06-03-傲慢与偏见 [68]
Lydia and her husband after the wedding.It would only be a short visit,as almost immediately she and Wickham would be moving north to Newcastle,where he had accepted a new army post.
When the carriage containing the young couple arrived at Longbourn House,the two elder Bennet sisters were shocked to see how unashamed Lydia was.She entered the house,laughing and joking,and asked all her sisters to congratulate her.Wick- ham was no more embarrassed than she was,and spoke to ev- eryone in his usual flattering,agreeable manner.They seemed to have no idea of the anxiety they had caused by their shame- less and wicked behaviour.
Elizabeth was quite disgusted by their relaxed,confident ap- pearance,and determined not to show any interest when Lydia insisted on describing every detail of her wedding day.She could not help reacting with astonishment,however,when Ly- dia let slip the name of Mr Darcy.He had apparently been pre- sent at the ceremony.Why would Mr Darcy,Elizabeth won- dered,attend the wedding of two people he must hold in the greatest contempt?She could not discover the reason from Ly- dia,who suddenly remembered it was supposed to be a secret, and she could not rest without knowing the truth,so she hur- riedly sent a note to her aunt in London,asking urgently for an explanation.
■ 10 丽迪亚和韦翰
伊丽莎白在参观蓝白屯的第三天早上收到了两封简的来信。第一封因地址不清而投往别处,然后又转投过来。她舅父舅母都出去散步了,因此,她马上坐下来读信。第一封是五天前写的,不出所料,开头描述了浪搏恩的晚会和互访情况,但信的后半截所署的日期晚一天,显然是匆匆写成的,内容是:
亲爱的丽萃,上半封信写完之后,发生了一件出人意料、极其严重的事情。但我不想吓唬你,我们身体都很好。是关于丽迪亚的。昨天晚上,我们都已睡下,半夜时分福斯特先生给我们来了封急件,通知我们,她同一个军官,实际上就是韦翰,跑往苏格兰了!当然,在那里她可以不征得父母同意就结婚。想一想我们是多么吃惊。对他们两人来说,这是多么愚蠢的结合呀!不过至少他对她的钱财不感兴趣,因为他一定知道父亲几乎不会给她任何陪嫁。吉蒂承认,从丽迪亚的信中,她知道丽迪亚爱上了韦翰。可怜的母亲十分不安。我不得不就此搁笔,因为我不能把母亲丢下太久。我希望你能读到。我简直不知道自己写了些什么。
伊丽莎白来不及思考,便拆开了第二封信,这是过晚一天写的。她迫不及待地读了起来:
我最亲爱的妹妹,
我心乱如麻,书不成行。又是坏消息。虽然韦翰和可怜的丽迪亚结婚可能荒唐之极,但我们现在却急于听到他们完婚的消息。有理由担心,他们并没有去苏格兰。福斯特上校昨天到这儿来了。他告诉我们说,有一位军官,是韦翰的好友,他认为韦翰从来不曾打算去苏格兰,也不曾打算和丽迪亚结婚。上校跟踪两人一直到伦敦,但还没有看到他们离开伦敦。亲爱的丽萃,我们焦虑异常。父亲和母亲尽往坏处想,而上校担心韦翰是不可信赖之人,可是我无法相信他会如此奸诈。丽迪亚会不会没有半点羞耻之心,不举行结婚仪式就和那个人住在一起?不可能。现在可怜的妈妈真地病了,爸爸很生气,这也许是他有生以来第一次生气。他们痛斥吉蒂为他们的恋情保密之举。最亲爱的丽萃,我一方面为你感到高兴,因为你幸免于我们正在经历的混乱和担忧,另一方面,我不由得要求你们都尽快回家。父亲要和上校一起去伦敦找丽迪亚。我想,他由于过分不安,可能不会用最好最安全的办法达到预期目的,因此舅舅的建议和帮助将是最重要的。我拜托他了。
“噢!
When the carriage containing the young couple arrived at Longbourn House,the two elder Bennet sisters were shocked to see how unashamed Lydia was.She entered the house,laughing and joking,and asked all her sisters to congratulate her.Wick- ham was no more embarrassed than she was,and spoke to ev- eryone in his usual flattering,agreeable manner.They seemed to have no idea of the anxiety they had caused by their shame- less and wicked behaviour.
Elizabeth was quite disgusted by their relaxed,confident ap- pearance,and determined not to show any interest when Lydia insisted on describing every detail of her wedding day.She could not help reacting with astonishment,however,when Ly- dia let slip the name of Mr Darcy.He had apparently been pre- sent at the ceremony.Why would Mr Darcy,Elizabeth won- dered,attend the wedding of two people he must hold in the greatest contempt?She could not discover the reason from Ly- dia,who suddenly remembered it was supposed to be a secret, and she could not rest without knowing the truth,so she hur- riedly sent a note to her aunt in London,asking urgently for an explanation.
■ 10 丽迪亚和韦翰
伊丽莎白在参观蓝白屯的第三天早上收到了两封简的来信。第一封因地址不清而投往别处,然后又转投过来。她舅父舅母都出去散步了,因此,她马上坐下来读信。第一封是五天前写的,不出所料,开头描述了浪搏恩的晚会和互访情况,但信的后半截所署的日期晚一天,显然是匆匆写成的,内容是:
亲爱的丽萃,上半封信写完之后,发生了一件出人意料、极其严重的事情。但我不想吓唬你,我们身体都很好。是关于丽迪亚的。昨天晚上,我们都已睡下,半夜时分福斯特先生给我们来了封急件,通知我们,她同一个军官,实际上就是韦翰,跑往苏格兰了!当然,在那里她可以不征得父母同意就结婚。想一想我们是多么吃惊。对他们两人来说,这是多么愚蠢的结合呀!不过至少他对她的钱财不感兴趣,因为他一定知道父亲几乎不会给她任何陪嫁。吉蒂承认,从丽迪亚的信中,她知道丽迪亚爱上了韦翰。可怜的母亲十分不安。我不得不就此搁笔,因为我不能把母亲丢下太久。我希望你能读到。我简直不知道自己写了些什么。
伊丽莎白来不及思考,便拆开了第二封信,这是过晚一天写的。她迫不及待地读了起来:
我最亲爱的妹妹,
我心乱如麻,书不成行。又是坏消息。虽然韦翰和可怜的丽迪亚结婚可能荒唐之极,但我们现在却急于听到他们完婚的消息。有理由担心,他们并没有去苏格兰。福斯特上校昨天到这儿来了。他告诉我们说,有一位军官,是韦翰的好友,他认为韦翰从来不曾打算去苏格兰,也不曾打算和丽迪亚结婚。上校跟踪两人一直到伦敦,但还没有看到他们离开伦敦。亲爱的丽萃,我们焦虑异常。父亲和母亲尽往坏处想,而上校担心韦翰是不可信赖之人,可是我无法相信他会如此奸诈。丽迪亚会不会没有半点羞耻之心,不举行结婚仪式就和那个人住在一起?不可能。现在可怜的妈妈真地病了,爸爸很生气,这也许是他有生以来第一次生气。他们痛斥吉蒂为他们的恋情保密之举。最亲爱的丽萃,我一方面为你感到高兴,因为你幸免于我们正在经历的混乱和担忧,另一方面,我不由得要求你们都尽快回家。父亲要和上校一起去伦敦找丽迪亚。我想,他由于过分不安,可能不会用最好最安全的办法达到预期目的,因此舅舅的建议和帮助将是最重要的。我拜托他了。
“噢!