fixedly at Elinor. ‘I wish I could tell you—I hope you will believe I am not just being curious or impolite.’ She hesitated. ‘I do want your good opinion. And I am sure I would not have the smallest fear of trusting you, indeed I would be very glad of your advice. I am in such an uncomfortable situation! I am sorry you do not happen to know Mrs Ferrars.’
露西目不转睛地看着埃莉诺。“我真希望能告诉你——希望你相信我不是单纯好奇或失礼。”她犹豫了一下，“我确实看重你的好评。我也确信完全信任你不会有丝毫顾虑，事实上若能听到你的建议我会非常高兴。我的处境实在太尴尬了！真遗憾你碰巧不认识费拉斯太太。”
‘I am also sorry,’ said Elinor in great astonishment, ‘if it could be of any use to you to know my opinion of her. But I never understood you were at all connected with that family.’
“我也很遗憾，”埃莉诺极为惊讶地说，“如果知道我对她的看法对你有用的话。但我从未听说你跟那个家族有任何关联。”
‘I do not wonder at your surprise. Mrs Ferrars is nothing to me at present, but the time may come when we may be very closely connected.’ She looked shyly down as she said this, with only a quick look sideways at Elinor.
“难怪你会惊讶。目前费拉斯太太与我无关，但将来有一天我们可能会关系非常密切。”她说这话时羞涩地低下头，只飞快地侧瞥了埃莉诺一眼。
‘Good heavens!’ cried Elinor. ‘What do you mean? Connected—with Mr Robert Ferrars?’ And she did not feel much delighted with the idea of such a sister-in-law.
“天哪！”埃莉诺叫道，“你什么意思？关系密切——是和罗伯特·费拉斯先生吗？”想到要有这样一位嫂子，她并不感到高兴。
‘No,’ replied Lucy, ‘not with Mr Robert Ferrars—I never saw him in my life—but,’ fixing her eyes on Elinor, ‘with his elder brother, Edward.’
“不，”露西答道，“不是罗伯特·费拉斯先生——我这辈子都没见过他——而是，”她紧盯埃莉诺，“是他的哥哥爱德华。”
Elinor looked at Lucy in silent astonishment.
埃莉诺默默地看着露西，震惊不已。
‘You must be surprised,’ continued Lucy, ‘because of course he never mentioned it to any of your family. It is a great secret, and none of my relations know of it except Anne. I would never have told you, if I had not trusted you completely. And I really thought I ought to explain my behaviour in asking about Mrs Ferrars. I know Mr Ferrars will not be displeased when he hears I have told you, because he has the highest opinion in the world of all your family, and looks on you and the other Miss Dashwoods quite as his own sisters.’
“你一定很惊讶，”露西继续说，“因为他当然从没跟你们家人提过这件事。这是个大秘密，除了安妮，我的亲戚中没人知道。若不是完全信任你，我绝不会告诉你。我真的觉得应该解释一下我问起费拉斯太太的原因。我知道费拉斯先生听说我告诉了你也不会不高兴，因为他对你们全家评价极高，把你和其他达什伍德小姐完全当作自己的亲姐妹看待。”
Elinor forced herself to speak calmly. ‘May I ask how long you have been engaged?’
埃莉诺强作镇定地问：“请问你们订婚多久了？”
‘We have been engaged for four years now.’
“我们已经订婚四年了。”
‘Four years!’ Elinor still felt unable to believe it.
“四年！”埃莉诺仍觉得难以置信。
‘My sister and I often stayed at my uncle’s house near Plymouth, here in Devonshire. Edward came to study law there for four years, and so we met, and became engaged. I was very unwilling to enter into it, as you may imagine, without his mother’s approval, but I was too young and loved him too well to be as cautious as I ought to have been. Dear Edward! Look, I carry his picture everywhere with me.’
“我和姐姐常住在德文郡普利茅斯附近的舅舅家。爱德华来那里学了四年法律，我们就这样相识并订了婚。你可以想象，没有他母亲的同意，我很不愿意订婚，但我当时太年轻，又太爱他，没能像本该的那样谨慎。亲爱的爱德华！瞧，我随身带着他的画像。”
She took from her pocket a small painting and showed it to Elinor. Elinor’s last doubts of the truth of Lucy’s story disappeared as she recognized Edward’s face.
她从口袋里掏出一幅小画像给埃莉诺看。认出爱德华的面容后，埃莉诺对露西所言真实性的最后一丝疑虑也消失了。
‘You can’t think how I am suffering,’ continued Lucy. ‘Everything is so uncertain, and we see each other so infrequently! I wonder my heart is not broken.’ Here she put a hand to her eyes, but Elinor did not feel sympathetic.
“你无法想象我有多痛苦，”露西继续说，“一切都那么不确定，我们又很少见面！我的心都快碎了。”说着她把手放在眼睛上，但埃莉诺并未生出同情。
‘Sometimes,’ Lucy added, ‘I think it would be better for both of us if I broke off the engagement completely.’ She looked sharply at her companion. ‘But then I cannot bear the thought of making him miserable. And to me, too, he is so very dear. What would you advise me to do, Miss Dashwood?’
“有时候，”露西补充道，“我觉得如果我彻底解除婚约，对我们俩都好。”她锐利地看了同伴一眼，“可我又受不了让他痛苦的念头。对我来说，他也是如此珍贵。达什伍德小姐，你觉得我该怎么做？”
‘I am afraid I cannot advise you in such a situation. You must decide for yourself.’
“恐怕在这种情况下我无法给你建议。你必须自己决定。”
‘Poor Edward! His mother must provide for him one day, but he is so depressed about his future! Did you not think him unhappy when he arrived at Barton recently?’
“可怜的爱德华！他母亲终有一天会为他安排前程，但他对自己的未来如此沮丧！他最近到巴顿时，你不觉得他不开心吗？”
‘Yes,’ said Elinor, aware of yet another fact in support of Lucy’s story.
“是的，”埃莉诺说，意识到又一个事实佐证了露西的说法。
‘He had been staying with us at my uncle’s. It made him so miserable, not being able to stay more than a fortnight, and seeing me so upset. He still feels just the same. I heard from him before I left Exeter.’ Taking a letter from her pocket, she waved the envelope in Elinor’s direction.
“他之前一直住在我舅舅家和我们在一起。只能待不到两周，又见我那么难过，他痛苦极了。他现在依然如此。我离开埃克塞特前收到了他的信。”她从口袋里掏出一封信，朝埃莉诺晃了晃信封。
Elinor recognized Edward’s writing, and finally had to accept that they must be engaged. Her heart sank within her.
埃莉诺认出了爱德华的笔迹，终于不得不接受他们确已订婚的事实。她的心沉了下去。
‘Poor Edward does not even have a picture of me,’ Lucy went on, ‘although I have his. But I gave him a lock of my hair in a ring recently, and that was some comfort to him, he said. Perhaps you noticed the ring on his finger?’
“可怜的爱德华甚至没有我的画像，”露西接着说，“虽然我有他的。不过最近我把一缕头发放进戒指送给了他，他说这给了他些许安慰。也许你注意到他手指上的戒指了？”
‘I did,’ said Elinor. Her voice was calm, but her calmness hid an unhappiness greater than she had ever felt before. She was shocked, confused, and miserable.
“注意到了，”埃莉诺说。她的声音平静，但这平静掩盖了她前所未有的巨大悲痛。她震惊、困惑且痛苦万分。
Here their conversation ended, and Elinor was left alone, to think.
她们的谈话到此结束，留下埃莉诺独自思索。
She felt sure that Edward’s affection was still hers. He certainly loved her, and had never intentionally deceived her. Unfortunately, he was now tied by an early and foolish engagement to a pretty, but insincere, vulgar and selfish girl, whose main interest lay in his future income. Elinor’s tears flowed more for Edward than herself. She had lost her chance of happiness with him, but would only be miserable for a time, while he had nothing at all to look forward to in life.
她确信爱德华的感情依然属于她。他当然爱她，也从未有意欺骗她。不幸的是，他现在被一段早年轻率的婚约束缚，对象是个漂亮却虚伪、粗俗自私的姑娘，最看重的是他将来的收入。埃莉诺的眼泪更多是为爱德华而非为自己流的。她失去了与他共度幸福的机缘，但痛苦只是一时的；而他的人生却毫无盼头。
Over the next few days, Elinor took great care to hide her unhappiness. She was glad to spare her family the shocking news of Edward’s secret engagement, as she knew that their affection and sorrow would only add to her misery. At convenient moments, she returned to the subject in quiet conversation with Lucy. She learnt that Lucy was determined to hold Edward to the engagement, and that Lucy was jealous of her because Edward, apparently, always spoke of her with great admiration. Indeed, what other reason could Lucy have for telling Elinor her secret, if not to warn her to keep away from Edward?
在接下来的几天里，埃莉诺极力掩饰自己的不快。她庆幸能让家人免受爱德华秘密订婚这一惊人消息的打击，因为她知道家人的关爱与悲伤只会加剧她的痛苦。在适当的时机，她在与露西的私下交谈中重提此事。她得知露西决心不让爱德华解除婚约，而且露西嫉妒她，因为爱德华显然总是满怀赞赏地谈起她。的确，若非为了警告她远离爱德华，露西还有什么理由告诉她这个秘密呢？
Elinor realized with great sadness that Edward was not only without affection for his future wife, but that he had not even the chance of being reasonably happy in marriage.
埃莉诺悲痛地意识到，爱德华不仅对未来的妻子毫无感情，甚至连在婚姻中获得基本幸福的机会都没有。
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