《绛红雪白的花瓣》第十四章 Chapter Fourteen(未完待续)

小山林卡 · 发表于 2017-7-27 20:15:03

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本帖最后由小山林卡于 2017-7-27 20:30 编辑

Chapter 14

Part 1

One sunny afternoon late inthe April of 1875, in a vast rolling field of lavender, a scattered host ofworkers cease their toil for just a minute. Submerged knee-high in a lake ofLavandula, they stand idle with their hoes and slug-buckets, to stare at thebeautiful young woman walking past them on the path dividing the acres.

1875年四月一个阳光明媚的下午，在一片广阔绵延起伏的薰衣草地中，一群散落在各处的工人在辛勤劳作后在作休息片刻。他们淹没在那及膝的薰衣草海洋里，一边拿着锄头和桶懒散的站着，一边盯着那个在田间小路上走过的年轻漂亮女人。

‘’Oo’s that?’ theywhisper to each other, eyes owlish with curiosity. ‘’Oo’s that?’ But no oneknows.

“那是谁啊？”他们窃窃私语着，如猫头鹰般的眼睛里写满好奇。但没人知道那是谁。

The lady wears a lavenderdress; her white-gloved hands and bonneted head are like blossoms sproutingfrom her wrists and neck. The dress is intricately pleated and ruched, likeunravelling rope, giving her the appearance of a life-sized corn dolly.

那个女人穿着薰衣草色的裙子，她戴着白色的手套的手和戴着帽子的头就像即将要开花的幼芽从她的手腕和脖子上长出。那条裙子满是错综复杂的褶皱装饰，像是散开的绳索，使她看上去就像一个真人大小的稻草人。

‘An’ ’oo’s that wiv’’er?’

“和她一起的那个人是谁？”

The woman does not walk aloneor unencumbered. She’s pushing, with the utmost care along the maze of paths,an indistinct burden in a wheelchair. It’s an ancient, crippled man, wellrugged up with blankets and shawls, his head muffled in a scarf, despite themildness of the weather. And, next to the old man and the woman who wheels him,there walks a third visitor to the fields today: William Rackham, owner of all.He speaks frequently; the old man speaks from time to time; the woman saysalmost nothing; but the toilers in the field, row upon row, catch only a fewwords each before the procession moves on.

那个女人并不是独自一人毫无负担地走着。她推着轮椅，小心翼翼地走在这迷宫般的田间小路上，轮椅上的人影模糊难辨。这是一个跛脚的老人，被包得严严实实，盖着毯子围着披肩，脑袋也严裹在围巾里，哪怕今天的天气很是温暖。除了老人和那个推着他的女人之外，田野上还来了今天的第三位访客：威廉•拉克姆，这片土地的主人。他一直说着话，老人时不时回应两句；而那个女人却沉默着，几乎什么都没说。田间那些成排的劳作者，只能在他们走远前听到一两句。

‘ ’Oo d’yer fink sheis?’ asks a sun-dried wife of her sun-dried husband.

“你觉得她是谁？”一个晒得快脱皮的妇人向她同样晒干了的丈夫问道。

‘The old one’s daughter,I’d say. Or grand-daughter. Likely the old one’s rich. Likely our Curly Bill① wants to do business wiv ’im.’

“我猜也许是那个老人的女儿，或者是孙女。也许那个老人是个富豪，我们的卷发比尔想和他做场生意。”

‘’E’ll ’ave to movefast, then. That old crock could cark it any minute.’

“那他们可得抓紧了。那个老残废随时都有可能挂掉。”

‘At least ’Opsom ’ad a pair o’ legs to walk on.’

“好歹我们所有人还有双腿可以走路。”

And with that they return towork, drifting into separate currents of vegetation.

说着他们又重新干起活来，漂流进薰衣草海洋的各股支流里。

Yet, further on, more toilersstop and stare. Nothing like this – a lady visitor to the fields – was everseen in William’s father’s time; Rackham Senior preferred to keep well-bredfemales out of the field, for fear their hearts might start bleeding. The lastto visit was his own wife, twenty years ago, before the cuckolding.

然而，再往前，更多的工人停下手里的活注视他们。这样的场景——一个女人来参观这片土地——在威廉父亲的那个时代从未有过。老拉克姆更喜欢把那些娇生惯养的女人们拦在田野之外，他怕她们看了会伤心。最后一个来过的女性还是他自己的妻子，而且是二十年前，在她给他戴绿帽子之前了。

‘Oh but she’sbeautiful,’ sighs one swarthy toiler, squinting after the strange femininesilhouette.

“噢，但她可真漂亮，”一个皮肤黝黑的工人叹息道，眯着眼从后面瞟了瞟那奇怪女人的身影。

‘So would you be,’ spitsa fellow drudge, ‘if you never done hard labour.’

“你本来也会是那样的，”一个做工的同伴啐了一口，说道，“要是你从没干过重活的话。”

‘Yarrr!’ growls the oldman in the wheelchair, his stench of stale clothing and haphazard hygiene muchdiluted by the fresh air and the acres of damp soil and lovingly tendedlavender.

“呀！”轮椅上的老人咆哮道，他那破烂的衣服和平日不大清洗的身体散发出的恶臭，都被这新鲜的空气、大片湿润的土壤和精心照料下的薰衣草给冲淡了。

Sugar bows her head down asshe continues to wheel him forward, her lips hovering near his scarf-shroudedskull, approximately where one of his ears must be.

苏糖一边低下头，一边推着他继续向前走，她的嘴唇在他围巾缠绕的脑壳旁徘徊，大概是在他耳朵附近。

‘Now, now, ColonelLeek,’ she says. ‘Remember you’re here to enjoy yourself.’

“好了，好了，里克上校，”她说道。“记住你是来这享受的。”

But Colonel Leek is notenjoying himself, or so he would have Sugar believe. Only his lust for thepromised reward – six shillings and more whisky in a day than Mrs Leek will lethim have in a month – keeps him from outright mutiny. He’s certainly not in theleast interested in playing the part of anyone’s grandfather.

但是里克上校并没有享受这一切，不然苏糖就不会这样说了。他到这来只是为了答应好的报酬——六先令以及这天可以喝更多的威士忌，比里克夫人允许他一个月喝的量都多——正是这个诱人的条件使他没有直接反抗。他对于来这里扮演别人的祖父是没有一点兴趣的。

‘I need to pee.’

“我想撒尿。”

‘Do it in your pants,’hisses Sugar sweetly. ‘Pretend you’re at home.’

“就尿在裤子里，”苏糖甜甜地轻声道。“假装你在家。”

‘Oh, so kind-hearted,you are.’ He twists his head, exposing one rheumy malevolent eye and half amottled, gummy mouth. ‘Too good for St Giles, eh, trollop?’

“噢，你还真是好心。”他转过头去，露出一只还沾着眼屎的怀有恶意的眼睛，半张着他布满斑点黏糊的嘴。“对圣吉尔斯太好了吧，是吧，婊子？”

‘Six shillings andwhisky, remember – Grandfather.’

“别忘了六先令和威士忌——“祖父”。”

And so they trundle on, withthe sun beaming down on them, there in the pampered heartland of RackhamPerfumeries.

他们继续行进在拉克姆香水这片奢侈的中心地带上，太阳的光辉洒在他们的身上。

William Rackham walks aloof,unimpeachably proper, dressed in his stiff Sunday best despite it beingWednesday. Not for him his father’s moleskin trousers and Wellington boots; amodern perfumery is ruled from the head, and kept in line with the pen.Everything that goes on in these fields, every stoop of a worker’s back orpruning of the tiniest twig, is set in motion by his own thoughts and writtenrequirements. Or so he has attempted to convey to his visitors.

威廉•拉克姆在稍远的地方走着，距离把握得恰到好处，穿着他最好的呆板周日装，尽管这才是周三。对他来说他父亲那斜纹厚棉布长裤和惠灵顿长筒已经过时了；一个时尚的香水商要从头开始进行打理，还要让自己如笔般直挺。所有发生在这片田野上的，工人的每一次弯腰，对最细小的枝条的每一次修剪，都将定格在他的思绪和书写成文的要求里。或者说，他已经试图把这样的信息传达给他的访客。

He’s aware, of course, thatthe liaison between Sugar and the old man is rather less amicable than she’dclaimed, but he has forgiven her. Indeed, had she and Colonel Leek been sharingconfidential affections, he might have felt a prick of jealousy. It’s betterthis way: the old man’s pneumonic mumbling is so gruff that the field-workerswon’t understand much of what they chance to overhear, and the fact that Sugaris wheeling him speaks louder than any declarations of kinship.

他必然发现了，苏糖和那个老人之间的关系远没有她说的那样好，但他还是原谅了她。的确，当她和里克上校低声耳语分享秘密的时候，他也许是有那么一点嫉妒。这样反而更好：老人的嘟囔声因肺炎而显得太过粗哑，使得那些田的间工人们不会有机会听听出他在说社么，而苏糖为他推着轮椅的事实则比任何声称他们之间有亲属关系来得更有说服力。

‘Enjoy the sunshine, whydon’t you,’ she admonishes the Colonel as the three of them make their way upthe gentle slope of Beehive Hill.

“为什么你就不能好好享受阳光呢，”当他们三个朝着蜂巢山的缓坡前行的时候，她这样劝说上校。

The old man coughs, givingthe phlegm in his chest a slight jiggle.

老人咳嗽着，他胸口里的痰轻微晃动了一下。

‘Sunlight is bad,’ hewheezes. ‘It’s the exact same stuff as breeds maggots in wounded soldiers’legs. And when there’s no war on, it fades wallpaper.’

“阳光糟透了，”他喘着气说。“和受伤的士兵腿上生出的蛆没什么区别。当战争结束的时候，它就消失在墙纸里了。

Sugar presses forward,rolling this talking Sisyphus stone② farther up the slope, flashing William a smile ofreassurance. Pay him no heed, her smile says. You and I know the value of thisplace – and the significance of this grand day in our lives.

苏糖继续向前推着轮椅，将这个说着话的西西弗斯石头往坡上推得更远一点，并给了威廉一个表示让他放心的微笑。不用理会他，她的微笑仿佛在说。你和我都知道这个地方的价值——以及这个大日子对我们生活的意义。

‘It’s as I thought:they’ll feed on me like parasites, if I let them,’ mutters William. ‘They thinkI’ll swallow any story they tell me.’

“就像我想的那样：这些工人会像寄生虫那样吞噬我，如果我让他们恣意妄为，”威廉喃喃地说。“他们觉得我会听信他们说的每一句谎言。”

Sugar cocks her headsympathetically, inviting him to explain.

苏糖以同情的姿态抬起了头，期待他进一步解释。

‘They swear they’ve beenpruning the older bushes for weeks,’ he scoffs. ‘Since yesterday afternoon,more likely! You can’t see how straggly they look?’

“他们发誓说几周前就在修剪那些老灌木丛了，”他嘲弄地说。“但看起来就好像是从昨天下午才开始的！你看不见它们有多凌乱吗？”

Sugar glances back. To her,the workers appear stragglier and less well cared for than the lavender. ‘Itall looks magnificent to me,’ she says.

苏糖向后瞥了一眼。在她看来，工人们似乎更散乱了，比薰衣草还缺少照顾。“对我来说这里真的很漂亮，”她说。

‘They ought to beputting a damn sight more cuttings in,’ he assures her. ‘Now’s the time when they’llroot freely.’

“他们该把这糟糕的景象稍微多修剪修剪的，”他向她保证道。“现在正是它们到处扎根的时候。”

‘Hurgh-hurgh-hurgh!’ coughs the Colonel.

“咳-咳-咳！”上校咳嗽起来。

‘Your farm is muchbigger than I dreamed it would be,’ remarks Sugar, to steer the conversationback to flattery. ‘There seems no end it.’

“你的农场比我想象中大多了，”苏糖回应说，想转而奉承他几句。“看上去似乎没有尽头。”

‘Ah, but,’ says Rackham, ‘it isn’t all mine.’ Taking advantage oftheir elevation, he points downhill, to a long line of white-washed stakes allalong one of the paths. ‘Those mark the boundary of another farm. Lavendergrows best the more of it there is. The bees don’t prefer one man’s bush toanother’s. All in all, some half-dozen perfumeries own a portion of this land;my portion is forty acres.’

“呃，但是，”拉克姆说道，“这也不全都是我的。”借着站在他们高处的地势，他指着山脚，那里有一条长长的白色木桩组成的边线。“那个就是和另一个农场的分界线。边界越多的地方薰衣草长得最好。蜜蜂不喜欢从一个人的灌木丛飞到另一个人的灌木丛里。总之，大概有半打香水商共有这片田地；我的那部分是四十英亩。”

‘Forty acres!’ Sugar hasonly the vaguest idea how much this is, but appreciates it’s an enormous areacompared to, say, Golden Square. Indeed, all the streets she’s ever lived in,if they were dug out of their polluted foundations by a giant spade, could bedumped in the pillowy centre of this lavender paradise, and discreetly buriedin soft brown earth, never to be seen again.

“四十英亩！”苏糖对此其实并没有什么概念，但听起来似乎是很大一块地了，比如说和黄金广场相比的话。确实，所有她曾经生活过的街道，如果有一个巨大的铁铲能够把肮脏的地基全部挖出来，再倾倒在这片薰衣草天堂柔软的中心，然后小心地被埋藏在松软的褐色土地里，那么它们就能永不见天日了。

注释：

① Curly Bill：卷发比尔。著名的不法之徒，1880年代初美国南亚利桑那州的团伙头目，参与无数的越轨行为和暴行。这里工人意指暴力剥削的农场主威廉·拉克姆。

② Sisyphus stone：西西弗斯石头。西西弗斯是希腊神话中的人物，被众神惩戒，要求他把一块巨石推上山顶，然而每每未达山顶，石头又滚下山去，永无止境。这里意指苏糖推着的里克上校太过沉重。

~本章未完，待续楼下~

翻译by酸酸、Cris

校对 by Turing

校对 by 山山

树屋字幕组-文翻组

翻译仅供学习交流，严禁用于商业用途

本书版权归原作者Michel Faber所有

小山林卡 · 发表于 2017-7-27 20:19:00

本帖最后由小山林卡于 2017-7-27 20:22 编辑

Chapter 14

Part 2

And yet, as William has reminded her several times, this farm is only onetributary of his empire. There are other farms in other places, each devoted toa single bloom; there are even whaling boats on the Atlantic harvestingambergris and spermaceti for Rackham Perfumeries. Sugar surveys the great lakeof lavender before her, and measures it against a pomander of petals such asshe might be able to hold in her hand. So much luxury, in such excess! Anessence she might purchase in a tiny phial for a considerable sum is soabundant, here at its source, that it’s no doubt poured roughly into barrelsand the overspills trampled into mud –or so she fancies. The concept is magical and indecent, like a vision ofjewellers wading ankle-deep in gems, crunching them underfoot, shovelling theminto sacks.

然而，威廉已经提醒她很多次，这个农场只是他的企业帝国中的一个附属品。而在其他地方的农场，每一个都独具闪光点；在大西洋上甚至还有捕鲸船为拉克汉姆香水厂捕获龙涎香和鲸油。苏糖打量着眼前的一大片薰衣草花海，用装着花瓣的香囊来测量它，似乎只要这么做，她便可以把花海攥在手里。如此之多，真是太奢侈了！她要花一大笔钱才能买到的一小瓶香水，在这里竟是那么的多。这是香水的源地，毫无疑问，香水就这样被粗暴地倒进桶里，溢出来的香水溅进泥土中——或者说，这是她想象的。这样的想法是神奇却不恰当，就好像珠宝商在及膝盖深的珠宝堆中跋涉的景象一般，他们边嘎吱嘎吱地踩着脚下的珠宝，边把它们一下又一下地铲进麻袋里。

‘But really, Colonel,’ sheimplores the old man beneath her, half-teasing, half-impassioned. ‘This is all so … so glorious. Can’t you admit, at least, that it makes a nice change from Mrs Leek’s?’

“说真的，上校。”她弯下腰，在老人耳边，半是戏弄半是激动地说。“这一切都……都太辉煌了，你不能不承认，离开里克夫人片刻是多美好的体验？”

‘Ah? A nice change?’ The old manfidgets furiously in his squeaking seat, straining to retrieve some salientfacts from his encyclopaedic memory for disasters. ‘Granville’s Combined Orchards, burnt to a cinder, two and a half yearago!’ he proclaims in triumph. ‘Twelve dead! Lucifer factory in Goeteborg,Sweden, 27th of last month: forty-four burnt to death and nine mortallyinjured! Cotton plantation in Virginialast Christmas, down to ash in half a day, savages andall!’ He pauses, swivels his gaze around to WilliamRackham, and leers, ‘What a bonfire all this’d make, eh?’ ‘Actually, sir,’ William replies with lofty condescension, ‘itdoes indeed make a splendid bonfire, every year. My fields are divided, yousee, according to the age of the plants on them. Some are in their fifth year,exhausted, and will be burnt at the end of October. I can assure you the fireis big enough to make all Mitcham smell of lavender.’

“啊？美好的体验？”这个老人在他吱咯响的座位上烦躁不已，竭尽全力地从他对灾难的百科全书式的记忆中搜寻一些重要的事实。“格兰维尔联合果园，两年半前，被烧成一片灰烬！”他用胜利的语气宣告着。“死了12个人！还有上个月27号，在瑞典哥德堡的路西法工厂，44个人被烧死，9个人半死不活！去年圣诞节，弗吉尼亚的棉花种植园，半天之内化为灰烬，真是够凶狠的！”他停顿了一下，把目光转到威廉·拉克姆身上，斜视着他，“多么盛大的篝火，你说呢？”威廉用傲慢的语气回应，“先生，确实每年起了一场壮观的篝火。如你所看到的，我的地是根据植物的年龄来划分的。有些植物已经种植上第五年了，快没用了，十月末就会给烧掉。我可以向你保证，这场火定会大得足以让整个米切姆都飘着薰衣草的味道。”

‘Oh, how wonderful!’ criesSugar. ‘How I should love to be here then!’

“噢，那该有多壮观啊！”苏糖叫道，“到时，我得多喜欢呆在这个地方呀！”

William blushes with pride, there on the hillock, his chin pushed out inthe direction of his empire. What a miracle he has wrought – he, so recently an effete idler in straitenedcircumstances – now master of this vast farm with itsquaint brown workers moving amongst the lavender like field mice. The sounds ofindustry belong to him too, plus the smells of a million flowers, plus even thesky immediately above, for if he doesn’t own thesethings, who does? Oh, granted, God is still supposed toown everything, but where’s the line to be drawn? Onlya crackpot would insist on God’s ownership ofPaddington Station or a mound of cow-dung – whyquibble, then, with William Rackham’s ownership of thisfarm, and everything above and below it? William recalls the versesof Scripture his father was fond of quoting to the dubious young Henry: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish theearth, and subdue it’ (Rackham Senior would layemphasis on this word) ‘and have dominion overeverything that move upon the earth.’

威廉的脸上泛起了骄傲的红晕，在那小山丘上，他的下巴顺着他企业帝国的方向高高抬起。这是他所造就的奇迹——前段时间他还是在困苦拮据的环境下的一个柔弱无力的懒汉——现在却成了这个辽阔农场的主人，朴素且晒得黝黑的工人们在薰衣草田间像田鼠一样忙碌着为他干活。这工业的声音也是属于他，还有这成千上万朵花的香气，甚至是这头顶上的天空。如果他不拥有这些东西，谁来拥有？哦，的确，上帝应该拥有一切，但是这一切又是多少？只有怪人才会坚持上帝对帕丁顿火车站的所有权，或是一堆牛粪的所有权——为什么要对威廉·拉克姆对这农场、以及农场上下一切的所有权吹毛求疵？威廉回想起他父亲喜欢对爱质疑的小亨利引用这样的圣经经文：“生养众多，遍满地面，治理此地，征服此地。”（老拉克姆会强调这个词。）“统治这片土地上的一切可移动的事物。”

So vividly does William recall this statement that he feels almostreinstated in the tiny body he occupied at seven years old, on the occasion ofhis own first visit to this farm, dawdling behind his older brother. Theirfather, dark-haired and big then, chose the lavender fields as that part of theempire which might appeal most to the boy who would one day inherit.

威廉回忆起的这段话是那样的栩栩如生，他甚至感觉自己又回到了七岁，第一次参观这个农场，他跟在哥哥后面慢悠悠荡来荡去。他们的父亲，那时候有着深色的头发，身材壮硕，选择了薰衣草田作为企业帝国的一部分，这也许对将来某日要继承它们的男孩极具吸引力。

‘And are these ladies and gentlemen p’mitted to take home any of the lavender they harvest, Father?’ Clear as a bell across the years comes Henry’s childish voice – yes, Henry’s, for William would never, even at the age of seven, have askedsuch a stupid question.

“父亲，这些女士和先生们会被允许把丰收的薰衣草带回家吗？”多年后亨利孩子气的声音，像钟声一样清脆地响起——是的，这是亨利说的，因为威廉即便在七岁的时候也不会问出这样愚蠢的问题。

‘They don’t need to take anyhome,’ Henry Calder Rackham enlightened his first-bornindulgently.

“他们不需要把薰衣草带回家，”亨利·考尔德·拉克姆溺爱地教导他的第一个孩子。

‘They reek of it just by working in it.’

“他们在薰衣草田间工作，所以身上沾满了薰衣草的味道。”

‘That is a very pleasant reward, I think.’ (What an ass Henry was, always!)

“我认为那是非常令人愉快的报酬。”（亨利真是个蠢蛋，一直都是！）

Their father guffawed. ‘They won’t work for that alone, boy. They must have wages as well.’ The expression of incredulity on Henry’sface ought to have alerted the old man that he had thewrong son earmarked for heir. But no matter, no matter … Time upraises all who are worthy.

他们的父亲哈哈大笑。“他们不会只为那个而工作，孩子。他们还得拿薪水。”亨利脸上满是怀疑的表情本应该要让老头子意识到他指定了一个错误的儿子来当继承人。但不要紧，不要紧……时间会让配得起这一切的人脱颖而出。

‘Yaarr!’

“呀！”

Ignoring the bestial grousing of Colonel Leek, William surveys his fieldsonce more before descending Beehive Hill. Everythingis identical to how it was when he was a boy – although these workers cannot be the same workers who toiled inHenry Calder Rackham’s domain twenty-one years ago, formen and women, too, like enfeebled fifth-year plants, are uprooted anddestroyed when they are exhausted.

威廉没有理会里克上校粗鲁的牢骚声，在下蜂窝山之前，他再次打量着自己的田地。这一切都和他还是孩子的时候的一模一样——尽管这些工人不是21年前在亨利·考尔德·拉克姆领地上辛苦工作的那批人，这是因为这些男人和女人们，就和已经种了5年的虚弱植物一样，当他们的价值被耗尽时，就会被连根拔起、彻底摧毁。

A wrinkled, thick-set girl carrying on her backa sack of branches passes close by William and his guests, nodding in grimsycophancy.

一个满脸皱纹、膀阔腰圆的女孩背着一袋树枝与威廉和他的客人们擦肩而过，带着冷峻的谄媚向他们点了点头。

‘You were telling us about the fifth-year plants, MrRackham,’ comes the voice of Sugar.

“你刚才和我们讲到那些种了5年的植物，拉克姆先生。”苏糖的声音响起。

‘Yes,’ he loudly replies, as asecond sack-bearer follows the first.

“是的。”他大声回答，这时第二个背着麻袋的人跟在第一个人后面走过。

‘Some perfumeries harvest their lavender a sixth year.Not Rackham’s.’

“有些香料公司到第六年才收割他们的薰衣草。拉克姆家并没有这么做。”

‘And how soon after planting is the lavender ready to beused, sir?’

“那薰衣草种下去之后多久才能拿来使用啊，先生？”

‘When the plants are in their second year – though they are not at their best until the third.’

“在种下的第二年——尽管到第三年才是收割它们最好的时候。”

‘And how much lavender water will be produced, sir?’

“那这些可以生产多少薰衣草香水呢，先生？”

‘Oh, several thousand gallons.’

“噢，好几千加仑。”

‘Isn’t that an astonishingthought, grandfather?’ Sugar asks the old man.

“难道这不是令人吃惊的想法吗，爷爷？”苏糖问老头子。

‘Eh? Grandfather? You don’t evenknow who your grandfather was!’

“额？爷爷？你甚至连你自己的爷爷都不知道是谁！”

Sugar cranes her head to confirm that the sack-bearers are out ofearshot. ‘You’regoing to get us all into mischief,’ she chides ColonelLeek in a feral whisper, jerking the handles of his wheelchair warningly. ‘I’d’ve had lessbother from a beggar off the street.’

苏糖伸长脖子来确定背麻袋的人已经走远听不到他们说话了。“你这样会把我们都害惨的，”她凶狠而小声地呵斥里克上校，警告性地猛拉了一下他轮椅的把手。“街上的乞丐都不会给我惹那么多事。”

The old man bares his teeth and shakes his hideous head free of itsswaddlings. ‘What of it!’ he sneers. ‘That’swhat comes of subterfuge. Charades!Fancy dress! Har! Did I ever tell you about LieutenantCarp, who I served with in the last great war?’ (Bythis he doesn’t mean the war against the Ashantees, oreven the Indian Mutiny, but the Crimean.)‘There’s subterfuge for ye!Carp dressed up in a lady’s cloak and bonnet, and triedto cross over the enemy lines – the wind blew the cloakup over his head and there he was, hobbling aroundwith his musket dangling between his legs. I’ve neverseen a man shot so many times. Hur! Hur! Hur! Subterfuge!’ This outburst causes a few heads to pop up in the surroundingfields.

老头子露出他的牙齿，摇晃着他那让人讨厌的头以挣脱包裹。“那又怎么样呢！”他讥笑道。“这都是伪装的花招。猜字谜！漂亮裙子！哈！我有告诉过你们在上一次大战中和我共事的卡普中尉的事吗？”（他说的大战不是阿珊提战争，甚至不是印度叛变，而是克里米亚战争。）“他就是使出伪装的花招！卡普穿上女士披风和戴着帽子，试着穿过敌人的防线——风把他的披风吹了起来盖住他的头，然后他就在那儿，蹒跚前行，两腿间的火枪晃来晃去。我从来没见过一个人被射击那么多下。呵！呵！呵！伪装！”这突如其来的一段话让周围田地里的一些人探出了头。

‘A most diverting anecdote, sir,’ says William frigidly.

“多么有趣的轶事啊，先生。”威廉冷漠地说道。

‘Don’t mind him, William,’ says Sugar. ‘He’llbe asleep soon. He always sleeps in the afternoon.’

“别理他，威廉。”苏糖说，“他一会就睡觉了，他下午都是要睡觉的。”

Colonel Leek churns his grizzled jaw in indignation. ‘That was years ago, trollop, when I weren’t well! I’m better now!’

里克上校愤怒地搅动着他灰白的下巴。“那是很多年前的事，你这臭婆娘，我现在好多了！”

Sugar bends low over him, one hand digging her thinly-gloved claws intohis right shoulder, the other gently caressing his left.

苏糖在他面前弯下腰，一只手，戴着薄手套，伸进他的右肩，另一只手轻轻地抚摸他的左肩。

‘Whisssky,’ she sings into his ear. ‘Whisssssky.’

“威士忌。”她在他耳边唱道，“威士忌。”

Minutes later, when Colonel Leek is slumped in his chair, snoring,William Rackham and Sugar stand in the shade of an oak, watching the industryfrom a distance. Sugar is radiant, and not merely from the unaccustomedexercise of pushing the wheelchair; she’sdeeply happy. All her life, she’s considered herself acity creature, and assumed that the countryside (imagined only throughmonochrome engravings and romantic poetry) had nothing to offer her. Thisconception she now casts off with joyful abandon. She must make sure this isn’t the last time she walks under these grand blue skies and on thissoft, verdant earth. Here is air she means to breathe more often.

几分钟后，里克上校沉入他的轮椅上，开始打呼噜，威廉·拉克姆和苏糖站在一棵橡树荫下，从远处望着这片产业田。苏糖容光焕发，不仅仅是因为不惯常推轮椅的锻炼；她是真的非常开心。她一生都认为自己是一个城市人，并认为这乡下（只通过黑白版画和浪漫诗歌想象）给不了她任何东西。现在她已经高兴地丢弃了这个想法。她必须保证这不是她最后一次走在这广阔的蓝天下，走在这柔软、翠绿的土地上。她还想要更常呼吸到这里的空气。

‘Oh, William,’ she says, ‘will you bring me here again, for the great bonfire?’

“噢，威廉。”她说，“你下次还带我来这里吗，去看那盛大的篝火？”

‘Yes, of course I shall,’ hesays, for he can recognise the glow of happiness when he sees it, and he knowshe is the author of that glow.

“是的，我当然会。”他说道，因为当他看向苏糖时，他可以识别出那幸福的光芒，而他知道他就是创造这光芒的人。

‘Do you promise?’

“你保证吗？”

‘Yes, you have my word.’

“是的，我向你保证。”

~本章未完，待续楼下~

翻译 by Janice

校对 by Viola

终校 by 山山

树屋字幕组-文翻组

翻译仅供学习交流，严禁用于商业用途

本书版权归原作者Michel Faber所有

小山林卡 · 发表于 2017-7-27 20:22:48

本帖最后由小山林卡于 2017-7-27 20:24 编辑

Chapter14

Part3

Content,she turns to look towards the north-east: there’s a swathe of rain far, faraway, sprouting a rainbow. William stares at her from behind, his handshielding his eyes against the sun. His mistress’s long skirts rustle gently inthe breeze, her shoulder-blades poke through the tight fabric of her dress asshe lifts her arm to shield her face. All at once he recalls how her breastsfeel against his palms, the bruising sharpness of her hips on his own softerbelly, the thrilling touch of her rough, cracked hands on his prick. He recallsthe lushness of her hair when she’s naked, the tiger textures on her skin likediagrams for his own fingers, showing him where to hold her waist or her arseas he slides inside. He longs to embrace her, wishes he could have his lavenderfields empty for half an hour while he lies with Sugar on a verge of grass.What’s kept him from going to see her every night? What man worthy of the namewouldn’t have that exquisite body next to his as often as possible? Yes, hewill, he must, go to see her much oftener in future – but not today; he has alot to do today.

她很满足，转身向东南方望去，远处一大片地方都在下雨，一条彩虹若隐若现。威廉举起手挡住眼前太阳的光线，从背后看着她。他的情妇的长裙在微风中发出轻轻的磨沙声，她抬起她的手臂去护脸时，她的肩胛骨拱起，像是要刺穿她裙子上贴身的面料一般。突然，他想起了她的胸部在他手掌中的触感，她坚实的臀部与他较软的腹部之间激烈到快要出现淤青的碰撞，她粗糙皲裂的手放在他肉棒上带来的震颤。他想起她全身赤裸时浓密的头发，她皮肤上的虎纹就像是为他量身定做的图表，告诉他在滑入她身体里时，从哪里去搂她的腰、她的臀。他渴望拥抱她，万般期望他的薰衣草田能消失半个钟头，好让他和苏糖躺在草坪边上。是什么让她不能每个晚上都去见她？好名声能让一个男人不能尽量拥有近旁的这个妙曼躯体？，在接下来的日子，他将会，必须会经常去见她——但不是今天。他今天有很多事要忙。

Sugar turns,and there are tears in her eyes.

苏糖转过身，眼里浸满了泪水。

* * *

The journey back to London, in the charteredcoach-and-four, is purgatorially long, and the rain, sofar away when Sugar stood in Rackham’s fields, has met them half-way and nowbeats on the roof. The coach travels slower for the bad weather, and makesmysterious stops in villages and hamlets along the way, where the coachman dismountsand disappears for two, five, ten minutes at a time. Returning, he fiddles withthe horses’ bridles, combs the excess water from their hair, checks that theold fellow’s wheelchair is still safe and snug under the tarpaulin on the roof,performs actions against the undercarriage that make the cabin shake. Haste isnot his watchword.

坐在给四匹马拉着拉着的马车里，这趟回伦敦的旅程像炼狱般漫长而煎熬，苏糖在拉克姆的田上时，看到雨在遥远的地方，现在才到半途就已落到车顶上。天气不好，马车走得更慢，一路上，车夫神神秘秘地在多个小村小庄停留，每次下马都会消失2分钟、5分钟或10分钟。回来之后，他要摆弄马的缰绳，把马毛里的水梳出来，检查他的老爷车的轮子，看看它们是否牢固，在他靠着马车底座做这些事时，整个车厢都会晃动。匆忙行事不是他的风格。

Inside the cabin, Sugar shivers, and grits herteeth to stop them chattering. She’s still in her lavender dress and nothingmore, not even a shawl. Knowing she’d be wheeling Colonel Leekabout today, and keen to make an enchanting impression on William, she didwithout extra layers of clothing; now she’s suffering the lack. The last thingshe wants to do is snuggle close to the old man for warmth; he smells vile and,deprived of the support of his wheelchair’s arm-rests, he’s liable to keel intoher lap.

车厢里，苏糖冷得发抖，她咬紧牙，免得牙关打架。她仍然穿着淡紫色的裙子，除此之外什么也没有，甚至一条披肩也没有。她知道大概要在今天要推里克上校，又热切期盼着能给威廉留下一个迷人的印象，她特意少穿几件，现在可要遭罪了。她最不想做的事就是偎依在这个老男人的身上寻求温暖；他闻起来很臭，又不用轮椅的扶手支撑自己，几乎要倒在她的大腿上。

‘Collapseof bridge in heavy rain, Hawick, 1867,’ he growls into the chilly, darkeningspace between them. ‘Three dead, not including livestock.’

“1867年，在霍伊克，大雨冲塌了桥，” 他的低吼声从他们之间寒冷黑暗的空隙里传来。“死了三个，还不包括家畜。”

Sugarhugs herself and looks out of the mud-spattered, rain-swept window. Thecountryside, so colourful and miraculous when she walked at William’s side onthe lavender farm, has turned grey and godforsaken, like a hundred square milesof Hyde Park gone to seed, without any lights or gay pedestrians. The coachjogs slowly onwards, towards a lost metropolis.

苏糖双手抱着自己，从被雨水打湿、泥浆四溅的窗户向外望去。当她和威廉在薰衣草田散步时，农村是那么多姿多彩和不可思议，而现在却变得灰暗凄凉，就像百来公顷的海德公园走向衰败，没有一丝光亮和路人的欢快。马车慢慢地颠簸向前，向一个迷失的都市走去。

‘Urp,’belches Colonel Leek. The unsubtle fragrance of whisky and fermented digestivejuices spreads in the bitter air.

“呃，”里克上校打了个嗝。浓重的威士忌和胃液消化发酵了的气味弥漫在刺骨的空气中。

Atrain might have been mercifully swift, not to mention (although William didmention it) a great deal cheaper, but the old man’s infirmity would have causedno end of bother at various stations along the way, and he’d still have neededa coach to take him to Charing Cross and again at the Mitcham end, so engaginga coach for the whole journey seemed more sensible. Seemed.

火车应该会快得多，更不要说（尽管威廉的确说过）可以省很多钱，但是这个老男人虚弱多病，可能会让这一路上的每次停靠都变成无尽的烦扰，他需要马车到查林十字车站，再到终点站米查姆，所以雇一辆马车上路似乎明智得多。

‘Igive it six months,’ Colonel Leek is saying, ‘and you’ll be out on yer arse.’

“我猜六个月，”里克上校说道，“六个月之后你就会被一脚踢走。”

‘Ididn’t ask your opinion,’ retorts Sugar. (Cunning old blackguard: he’s fired anarrow straight into the heart of her anxiety. William Rackham should be sittinghere next to her just now, whiling the hours away with lively conversation,warming her hands inside his: why, oh why, didn’t he accompany her?)

“我没有征求你的意见，”苏糖反驳。（狡猾的恶棍：他直戳她的烦心事。威廉.拉克姆应当坐在她身边，让她的手在他的手掌里得到温暖，并且还能欢快交谈打发时间：为什么，到底为什么他不能陪在她身边？）

TheColonel clears his glutinous windpipe for another recitation. ‘Fanny Gresham –in 1834, mistress of Anstey the shipping magnate, abode Mayfair; in 1835,discarded, abode Holloway Prison. Jane Hubble, known as Natasha – in 1852,mistress of Lord Finbar, abode Admiralty House; in 1853, corpse, abode Thamesestuary …’

上校清了清他被痰卡住的嗓子，又开始背诵。“范妮格雷沙姆——1834年，运输巨头安斯蒂的情妇，住在伦敦的上流住宅区；1835年，被抛弃后，在哈洛威监狱。简哈勃，娜塔莎——1852年，是芬巴勋爵的情妇，住在英国海军部大楼；1853年，她的尸体躺在了泰晤士河口……”

‘Spareme the details, Colonel.’

“不用告诉我细节，上校。”

‘Noooobodyspared nothing, never!’ he barks. ‘That’s what I’ve learned in a long lifewalking this earth.’

“没——有——人能幸免，！”他吼道。“这是我在这个星球上穷尽一生学到的东西。”

‘Ifyou were still walking, old man, we’d be on a train and back in London by now.’

“如果你还能走路的话，老头子，我们会坐火车并且这个时候已经回到伦敦了。”

Thereis a pause while the insult sinks in.

感他觉自己被羞辱了，停下来一小阵。

‘Enjoythe scenery, trollop,’ he sneers, nodding his gargoyle head towards herstreaming window. ‘Makes a nice change, eh? Glo-o-orious.’

“好好享受这美景吧，堕落的女人。”他冷笑道，把他像鬼一样的头转向窗口。“想华丽转身，呵？荣——耀——啊！。”

Sugarturns away from him, and hugs herself tighter. William cares for her, yes hedoes. Said he loves her, even – said it while drunk, admittedly, but notroaring drunk. And he allowed her to come to his farm, even though he couldeasily, once sober, have declared the subject closed. And he’s promised to lether come again, at the end of October, which is … almost seven months in thefuture.

苏糖转身背对着他，把自己抱的更紧些。威廉关心她，是的，他确实关心她。他说过他爱她，即使是在他喝醉的时候说的，没错，但是他没有喝得酩酊大醉。他允许她到他的农场去，即使是一旦清醒过来，他完全可以声明不再谈论这个话题。他还向她承诺，让她在是月底再来，算一下……那是7个月之后的将来。

She tries to take heart from the sheer number ofRackham’s employees. He is reconciled to a large amount ofmoney flowing out from his personal fortune every week; it’s not as if Sugar’supkeep is an isolated and conspicuous drain on his resources. She must regardherself, not as living out of his pocket, but as part of a grand tapestry ofprofit and expenditure that’s been generations in the making. All she need dois spin out her own stitches in that tapestry, weave herself an inextricablefigure in it. Already she’s made marvellous progress: just think: a month agoshe was a common prostitute! In half ayear, who knows …

她试图不去在意拉克姆有多少员工。每个礼拜，他都得甘心看着大把的钱从他的财富里流走；苏糖的赡养费不一样，这是一笔单独且引人注意的耗费。她不能把自己当作靠着他钱包过活那种人，而是要让自己成为一块巨大壁毯收支的一部分，在毯子最开始编织的时候就融入进去。她需要做的，是把她自己的针脚缝进这块壁毯，把自己编成一块无法分割的图案。她已经走出了不起的一步：想一下，一个月前，她只不过是个普通的妓女！但半年之后，谁又知道会怎样呢……

‘He’sa wind-bag,’ snarls Colonel Leek from inside his mulch of scarves, ‘and acoward. A nasty piece of work.’

“他满口空话”里克上从盘着他的围巾里咧嘴骂着，“还是个懦夫，下流痞。”

‘Who?’says Sugar irritably, wishing she were as snugly wrapped as he, but without theadded ingredients.

“你说谁？”苏糖生气起来，她也想可以像他一样被舒适地包裹着，但不需要其他的东西。

‘Yourperfumer.’

“你的香水商。”

‘He’sno worse than most,’ she retorts. ‘Kinder-hearted than you.’

“他不比绝大多数人差，”她反驳。”比你心肠要好得多。”

‘Horse-piss,’ cackles the old salt. ‘The thought ofhis own fat self at the top of the tree, that’s what he loves. He’d kill for advancement,can’t you see? He’d fill a dirty puddle with you, to save his shoes.’

“放狗屁，”这个老家伙。“他想用他自己的肥油身攀上树顶，这才是他想要的东西。为了往上走他连杀人都能做，你看不明白吗？为了自己鞋子的整洁，他能把你推进脏水坑里。”

‘Youdon’t know a thing about him,’ she snaps. ‘What would someone like youunderstand of his world?’

“你根本就不知道他的事，”她厉声说。“像你这种人怎么会了解他的世界呢？”

Provokedto rage, the Colonel rears up so alarmingly that Sugar fears he’ll pitchhead-first onto the cabin floor. ‘I weren’t always an old spoony-man, youlittle bed-rat,’ he wheezes. ‘I’ve lived more lives than you’ll ever dream of!’

上校勃然大怒，他上半身令人惊恐地向她倾来，苏糖害怕他头朝下倒在车厢地板上。“我不是生下来就是一个乏味敏感、装腔作势的老头，你这个陪睡的虫子，”他大叫，“我所经历过的生活比你能想象的还要多！”

‘All right, I’m sorry,’ she says hastily. ‘Here,drink some more of this.’ And she offers him the whisky bottle.

“好了好了，对不起，”她匆忙说道。“来吧，再和一点这个。”她递给他一瓶威士忌。

‘I’vehad enough,’ he groans, settling back into his mulch of knitwear.

“我喝够了，” 他抱怨说，身子缩到他那堆织物里。

Sugarlooks down at the bottle, whose contents are trembling and twinkling in thevibrating gloom. ‘You’ve hardly drunk any.’

苏糖低看着酒瓶，里面的液体摇晃着，折射出点点闪光。 “你并没有喝多少。”

‘Alittle goes a long way,’ the old man mutters, subdued after his outburst.‘Drink some yerself, it’ll stop yer shivering.’

“喝一点就可以熬上一段很长的路，”老男人低声说，在爆发之后，。“你喝点吧，它能让你暖和些。”

Sugarcalls to mind his method of sucking whisky from the neck of the bottle, his toothlessmouth closed round the smooth glassy teat. ‘No, thank you.’

苏糖回想起他喝威士忌的样子，是从瓶颈处回吸，无牙的嘴巴把平滑的瓶口像奶嘴儿一样包裹得严严实实。“不用了，谢谢。”

‘I’ve wiped the end.’

“我擦了。”

‘Ugh,’ shudders Sugar helplessly.

“呃，”苏糖还是在无助地哆嗦。

‘That’sright, trollop,’ he sneers. ‘Don’t let anything dirty pass yer lips!’、

“这才对，堕落的女人，” 他冷笑道。“不要让任何脏东西碰你的唇！”

~本章未完，待续楼下~

翻译 by Viola

校对 by Amel

终校 by 山山

树屋字幕组-文翻组

翻译仅供学习交流，严禁用于商业用途

本书版权归原作者Michel Faber所有

小山林卡 · 发表于 2017-7-27 20:26:43

Chapter 14

Part 4

Sugar utters a sharp moan ofannoyance, almost identical to the one she uses for ecstasy, and folds her armshard against her bosom. Mouth clamped shut to muffle the sound of chatteringteeth, she counts to twenty; then, still angry, she counts the months of theyear. She met William Rackham in November; now, in April, she is his mistress,with her own rooms and money enough to buy whatever she wishes. April, May, June… Why isn’t he here with her in this coach? There’s nothing she wishes to buyexcept his enduring passion for her …

苏糖烦极了，发出一声和狂喜时一样的尖叫。她双臂紧抱在胸前，抿闭着嘴巴，以防漏出牙齿打架的声音，她从一数到二十，但还是觉得生气，又数一年中的十二个月份。她与威廉·克拉姆在十一月相遇，现在已是四月，她成了他的情人，拥有自己的房间、有足够的钱买自己想要的东西。四月、五月、六月……为什么威廉不陪她在这辆马车上？她什么都不想要，只要他一直爱她……

Colonel Leek begins to snoreloudly, a gross embodiment of all the sounds and smells of St Giles. She mustnever go back there, never. But what if Rackham tires of her? Only a few daysago, he came to visit her (after not visiting her for three days) and theirunion was so hurried he didn’t even trouble to undress her. (‘I’m expected atmy solicitor’s in an hour,’ he explained. ‘You told me that Grinling fellowsounded slippery and by God you were right.’) And what about the time beforethat? What a peculiar mood he was in! The way he asked her if she liked theornaments he’d chosen for her and, having encouraged her to confess she didn’tcare for the swan on the mantelpiece, jovially snapped its porcelain neck. Shelaughed along with him, but what the devil was he playing at? Was he grantingher greater licence to be candid – or was he letting her know he’s a man who’llhappily break the neck of anything that has outlived its usefulness?

里克上校此时鼾声如雷，他的声音跟气味简直就是圣吉尔斯的代表。她绝不会再回到那个地方，绝不。但是如果拉克姆厌倦了她呢？几天前，他来看她(距他上次来有三天了)，他们的结合是那么仓促，他甚至都没脱她的衣服。（“一小时后我要去律师家，”他解释道：“你告诉过我格林宁那个家伙很狡猾，天啊，你说的太对了！”）在那件事发生之前呢？他的情绪很怪异！他问她是否喜欢给她挑选的装饰品，鼓励她承认自己并不在乎放在壁炉上那只天鹅，还开心地折断它的瓷制脖子。她跟他一起大笑，但是他究竟在搞什么鬼？他是在让她坦诚相待，还是让她知道他会饶有兴致地将任何没用的东西毁掉？

Her rooms in Marylebone,towards which this coach is ferrying her so painfully slowly, ought to glow inher anticipation like a fire-lit haven, but that’s not how she envisages them.They are dead rooms, waiting to be inspired by the vivacity of conversation,the heat of coupling. When she’s there alone, loitering in the silence, washingher hair over and over, forcing herself to study books without the remotestsensational appeal, she feels surrounded by a gas-lit halo of unease. She cansay aloud, as often and as loudly as she pleases, ‘This is mine,’ but she’llhear no reply.

载着她的马车慢得让人痛苦地走向她在马里波恩的住处，那个本该在她的期待中会像燃着火把的天堂那样闪亮的地方，但现在她并不这样想。那都是死气沉沉的房间，等待着欢声笑语、相互温存的热力来唤起生机。独自一人时，她总是一声不吭地在房间里游荡，一遍遍洗自己的头发，逼着自己去读那些毫无感人情节的书，她觉得自己被一团不安的气环笼罩着。她大声地说话，而且经常说得想要有多大声就多大声，“这是我的，”但她听不到回应。

The crates containing herbelongings were finally delivered, but she’s already thrown most of theircontents away – books she’ll never read again, pamphlets whose marginalscribbles would enrage William if he chanced upon them. What’s the use ofkeeping these things stowed in her cupboards and wardrobes, attractingsilverfish (ugh!) when they might as well be gunpowder waiting to blow up inher face? She worries enough as it is, about William discovering her novel.Each time she leaves the house, she frets he’ll come and rummage through allher nooks and drawers. Only when she’s nearly sick with hunger does she hurryinto the streets, conceding that if she waits any longer for him to visit,she’s liable to starve. In the hotels and restaurants where she takes hermeals, the attendants serve her wordlessly, as if biding their time before theysee her no more.

装着她个人物品的木箱最终到了，但她把其中的大部分东西都扔掉了——绝不会再看的书，还有若不巧让威廉看到会让他很生气的写有小说草稿的小册子。要是把这些东西藏到橱柜和衣柜里，它们不单招虫子，还有可能会成为重磅炸弹随时在她面前引爆？她很担心威廉会发现她写的小说。每次她一离开房间就害怕他会来，搜遍她所有的抽屉和角落。只有她饿的发晕、觉得自己要是多等他一会就要饿死时，才会冲到街上去。在她用餐的酒店和饭店里，服务员为她服务时也不怎么说话，好像在耐心等待她离开一样。

If only she could rememberexactly how many glasses of brandy William had in him when he said he lovedher!

在威廉对她说爱她时，她要是能确切记得他到底喝了多少杯白兰地该有多好！

‘Arghl-grrnugh,’ groansColonel Leek, convulsing in dreams of long ago. ‘Come out with it, man! …What’s the story on my legs? I’ll have a limp, yes? … need a walking stick, isthat it? Arghl … Speak, damn you … Unff … Unff … Speak …’

‘啊-嗯,’ 里克上校呻吟着，纠缠在许久之前的梦里：“伙计，直说吧…..我的腿有什么毛病？我会成为瘸子，是吗？….需要一根拐杖，是吗？啊……说，去你妈的……说……”

In the morning, the rain haspassed away and church bells chime. Lying half-uncovered in a tangle of sunlitbed-sheets, bathed in creamy yellow brilliance streaming through the window,Henry Rackham wakes from nightmares of erotic disgrace. God has wrought aperfect new day regardless; the divine imperative for renewal is proof againstwhatever evils may have transpired during the hours of darkness. God neverloses heart, despite the baseness of Man …

清晨，雨已经停了，教堂的钟声响起。，亨利·拉克姆躺在床上，只盖了半边太阳晒到的被子，沐浴在从窗外照进来的黄色奶油般的光芒下，从丢脸的色情噩梦中醒过来。神让每一天焕然一新的必要之处就在于要防止邪恶从黑夜中流露出来。上帝是不会丧失本心的，但是卑鄙的人类会…

Henry disentwines himselffrom the sheets, which are wet with the same substance that pollutes hisnight-shirt. He strips naked, shocked as always by the bestiality of the bodythus revealed, for he’s an exceptionally hairy specimen, and the hair on hisbody is darker and wirier than the soft blond fleece on his head. It’s sexualincontinence that makes all this coarse hair grow, Henry knows. Adam and Evewere hairless in Paradise, and so are the ideal physiques of antiquity and suchnudes as Modern Art permits. Were he ever to find himself in a gathering ofunclothed men, his own ape-like form would mark him out as a habitualself-abuser, a beast in the making. There is a grain of truth in Darwin’sheresy: for, though humankind did not evolve from animals, each human has thepotential to devolve into a savage.

亨利掀开被子，发现床单和睡衣都被同样的液体弄湿了。他脱掉睡衣，赤裸着，像以往一样被自己露出来的宛若野兽般的身体震惊了：他是格外多毛的特例，他的体毛比他头上柔软的金色头发还要深、还要硬，亨利明白，是性欲无度使得这些粗糙的毛发生长。亚当和夏娃在伊甸园是没有体毛的，因此在古代理想中的身体和现代艺术所展现的裸体一样没有体毛。如果他和一群赤裸的男性站在一起，他那如同猿人般的体毛会将他划分为习惯性自虐者和发育中的野兽。达尔文那离经叛道的言论还是有一点正确的：尽管人不是从动物进化来的，但是每个人都有发展成为野兽的潜质。

The church bells toll on asHenry shambles to his bathroom. Funeral service? Not a wedding, surely, at thisearly hour. One day, the bells will toll for him … Will he, by then, finally beready?

亨利慢吞吞地朝浴室走去，这时教堂的钟声响起。是葬礼吗？这么早，肯定不是婚礼。终有一天，钟声也会为他而鸣…..到那时他会准备好了吗？

He sponges himself clean witha cloth dipped in cold water: flesh like his doesn’t deserve pampering. Hisbody hair has thickened, over the years, into patterns which, when moistened,lie plastered around his abdomen and thighs like Gothic designs. His penishangs gross and distended, like a reptile head, and his testicles writheirritably as he washes them; nothing could bear less resemblance to thecompressed, seashell-smooth pudenda of classical statuary.

他用蘸了冷水的布擦洗身体：肉体像他的性欲一样，不值得被姑息。几年来，他的体毛变得浓密，沾了水后，附着在他的腹部和大腿上，像哥特式的设计。他的阴茎粗壮肿胀，像爬行动物的头；他的睾丸在清洗的过程中不停地扭动；只有古典雕像扁平的、像贝壳一样柔软的女性阴部才能与之媲美。

Bodley and Ashwell haveassured him that lewd women can be hairy too – so perhaps it’s thanks to hisold schoolchums that his dreams are so full of hirsute nymphs. Can he blameBodley and Ashwell though, for the way Mrs Fox, in his sleeping fantasies,disports herself like a succubus, laughing as she seizes hold of his phallusand guides it between her legs, where it slips through warm wet fur … ?

柏德利和阿什维尔曾告诉他淫荡的女人体毛很多，或许是拜他的这些老校友所赐，他梦中才会都是多毛的仙女。他能责怪柏德利和阿什维尔吗？就因为他们让福克斯太太在他的性梦里，变成了一个缠着男人不停要交欢的女妖精，还笑着抓住他的阴茎，引向她的两腿之间，划过那温热而湿润的毛发…？

Oh, if only I could grow up! he laments, as, even now, hisgenitals stir in excitement. What man of my age still behaves as if pubescenceis newly upon him? When, oh when, will First Corinthians 13:11 come true forme? My friends advise me to take Orders without delay, lest I begin ‘too old’:Lord, if they only knew! I am a little boy trapped inside a monstrous, degradedhusk …

噢，要是我能长大就好了！他心里很是悲哀，即使在他的生殖器官处于兴奋状态的现在。哪个跟我年纪一般的男人还会表现得像在青春期时一样？《哥林多前书》第十三章第十一节什么时候会在我的身上变真？我的朋友都建议我马上做“那个事”，要不然我就变得“太老了”：天，如果他们明白就好了，我只不过是一个小男孩，陷入一个兽性的、堕落的外壳中….

Half-dressed now, naked onlyfrom the waist up, Henry sits heavily in his chair before the hearth, tiredbefore his day even starts. He longs for someone to bring him a cup of tea anda hot breakfast, but … no, he cannot employ a servant. He could easily affordone – his father is more generous than rumour gives him credit for – but no, aservant is out of the question. Think of it: a flesh-and-blood woman in hishouse, sleeping under the same roof, undressing for bed, bathing naked in a tub… ! As if things weren’t bad enoughalready.

现在亨利穿了裤子，只裸着腰以上的部分，重重地坐在壁炉旁的椅子上，还没开始一天的生活就已经疲惫不堪了。他渴望有个人能给他一杯茶，一份热腾腾的早餐，但是……不，他不能雇一个仆人，他并不缺雇人的钱，因为他的父亲给他的钱远比流言说的要多得多，但是，不，绝对不可能雇仆人。想一想，一个有血有肉的女人住在他的房子里，睡在同一个屋檐下，睡觉时不穿衣服，赤裸着身子在浴盆里洗澡….！事情还没糟糕到那种地步。

‘Servants are a boon for everygrowing boy,’ Bodley once told him, in one of those encounters whose soleobject was to send the adolescent Henry fleeing under a cloud of his peers’laughter. ‘Especially when they come straight from the country. Sun-ripened,clean and fresh.’

“仆人对每个成长的男孩来说是一种恩惠，尤其是从农村来的，他们自然成熟，干净、新鲜。”柏德利曾在一次碰头时告诉亨利，他唯一的目的是让青春期的亨利逃开，成为伙伴们们的笑柄。

Henry’s cat comes padding innow, making exotic attempts at conversation as she butts her head against hiscalves. He has nothing for her, the last of the meat having spoiled.

亨利的猫走了过来，它用头摩擦亨利大腿的方式来撒娇。他没有东西给它吃，最后的一块肉已经吃完了。

‘Can you not wait?’ he mutters, but theinnocent animal looks at him as though he’s feather-brained.

“你就不能等一会吗，”他轻声说，但这小家伙仍天真地看着他，好像他的主人很傻。

His own stomach churnsnoisily. Perhaps a very old servant would be safe? But how old would she haveto be? Fifty? Mightn’t the butcher’s wife – the one who saves the best scrapsfor Henry’s puss and always has a smile for him – be fifty? And yet he’s beenknown to wonder what she might look like naked. Seventy, then?

他的肚子咕咕叫着。或许年迈的仆人会安全点？但是她要多大年纪呢？五十岁？屠夫的妻子有没有五十岁？她在亨利经过店铺的时候总是给他留着最好的肉块，还总对他微笑。并且他没想象过她赤裸着的样子。那七十岁的如何呢？

He looks down at the fire, athis overzealously-darned socks sheathing his big feet like tubers caked withearth. He gazes at his own bare arms, folded across his chest. His own nipples,framed thus, are of no sensual interest to him –yet identical knobbles offlesh, imagined on a female chest, have the power to drive him toself-pollution. Were his own breasts enlarged with milk he would recoil indisgust – yet, imagined on a woman, those same bladders of flesh becomefantastically attractive. And what about the paintings at the Royal Academyexhibitions – the Magdalens and the classical heroines and the martyred saints– he doesn’t care who they’re supposed to be, as long as their flesh is onshow! The way he stares at them, the other gallery visitors must take him for aconnoisseur – or perhaps they perceive perfectly well that he’s oglingrose-nippled breasts and pearly thighs. And yet, what is he really staring at?A layer of pink paint! A layer of dried oil covered with varnish – and he’llstand before it, for minutes at a time, willing a silvery wisp of drapery toslip from between a woman’s legs, wishing he could grasp hold of it and tear itout of the way, revealing … revealing what? A triangle of canvas? For atriangle of inanimate canvas he is willing to risk his immortal soul! All theso-called-mysteries of the Christian faith, the enigmas beyond human reason,are not so very difficult to understand if one applies oneself, but this … !

他低头看着火苗，包着他的大脚的是打了许多补丁的袜子，就像包着土的管子一样。他凝视着自己环在胸前的胳膊，对自己的乳头丝毫没有欲望——它们就像是小肉瘤一样，但想象成是长在女人身上的乳头时，就会促使他自慰。他的胸如果盛满奶后变大，会让他感到恶心——但是，想象这若是发生在一个女人身上，这相同的肉球就会十分具有诱惑力。皇家学院展览的画作有从良的妓女、高贵的女英雄以及殉教的圣人，他并不在乎这些人是谁，只在乎他们在画中裸露着的身体。他凝视着这些人物时，其他参观者肯定认为他是个鉴赏家，或许他们察觉到他正在盯着有红色乳头的胸部和雪白的大腿。但是他实际上正盯着的是什么？是一层粉色的颜料！一层覆有清漆的干油颜料——他站在画前，每次都站几分钟，想象着一缕银色的褶布从一个女人的大腿之间滑走，希望自己能抓住它并将它扯开，露出….露出什么？一块三角形帆布？为了一块无生命的帆布，他愿意为用自己不朽的灵魂来冒险！基督教的信仰中所有所谓的人类无法解开的谜团，其实理解起来并不难，只要人亲自实践，但是这个…..

Henry’s cat is not to bedenied, and begins to cry, having learned that this is the best way to rousehim from concerns not relevant to the feline world. Within fifteen minutes,Henry has been driven from his house, fully dressed, combed and shaved, insearch of meat.

亨利的猫等不及了，开始大叫，因为她明白这是将主人从与猫科世界毫不相关中唤醒的最好的办法。不到十五分钟，亨利就穿好衣服，梳好头发，刮完胡子，从家里出来买肉了。

~本章未完，待续楼下~

翻译 by Sally

校对 by 酸酸

终校 by 山山

树屋字幕组-文翻组

翻译仅供学习交流，严禁用于商业用途

本书版权归原作者Michel Faber所有

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