the fugitives

tea-time, an hour short of midnight; the place, a french apartment, comprising some half-dozen rooms; - a dull cold hall or corridor, a dining-room, a drawing-room, a bed-room, and an inner drawingroom, or boudoir, smaller and more retired than the rest. all these shut in by one large pair of doors on the main staircase, but each room provided with two or three pairs of doors of its own, establishing several means of communication with the remaining portion of the apartment, or with certain small passages within the wall, leading, as is not unusual in such houses, to some back stairs with an obscure outlet below. the whole situated on the first floor of so large an hotel, that it did not absorb one entire row of windows upon one side of the square court-yard in the centre, upon which the whole four sides of the mansion looked.

an air of splendour, sufficiently faded to be melancholy, and sufficiently dazzling to clog and embarrass the details of life with a show of state, reigned in these rooms the walls and ceilings were gilded and painted; the floors were waxed and polished; crimson drapery hung in festoons from window, door, and mirror; and candelabra, gnarled and intertwisted like the branches of trees, or horns of animals, stuck out from the panels of the wall. but in the day-time, when the lattice-blinds (now closely shut) were opened, and the light let in, traces were discernible among this finery, of wear and tear and dust, of sun and damp and smoke, and lengthened intervals of want of use and habitation, when such shows and toys of life seem sensitive like life, and waste as men shut up in prison do. even night, and clusters of burning candles, could not wholly efface them, though the general glitter threw them in the shade.

the glitter of bright tapers, and their reflection in looking-glasses, scraps of gilding and gay colours, were confined, on this night, to one room - that smaller room within the rest, just now enumerated. seen from the hall, where a lamp was feebly burning, through the dark perspective of open doors, it looked as shining and precious as a gem. in the heart of its radiance sat a beautiful woman - edith.

she was alone. the same defiant, scornful woman still. the cheek a little worn, the eye a little larger in appearance, and more lustrous, but the haughty bearing just the same. no shame upon her brow; no late repentance bending her disdainful neck. imperious and stately yet, and yet regardless of herself and of all else, she sat with her dark eyes cast down, waiting for someone.

no book, no work, no occupation of any kind but her own thought, beguiled the tardy time. some purpose, strong enough to fill up any pause, possessed her. with her lips pressed together, and quivering if for a moment she released them from her control; with her nostril inflated; her hands clasped in one another; and her purpose swelling in her breast; she sat, and waited.

at the sound of a key in the outer door, and a footstep in the hall, she started up, and cried 'who's that?' the answer was in french, and two men came in with jingling trays, to make preparation for supper.

'who had bade them to do so?' she asked.

'monsieur had commanded it, when it was his pleasure to take the apartment. monsieur had said, when he stayed there for an hour, en route, and left the letter for madame - madame had received it surely?'

'yes.'

'a thousand pardons! the sudden apprehension that it might have been forgotten had struck him;' a bald man, with a large beard from a neighbouring restaurant; 'with despair! monsieur had said that supper was to be ready at that hour: also that he had forewarned madame of the commands he had given, in his letter. monsieur had done the golden head the honour to request that the supper should be choice and delicate. monsieur would find that his confidence in the golden head was not misplaced.'

edith said no more, but looked on thoughtfully while they prepared the table for two persons, and set the wine upon it. she arose before they had finished, and taking a lamp, passed into the bed-chamber and into the drawing-room, where she hurriedly but narrowly examined all the doors; particularly one in the former room that opened on the passage in the wall. from this she took the key, and put it on the outer side. she then came back.

the men - the second of whom was a dark, bilious subject, in a jacket, close shaved, and with a black head of hair close cropped - had completed their preparation of the table, and were standing looking at it. he who had spoken before, inquired whether madame thought it would be long before monsieur arrived?

'she couldn't say. it was all one.'

'pardon! there was the supper! it should be eaten on the instant. monsieur (who spoke french like an angel - or a frenchman - it was all the same) had spoken with great emphasis of his punctuality. but the english nation had so grand a genius for punctuality. ah! what noise! great heaven, here was monsieur. behold him!'

in effect, monsieur, admitted by the other of the two, came, with his gleaming teeth, through the dark rooms, like a mouth; and arriving in that sanctuary of light and colour, a figure at full length, embraced madame, and addressed her in the french tongue as his charming wife

'my god! madame is going to faint. madame is overcome with joy!' the bald man with the beard observed it, and cried out.

madame had only shrunk and shivered. before the words were spoken, she was standing with her hand upon the velvet back of a great chair; her figure drawn up to its full height, and her face immoveable.

'francois has flown over to the golden head for supper. he flies on these occasions like an angel or a bird. the baggage of monsieur is in his room. all is arranged. the supper will be here this moment.' these facts the bald man notified with bows and smiles, and presently the supper came.

the hot dishes were on a chafing-dish; the cold already set forth, with the change of service on a sideboard. monsieur was satisfied with this arrangement. the supper table being small, it pleased him very well. let them set the chafing-dish upon the floor, and go. he would remove the dishes with his own hands.

'pardon!' said the bald man, politely. 'it was impossible!'

monsieur was of another opinion. he required no further attendance that night.

'but madame - ' the bald man hinted.

'madame,' replied monsieur, 'had her own maid. it was enough.'

'a million pardons! no! madame had no maid!'

'i came here alone,' said edith 'it was my choice to do so. i am well used to travelling; i want no attendance. they need send nobody to me.

monsieur accordingly, persevering in his first proposed impossibility, proceeded to follow the two attendants to the outer door, and secure it after them for the night. the bald man turning round to bow, as he went out, observed that madame still stood with her hand upon the velvet back of the great chair, and that her face was quite regardless of him, though she was looking straight before her.

as the sound of carker's fastening the door resounded through the intermediate rooms, and seemed to come hushed and stilled into that last distant one, the sound of the cathedral clock striking twelve mingled with it, in edith's ears she heard him pause, as if he heard it too and listened; and then came back towards her, laying a long train of footsteps through the silence, and shutting all the doors behind him as he came along. her hand, for a moment, left the velvet chair to bring a knife within her reach upon the table; then she stood as she had stood before.

'how strange to come here by yourself, my love!' he said as he entered.

'what?' she returned.

her tone was so harsh; the quick turn of her head so fierce; her attitude so repellent; and her frown so black; that he stood, with the lamp in his hand, looking at her, as if she had struck him motionless.

'i say,' he at length repeated, putting down the lamp, and smiling his most courtly smile, 'how strange to come here alone! it was unnecessarty caution surely, and might have defeated itself. you were to have engaged an attendant at havre or rouen, and have had abundance of time for the purpose, though you had been the most capricious and difficult (as you are the most beautiful, my love) of women.'

her eyes gleamed strangely on him, but she stood with her hand resting on the chair, and said not a word.

'i have never,' resumed carker, 'seen you look so handsome, as you do to-night. even the picture i have carried in my mind during this cruel probation, and which i have contemplated night and day, is exceeded by the reality.'

not a word. not a look her eyes completely hidden by their drooping lashes, but her head held up.

'hard, unrelenting terms they were!' said carker, with a smile, 'but they are all fulfilled and passed, and make the present more delicious and more safe. sicily shall be the place of our retreat. in the idlest and easiest part of the world, my soul, we'll both seek compensation for old slavery.'

he was coming gaily towards her, when, in an instant, she caught the knife up from the table, and started one pace back.

'stand still!' she said, 'or i shall murder you!'

the sudden change in her, the towering fury and intense abhorrence sparkling in her eyes and lighting up her brow, made him stop as if a fire had stopped him.

'stand still!' she said, 'come no nearer me, upon your life!'

they both stood looking at each other. rage and astonishment were in his face, but he controlled them, and said lightly,

'come, come! tush, we are alone, and out of everybody's sight and hearing. do you think to frighten me with these tricks of virtue?'

'do you think to frighten me,' she answered fiercely, 'from any purpose that i have, and any course i am resolved upon, by reminding me of the solitude of this place, and there being no help near? me, who am here alone, designedly? if i feared you, should i not have avoided you? if i feared you, should i be here, in the dead of night, telling you to your face what i am going to tell?'

'and what is that,' he said, 'you handsome shrew? handsomer so, than any other woman in her best humour?'

'i tell you nothing,' she returned, until you go back to that chair - except this, once again - don't come near me! not a step nearer. i tell you, if you do, as heaven sees us, i shall murder you!'

'do you mistake me for your husband?' he retorted, with a grin.

disdaining to reply, she stretched her arm out, pointing to the chair. he bit his lip, frowned, laughed, and sat down in it, with a baffled, irresolute, impatient air, he was unable to conceal; and biting his nail nervously, and looking at her sideways, with bitter discomfiture, even while he feigned to be amused by her caprice.

she put the knife down upon the table, and touching her bosom with her hand, said:

'i have something lying here that is no love trinket, and sooner than endure your touch once more, i would use it on you - and you know it, while i speak - with less reluctance than i would on any other creeping thing that lives.'

he affected to laugh jestingly, and entreated her to act her play out quickly, for the supper was growing cold. but the secret look with which he regarded her, was more sullen and lowering, and he struck his foot once upon the floor with a muttered oath.

'how many times,' said edith, bending her darkest glance upon him' 'has your bold knavery assailed me with outrage and insult? how many times in your smooth manner, and mocking words and looks, have i been twitted with my courtship and my marriage? how many times have you laid bare my wound of love for that sweet, injured girl and lacerated it? how often have you fanned the fire on which, for two years, i have writhed; and tempted me to take a desperate revenge, when it has most tortured me?'

'i have no doubt, ma'am,' he replied, 'that you have kept a good account, and that it's pretty accurate. come, edith. to your husband, poor wretch, this was well enough - '

'why, if,' she said, surveying him with a haughty contempt and disgust, that he shrunk under, let him brave it as he would, 'if all my other reasons for despising him could have been blown away like feathers, his having you for his counsellor and favourite, would have almost been enough to hold their place.'

'is that a reason why you have run away with me?' he asked her, tauntingly.

'yes, and why we are face to face for the last time. wretch! we meet tonight, and part tonight. for not one moment after i have ceased to speak, will i stay here!'

he turned upon her with his ugliest look, and gripped the table with his hand; but neither rose, nor otherwise answered or threatened her.

'i am a woman,' she said, confronting him steadfastly, 'who from her childhood has been shamed and steeled. i have been offered and rejected, put up and appraised, until my very soul has sickened. i have not had an accomplishment or grace that might have been a resource to me, but it has been paraded and vended to enhance my value, as if the common crier had called it through the streets. my poor, proud friends, have looked on and approved; and every tie between us has been deadened in my breast. there is not one of them for whom i care, as i could care for a pet dog. i stand alone in the world, remembering well what a hollow world it has been to me, and what a hollow part of it i have been myself. you know this, and you know that my fame with it is worthless to me.'

'yes; i imagined that,' he said.

'and calculated on it,' she rejoined, 'and so pursued me. grown too indifferent for any opposition but indifference, to the daily working of the hands that had moulded me to this; and knowing that my marriage would at least prevent their hawking of me up and down; i suffered myself to be sold, as infamously as any woman with a halter round her neck is sold in any market-place. you know that.'

'yes,' he said, showing all his teeth 'i know that.'

'and calculated on it,' she rejoined once more, 'and so pursued me. from my marriage day, i found myself exposed to such new shame - to such solicitation and pursuit (expressed as clearly as if it had been written in the coarsest words, and thrust into my hand at every turn) from one mean villain, that i felt as if i had never known humiliation till that time. this shame my husband fixed upon me; hemmed me round with, himself; steeped me in, with his own hands, and of his own act, repeated hundreds of times. and thus - forced by the two from every point of rest i had - forced by the two to yield up the last retreat of love and gentleness within me, or to be a new misfortune on its innocent object - driven from each to each, and beset by one when i escaped the other - my anger rose almost to distraction against both i do not know against which it rose higher - the master or the man!'

he watched her closely, as she stood before him in the very triumph of her indignant beauty. she was resolute, he saw; undauntable; with no more fear of him than of a worm.

'what should i say of honour or of chastity to you!' she went on. 'what meaning would it have to you; what meaning would it have from me! but if i tell you that the lightest touch of your hand makes my blood cold with antipathy; that from the hour when i first saw and hated you, to now, when my instinctive repugnance is enhanced by every minute's knowledge of you i have since had, you have been a loathsome creature to me which has not its like on earth; how then?'

he answered with a faint laugh, 'ay! how then, my queen?'

'on that night, when, emboldened by the scene you had assisted at, you dared come to my room and speak to me,' she said, 'what passed?'

he shrugged his shoulders, and laughed

'what passed?' she said.

'your memory is so distinct,' he said, 'that i have no doubt you can recall it.'

'i can,' she said. 'hear it! proposing then, this flight - not this flight, but the flight you thought it - you told me that in the having given you that meeting, and leaving you to be discovered there, if you so thought fit; and in the having suffered you to be alone with me many times before, - and having made the opportunities, you said, - and in the having openly avowed to you that i had no feeling for my husband but aversion, and no care for myself - i was lost; i had given you the power to traduce my name; and i lived, in virtuous reputation, at the pleasure of your breath'

'all stratagems in love - ' he interrupted, smiling. 'the old adage - '

'on that night,' said edith, 'and then, the struggle that i long had had with something that was not respect for my good fame - that was i know not what - perhaps the clinging to that last retreat- was ended. on that night, and then, i turned from everything but passion and resentment. i struck a blow that laid your lofty master in the dust, and set you there, before me, looking at me now, and knowing what i mean.'

he sprung up from his chair with a great oath. she put her hand into her bosom, and not a finger trembled, not a hair upon her head was stirred. he stood still: she too: the table and chair between them.~

'when i forget that this man put his lips to mine that night, and held me in his arms as he has done again to-night,' said edith, pointing at him; 'when i forget the taint of his kiss upon my cheek - the cheek that florence would have laid her guiltless face against - when i forget my meeting with her, while that taint was hot upon me, and in what a flood the knowledge rushed upon me when i saw her, that in releasing her from the persecution i had caused by my love, i brought a shame and degradation on her name through mine, and in all time to come should be the solitary figure representing in her mind her first avoidance of a guilty creature - then, husband, from whom i stand divorced henceforth, i will forget these last two years, and undo what i have done, and undeceive you!'

her flashing eyes, uplifted for a moment, lighted again on carker, and she held some letters out in her left hand.

'see these!' she said, contemptuously. 'you have addressed these to me in the false name you go by; one here, some elsewhere on my road. the seals are unbroken. take them back!'

she crunched them in her hand, and tossed them to his feet. and as she looked upon him now, a smile was on her face.

'we meet and part to-night,' she said. 'you have fallen on sicilian days and sensual rest, too soon. you might have cajoled, and fawned, and played your traitor's part, a little longer, and grown richer. you purchase your voluptuous retirement dear!'

'edith!' he retorted, menacing her with his hand. 'sit down! have done with this! what devil possesses you?'

'their name is legion,' she replied, uprearing her proud form as if she would have crushed him; 'you and your master have raised them in a fruitful house, and they shall tear you both. false to him, false to his innocent child, false every way and everywhere, go forth and boast of me, and gnash your teeth, for once, to know that you are lying!'

he stood before her, muttering and menacing, and scowling round as if for something that would help him to conquer her; but with the same indomitable spirit she opposed him, without faltering.

'in every vaunt you make,' she said, 'i have my triumph i single out in you the meanest man i know, the parasite and tool of the proud tyrant, that his wound may go the deeper, and may rankle more. boast, and revenge me on him! you know how you came here to-night; you know how you stand cowering there; you see yourself in colours quite as despicable, if not as odious, as those in which i see you. boast then, and revenge me on yourself.'

the foam was on his lips; the wet stood on his forehead. if she would have faltered once for only one half-moment, he would have pinioned her; but she was as firm as rock, and her searching eyes never left him.

'we don't part so,' he said. 'do you think i am drivelling, to let you go in your mad temper?'

'do you think,' she answered, 'that i am to be stayed?'

'i'll try, my dear,' he said with a ferocious gesture of his head.

'god's mercy on you, if you try by coming near me!' she replied.

'and what,' he said, 'if there are none of these same boasts and vaunts on my part? what if i were to turn too? come!' and his teeth fairly shone again. 'we must make a treaty of this, or i may take some unexpected course. sit down, sit down!'

'too late!' she cried, with eyes that seemed to sparkle fire. 'i have thrown my fame and good name to the winds! i have resolved to bear the shame that will attach to me - resolved to know that it attaches falsely - that you know it too - and that he does not, never can, and never shall. i'll die, and make no sign. for this, i am here alone with you, at the dead of night. for this, i have met you here, in a false name, as your wife. for this, i have been seen here by those men, and left here. nothing can save you now.

he would have sold his soul to root her, in her beauty, to the floor, and make her arms drop at her sides, and have her at his mercy. but he could not look at her, and not be afraid of her. he saw a strength within her that was resistless. he saw that she was desperate, and that her unquenchable hatred of him would stop at nothing. his eyes followed the hand that was put with such rugged uncongenial purpose into her white bosom, and he thought that if it struck at him, and failed, it would strike there, just as soon.

he did not venture, therefore, to advance towards her; but the door by which he had entered was behind him, and he stepped back to lock it.

'lastly, take my warning! look to yourself!' she said, and smiled again. 'you have been betrayed, as all betrayers are. it has been made known that you are in this place, or were to be, or have been. if i live, i saw my husband in a carriage in the street to-night!'

'strumpet, it's false!' cried carker.

at the moment, the bell rang loudly in the hall. he turned white, as she held her hand up like an enchantress, at whose invocation the sound had come.

'hark! do you hear it?'

he set his back against the door; for he saw a change in her, and fancied she was coming on to pass him. but, in a moment, she was gone through the opposite doors communicating with the bed-chamber, and they shut upon her.

once turned, once changed in her inflexible unyielding look, he felt that he could cope with her. he thought a sudden terror, occasioned by this night-alarm, had subdued her; not the less readily, for her overwrought condition. throwing open the doors, he followed, almost instantly.

but the room was dark; and as she made no answer to his call, he was fain to go back for the lamp. he held it up, and looked round, everywhere, expecting to see her crouching in some corner; but the room was empty. so, into the drawing-room and dining-room he went, in succession, with the uncertain steps of a man in a strange place; looking fearfully about, and prying behind screens and couches; but she was not there. no, nor in the hall, which was so bare that he could see that, at a glance.

all this time, the ringing at the bell was constantly renewed, and those without were beating at the door. he put his lamp down at a distance, and going near it, listened. there were several voices talking together: at least two of them in english; and though the door was thick, and there was great confusion, he knew one of these too well to doubt whose voice it was.

he took up his lamp again, and came back quickly through all the rooms, stopping as he quitted each, and looking round for her, with the light raised above his head. he was standing thus in the bed-chamber, when the door, leading to the little passage in the wall, caught his eye. he went to it, and found it fastened on the other side; but she had dropped a veil in going through, and shut it in the door.

all this time the people on the stairs were ringing at the bell, and knocking with their hands and feet.

he was not a coward: but these sounds; what had gone before; the strangeness of the place, which had confused him, even in his return from the hall; the frustration of his schemes (for, strange to say, he would have been much bolder, if they had succeeded); the unseasonable time; the recollection of having no one near to whom he could appeal for any friendly office; above all, the sudden sense, which made even his heart beat like lead, that the man whose confidence he had outraged, and whom he had so treacherously deceived, was there to recognise and challenge him with his mask plucked off his face; struck a panic through him. he tried the door in which the veil was shut, but couldn't force it. he opened one of the windows, and looked down through the lattice of the blind, into the court-yard; but it was a high leap, and the stones were pitiless.

the ringing and knocking still continuing - his panic too - he went back to the door in the bed-chamber, and with some new efforts, each more stubborn than the last, wrenched it open. seeing the little staircase not far off, and feeling the night-air coming up, he stole back for his hat and coat, made the door as secure after him as he could, crept down lamp in hand, extinguished it on seeing the street, and having put it in a corner, went out where the stars were shining.

时间是在午夜差一个小时；地点是在法国的一套房间里，这套房间由几个房间组成：一间阴暗的，寒冷的门厅或走廊，一间餐厅，一间客厅，一间卧室，一间内客厅或闺房，最后这一间比其余各间小，也比其余各间隐僻。所有这些房间都被主要楼梯的两扇门关在里面，但是每间房间都有自己的两、三个门，通过不同的方式和其他房间相通，并和墙中间的一些狭小的通道通接，而且像这类房屋中常有的情形那样，通向后面的楼梯，后面的楼梯下面有一个隐蔽的出口，它通向外面的街道。整套房间位于一个旅馆的二层楼。旅馆很大，中间是一个方形的庭院，整座大楼的四面都朝着它。其中有一面的整排窗子并没有被这套房间完全占有。

这些房间气派豪华，但是光泽已失去很多，因此显出了令人忧伤的情调；房间的陈设耀眼夺目，处处炫示它的富丽堂皇，因此使人感到难于日常生活。墙壁和天花板已经镀过金和绘过图画；地板已经上过蜡，并擦得亮亮的；深红色的帷幔以花彩的形式从窗子上、门上和镜子上悬挂下来；枝形烛架像兽角一样，上面有好多节，弯弯曲曲地从墙壁的嵌板中伸出来。可是在白天，当格子式的百叶窗（现在关得紧紧的）打开，光线射进来的时候，从这些华丽的陈设中间可以看得出磨损与灰尘留下的痕迹，以及阳光、潮湿与烟雾留下的痕迹，也可以看得出这些房间已经长久未用，无人居住，因为这些供生命进行炫耀和玩乐的东西似乎像生命一样敏感，并像囚禁在监狱中的人们一样日渐衰老下去。甚至夜晚，一支支点燃的蜡烛也不能完全消除这些痕迹，虽然灿烂的光辉已使它们退缩到阴影之中。

这天夜里，只在一个房间——刚才提到的那个最小的房间——里，可以看见细小的蜡烛的明亮的光辉和它们在镜子里的映像，以及少许镀金和鲜艳的颜色。门厅里有一盏灯，发出暗淡的光，从门厅通过一长列黑暗的、开着的房门看过去，这个房间像宝石一样闪耀着光芒，也像宝石一样宝贵可爱。在它的光辉的中心坐着一位美丽的女人——伊迪丝。

她单独一人。仍然是那位目中无人、蔑视一切的女人。她的脸颊稍稍凹陷下去一些，眼睛看上去稍稍大了一些，而且更有光泽，可是傲慢的态度仍旧和过去一样。在她的脸上没有一点羞愧的表情；她高傲的脖子没有低垂下去，表示最近感到悔恨。她和过去一样专横、庄严，和过去一样对她本人和所有其他的人漠不关心；她现在坐在那里，等待什么人。

她没有看书，没有做针线活，除了独自沉思外，她没有别的活动来消磨这缓慢的时间。她心中正怀着某种决心，它强大得足以填补任何空隙的时间。她双唇紧闭，如果稍有片刻放松控制，它们就颤抖着；她的鼻孔张得大大的；两只手互相紧握着；她的决心在她心中变得愈来愈强烈，她坐着；等待着。

听到外面的门上转动钥匙的和门厅里的脚步声，她惊跳起来，喊道，“是谁？”回答是用法语说的，两个仆人端着发出叮当响声的托盘走进来，准备开晚饭。

她问是谁吩咐他们做这些事情的。

“是monsieur（先生）订下这套房间的时候吩咐的。他enroute（在路途中）到这里待了一个钟头的时候说的。他还留下一封信给夫人——夫人想必收到了吧？”

“收到了。”

请原谅一千次！他因为突然担心信可能会被忘记转交，心慌得要命，所以才问了这个问题。他是一位秃头并留着大胡子的仆人，从邻近餐馆来的，他说：“monsieur说过，晚餐必须在这个钟头准备好，还说，他在信中已预先通知了夫人。‘金头’餐馆感到十分荣幸，monsieur要求它提供上等的、美味的晚餐。monsieur将会发现，‘金头’没有辜负他的信任。”

伊迪丝不再说什么，若有所思地注视着他们在餐桌上摆放两个人的餐具，还在上面放了一瓶酒。在他们结束之前，她站起来，拿了一盏灯，走进卧室，又从卧室走进客厅；她在两间房间里匆忙而又仔细地察看了所有的门，特别是卧室里那扇通向墙中通道的门。她从这扇门中取出钥匙，放进朝外一边的钥匙孔中。然后她走回原处。

仆人们——第二位仆人是一个皮肤黝黑、脾气大的人，穿一件短上衣，胡子刮得光光的，黑头发剪得短短的——已经做完了准备餐桌的工作，正站在那里看着它。刚才讲过话的那位仆人问夫人，她想monsieur是不是很快就会来到。

她不知道这一点。对她来说，这无所谓。

“请原谅！晚饭已经准备好了！应当立刻就吃。monsieur（他法语说得像天使一样或说得像法国人一样——不论怎么说，反正都一样）曾经十分强调，他严守时刻。不过英国民族就是素以严守时刻而著称的。啊！什么！我的老天爷，monbsieur一来了。请看他！”

monsieur真的来了，是另一位仆人去开了门，让他进来的；他露出闪闪发光的牙齿，穿过黑暗的房间，像一只嘴巴似地走来了。当他走进这个光与颜色的圣所，显露出全部身形的时候，他拥抱了夫人，用法语称他为迷人的妻子。

“我的老天爷！夫人要晕倒了。夫人太高兴啦！”秃头并留着胡子的仆人注意到这一点，喊道。

夫人实际上只是往后退缩和打颤罢了。在仆人还没有说这些话之前，她已站在那里，把手搁在一张大椅子的丝绒椅背上；她身子挺得笔直，脸色十分呆板。

“弗朗索阿已飞跑到‘金头’去取晚饭了。这种时候他总是飞跑得像个天使或像一只鸟儿一样。monsieur的行李就在他的房间里。一切都安排好了。晚饭就送到这里。”秃头的仆人连连鞠躬，满脸微笑地报告着这些事情。不一会儿，晚饭就送到了。

热菜放在酒精炉盆上；冷菜早已摆放在桌子上。备用的餐具放在餐具柜上。monseur对这些安排感到满意。晚餐桌是小的，这使他很喜欢。他们应当把酒精炉盆放到地板上，然后离开。他将自己来拿菜。

“请原谅！”秃头的仆人彬彬有礼地说道，“这可不行！哪能这样呢？”

monsieur是另一种意见。今天夜里他不要求他们侍候了。

“可是夫人——”秃头的仆人暗示道。

“夫人有她自己的侍女，”monsieur回答道。

“请原谅一百万次！没有！夫人没有侍女！”

“我一个人到这里来的，”伊迪丝说道“我喜欢这样。我习惯于旅行；我不需要人侍候我。请不要给我派什么人来。”

因此，monsieur坚持他原先提出的“这可不行”的建议，跟随两个侍者到外面的门口，把门关紧，这一夜就不让别人进来了。秃头的仆人在要走出去的时候，转过身来鞠躬，这时看到夫人依旧站在那里，手搁在大椅子的丝绒椅背上，她虽然直望着前面，但却很不注意他。

当卡克先生关门的在中间的各个房间中回响，并似乎要在最远的房间中完全沉寂下来的时候，大教堂的钟敲了十二下，两种在伊迪丝的耳朵里融合在一起。她听到他停下脚步，仿佛他也听到了，并正在听着；然后他又朝她走回来；在寂静中留下了一长串的脚步声；他一边走一边把所有的门都关上。她的手离开丝绒椅子一会儿，去拿桌子上她可以够得到的一把餐刀；然后她像先前一样站着。

“真奇怪，你怎么一个人到这里来，我亲爱的！”他走进来的时候，说道。

“什么？”她回答道。

她的声调十分刺耳，头转得十分猛烈，态度拒人于千里之外，眉毛阴沉地皱着，因此他手里拿着灯，站在那里望着她，仿佛她已使他无法动弹了。

“我说真奇怪，您怎么一个人到这里来！”他终于重复说道，一边把灯放下，露出他那极为谄媚的微笑，“确实，这是不必要的谨慎，并可能败坏事情。您应当在阿弗尔1或鲁昂2雇用一个侍女；您有充分的时间来做这件事，虽然您是个最反复无常、最难侍候的女人，不过也是最漂亮的，我亲爱的。”

她的眼睛向他奇怪地闪了一眼，但是她的手搁在椅子上并站在那里，没有说一个字。

“我从来没有看到您像今天夜里这么漂亮，”卡克先生重新说下去，“甚至在这最令人痛苦的考验中我保存在记忆中、日日夜夜思念着的形象也被真正的实体超过了。”

她没有说一个字，也没有向他看一眼。她的眼睛已完全被垂下的眼睫毛遮盖住了，但是她的头高昂着。

“考验的条件是多么艰难，多么严酷无情啊！”卡克微笑了一下，说道，“可是它们全都得到满足，并全都已经过去了，这使得现在更加美妙，更加安全。西西里3将是我们最后的避难处。在世界上这个最宁静、最安逸的地方，我的心灵儿，我们俩将为过去所受的奴役寻求补偿。”

--------

1阿弗尔（havre）：法国港市。

2鲁昂（rouen）：法国港市。

3西西里（sicily）：位于亚平宁半岛西南，是地中海最大岛屿，属意大利。

他快快活活地向她走来，可是她突然从桌子上拿起一把餐刀，向后退了一步。

“站住别动！”她喊道，“要不然我就杀死你！”

她突然发生的这个变化，她眼睛中闪射出的和在脸上表露出的极大的愤怒与强烈的憎恶使他站住，就仿佛一团火在他面前燃烧一样。

“站住别动！”她喊道，“别走近我，如果你还想活命的话！”

他们两人站住，相互看着。他的脸上露出愤怒与惊奇的表情，但是他控制着它们，并随便地说道：

“得了，得了！啐！这里就只我们两个人，谁也看不见我们，谁也听不见我们。难道您还要假装正经，要这种花招来吓唬我吗？”

“难道你以为向我提醒这个地方偏僻冷静、不能向近处求助，就可以吓唬我，使我放弃我的目的，离开我决心要走的道路吗？我是故意一个人在这里的，你能吓唬得了吗？如果我害怕你的话，那么难道我会不设法避开你吗？如果我害怕你的话，那么难道我会深更半夜在这里把我打算跟你说的话当面说给你听吗？”

“你打算说什么呢，你这个漂亮的泼妇？”他说道，“其他的女人在情绪最好的时候也不及你漂亮呢。”

“除非你回去坐到那张椅子里，否则我就什么也不跟你说，”她回答道，“要不我就再跟你说一遍：别走近我！走近一步也不行。我告诉你，如果你走近的话，那么我就当着老天爷的面杀死你！”

“你是不是把我错当成你的丈夫了？”他冷笑了一声，反问道。

她不屑回答，只是伸出胳膊，指着那张椅子。他咬着嘴唇，皱着眉头，大笑着，在那张椅子上坐下，设法掩藏他那副遭受挫折、迟疑不决和不耐烦的神态；虽然他假装出对她的反复无常感到开心的样子，但他却紧张不安地咬着指甲，斜眼看着她，心情痛苦，狼狈不堪。

她把餐刀放到桌子上，用手按着胸膛，说道：

“我在这里藏着一个东西，它并不是爱情的玩意儿。我不容忍你再次接触我，否则我就毫不迟疑地用它来对付你，比对付其他任何爬行动物都更乐意。——我现在说话的时候，你知道它是什么了。”

他假装开玩笑地哈哈大笑，请求她把这出喜剧赶快演完，因为晚饭已渐渐冷了。但是他却又绷着脸，皱着眉头，更加郁郁不乐地偷偷看着她，并且小声咒骂了一声，在地板上跺了一下脚。

“你曾经多少次以你那厚颜无耻的流氓行为对我进行迫害与侮辱，”伊迪丝用极为深沉的眼光看着他，说道，“你曾经多少次用你那圆滑的态度和嘲弄的话语与神色来讽刺我的订婚与结婚？你曾经多少次把我对那位可爱的、受害的女孩子的爱的创伤暴露出来，并划破它？你曾经多么经常地煽旺了我在这两年间被煎熬的火焰，使我痛苦得身子翻来转去？在我感到最痛苦的时刻，你又怎样唆使我进行不顾死活的报复？”

“我毫不怀疑，夫人，你记了一笔好帐，帐目是相当精确的。”他回答道，“得了，伊迪丝。这对你的丈夫，那个可怜的家伙，倒是很合适的。”

“唔，”她说道，一边高傲地怀着轻蔑与厌恶的情绪观察着他；不论他想怎样鼓起勇气抵挡它，他还是不由自主地蜷缩着身子；“如果说，我鄙视他的其他各种原因都可以像羽毛似地被吹走的话，那么他们你当作谋士和亲信这个原因几乎就足够抵得上其他所有原因，使我毫不改变地鄙视他。”

“这就是你跟我逃跑的原因吗？”他嘲笑地反问道。

“是的，这也就是我们为什么最后一次面对面在一起的原因。卑鄙的人！我们今天夜里见面，今天夜里分离。因为我把话说完之后，不会在这里再待一秒钟！”

他面目狰狞地看着她，用手紧紧抓住桌子，但没有站起来，也没有回答她或威胁她。

“我是个从童年时代就受到羞辱并得到锻炼的女人。”她坚定地面对着他，说道，“我曾经被标价出卖，并遭到拒绝；我曾经被陈列出来拍卖，让人们估价，直到我内心深感厌恶为止。我的才能与技艺，本可成为我的娱乐，可是没有一件不被拿到市场上去炫示、贩卖，以增加我的身价，就像叫卖的人沿街大声叫卖一样。我的贫穷的、高傲的朋友们前来观看并进行赞扬；我们之间所有的纽带在我胸中都已断裂了。他们当中没有一个人我能像我关心一条我所喜爱的狗那样关心他。我在这世界上孤独一人，并很清楚地记住这世界对我是多么虚伪，而我本人又是它的多么虚伪的一部分。你知道这一点，你也知道我在社会上的名誉对我毫无价值。”

“是的，我猜想是这样，”他说道。

“你也正指望着这一点！”她回答道，“所以就来追求我。我已变得对一切太漠不关心，所以对那双把我塑造成现在这个样子的那双手的日常工作1，我只是漠不关心而不会提出任何反对。我知道，我结了婚至少可以阻止他们把我到处兜售；我听凭自己被可耻地卖出去，就像脖子上套着绳圈、在任何市场上被卖出去的任何女人一样。你知道这一点。”

--------

1指上帝安排日常世事。

“是的，”他露出所有的牙齿，说道，“我知道这一点。”

“你也正指望着这一点！”她回答道，“所以就来追求我。从我结婚的那一天起，我发现我面临着一种新的羞辱——面临着一位卑鄙的恶棍的勾引与追求（那就仿佛是用最粗野的文字写在纸上一样清楚，这张纸又经常不断地被塞到我的手里）；它使我感到，仿佛直到这时候我才开始明白屈辱是什么。这羞辱是我的丈夫给我安排好的，是他亲自把我关进羞辱的圈子中，是他亲自把我浸泡在羞辱的水中，而且自愿地重复做了几百次。就这样，这两个人迫使我失去了我的任何安宁，这两个人迫使我放弃了我内心最后剩余的一点爱与温情，或者给我的爱与温情的对象招致了新的不幸；就这样，我从一个人那里被赶到另一个人那里；当我避开了一个人的时候，我却被另一个人所困扰——，我对他们两人的愤怒几乎达到了发狂的地步。我不知道对谁更愤怒，是对主人呢还是对他的奴仆！”

当美丽的她以胜利者的姿态愤怒地站在他的面前时，他目不转睛地注视着她。他看到，她是坚决的，无畏的，对他就像对一个虫子一样，毫不害怕。

“关于荣誉或贞洁，我有什么可以对你说的呢！”她继续说下去，“这对你有什么意义呢，对我又有什么意义呢！可是如果我对你说，你的手稍稍碰到我一下，我的血就会由于厌恶而发冷；如果我对你说，从我第一次看到你和憎恨你的时候开始，直到现在，我对你愈益了解，我对你的本能的反感就愈益增强，因此，对我来说，你一直是一个我讨厌的东西，在世界上再也找不到它的同类了；可是如果我对你说这些，那么又将怎样呢？”

他轻轻地笑了一下，回答道，“是呀！那么又将怎样呢，我的皇后？”

“那天夜里，在那个你曾助了一臂之力的场面出现之后，你鼓起勇气，胆敢走进我的房间对我说话，”她说道，“那以后的事情是怎样的？”

他耸耸肩膀，又大笑着。

“那以后的事情是怎样的？”她又问道。

“你的记性很好，”他回答道，“我毫不怀疑，你能记得。”

“是的，我能，”她说道，“听着吧！那时你建议逃走——不是像这样的逃走，而是他你所想的那样逃走——；你对我说，因为我准许你进行那次会晤，让你可能在那里被找到（如果你认为那样是合适的话），因为我以前好多次允许你跟我单独在一起，并为这提供了机会（你是这样说的），还因为我直言不讳地向你承认，我对我的丈夫除了厌恶之外没有别的感情，而且我对我自己不关心，这样我就把我自己断送了；你还说，我给了你诽谤我名声的权力；我今后是否保住贞洁的声誉就全凭你怎么说了。”

“在爱情中的一切策略——”他笑嘻嘻地打断说，“古老的谚语——”

“在那天夜里，”伊迪丝说道，“我长久以来一直在进行的一个斗争终止了，那绝不是为关心我的美好名声而进行的斗争。我不知道是在跟什么进行斗争，——也许是在跟我内心剩余的那点爱与温情斗争吧。那天夜里，我除了愤怒与怨恨外，抛弃了其他一切感情。我打出一拳，它使你的傲慢的主人蒙受了奇耻大辱，并迫使你现在在这里站在我面前，望着我，并了解我的用意是什么。”

他大声地咀咒了一声，从椅子上跳了起来。她把手伸进怀里，没有一个手指发抖，没有一根头发动一动。他一动不动地站着，她也一动不动地站着，在他们中间隔着一张桌子和一把椅子。

“今后如果我已忘记这个人那天夜里就像他今天夜里又这样做的一样，把他的嘴唇压到我的嘴唇上，并把我搂在他的怀里的话，”伊迪丝指着他，说道，“今后如果我已忘记他的吻在我的脸颊（这是弗洛伦斯愿意将她天真无邪的小脸紧贴着的脸颊）上留下的污点的话，今后如果我已忘记当这污点还在我脸上发烧时，我曾经遇见她的话（当我看见她的时候，我突然思潮如涌地想起，我对她的爱会使她遭受迫害；我的逃走虽然可以使她免遭这种迫害，但我却由于自己不顾耻辱与堕落，给她的名声也蒙上了耻辱，造成了损害，因此在她的心中今后我将永远是一个她必须首先避开的罪人了），今后如果我把这一切都已忘记的话，那么，那时候，我的丈夫，从今以后我已与您离婚的丈夫，我将忘记最近的这两年，向您解释我所做的事情，使您醒悟过来！”

她闪闪发光的眼睛抬起一会儿，然后又停落在卡克身上；

她把左手里拿着的几封信向他递过去。

“看这些信！”她轻蔑地说道，“你把这些信寄给我，信封上还用你杜撰的名义来称呼我：一封信交到这里，其他的几封留在我路途中停留的地方。这些信全都没有拆开。拿回去吧。”

她把它们揉成一团，投掷在他的脚边。当她重新看着他的时候，她脸上露出一丝微笑。

“我们今天夜里见面，今天夜里分离，”她说道。“你对西西里的日子和淫荡欢乐的休息想得太早了。你本可以继续哄骗，继续溜须拍马，把你那奸诈的角色扮演得稍许长久一些，钱挣得更多一些。你已为贪恋女色的退隐生活付出了昂贵的代价了！”

“伊迪丝，”他做了个威胁的手势，回答道，“坐下，把这一套收起来吧！什么魔鬼附着在你身上了！”

“他们人数很多，”她回答道，一边高傲地挺直身子，仿佛她想要把他压碎似的，“你和你的主人把他们在适宜繁殖的房屋里养育起来；他们将把你们撕得粉碎！你对他虚伪；你对他的天真的孩子虚伪；你用各种手段在各个地方进行虚伪的勾当；现在你向前走吧，去吹嘘你对我的胜利吧，然后咬牙切齿地知道你是在撒谎吧！”

他站在她面前，抱怨着，威胁着，并愁眉苦脸地环视着四周，仿佛在寻找什么可以帮助他战胜她的东西似的；但是她跟先前一样坚强不屈地面对着他，毫不畏缩。

“在你所夸耀的每一个地方，我都取得了胜利；”她说道，“我把你当作我所知道的最卑鄙的人，当作那位高傲的暴君的寄生虫与工具挑选出来，这是为了使他的创伤可以更深些，更痛些；你去吹嘘吧，为我对他进行报复吧。你知道，你今天夜里是怎样到这里来的；你知道，你是怎样畏畏缩缩地站在那里的；如果你不能像我那样看到你自己那令人厌恶的真面目的话，那么你总能像我那样看到你自己那卑鄙的真面目了。

你去吹嘘吧，并为你自己对我进行报复吧。”

他的嘴里吐出白沫，额上流出汗珠。如果她曾经畏缩过哪怕一刹那的话，那么他就会捆住她的两只手；可是她像岩石一样坚定，她的锐利的眼光从没有离开过他。

“我们不能这样分离，”他说道，“难道你以为我这样愚蠢，会让你这样疯疯癫癫地走掉吗？”

“难道你以为，你能留得住我吗？”

“我要试一试，我亲爱的，”他的头凶猛地作了一个威胁的姿态。

“愿上帝怜悯你，如果你要试试走近我的话。”

“如果我以后不吹嘘、夸耀，那么怎么样呢？”他说道，“如果我已转变了，那么怎么样呢？”他的牙齿又闪出亮光。

“我们必须在这个问题上达成一项协议，否则我就会采取你所意想不到的步骤。坐下，坐下！”

“太晚了！”她喊道，眼睛似乎要冒出火星来了。“我已经把我的声望与名誉抛到九霄云外去了！我已决定忍受将落到我头上的耻辱；我知道它是我所不应当得到的——你也知道这一点，而他是不知道的，永远不能知道，也将永远不会知道的。我将无声无息、不作任何表白地死去！为了这个目的我在深更半夜单独跟你在一起。为了这个目的我以你的妻子这个虚假的名义在这里跟你会见。为了这个目的，我听凭这些仆人在这里看到我，然后把我在这里独自留下来。现在什么也不能救你了。”

如果他能把姿容美丽的她扎根在地板上，使她的胳膊垂落在身体两侧，使她完全听凭他摆布的话，那么他真愿意把他的灵魂出卖掉。可是他看到她的时候不能不害怕她。他看到在她身上有一股不可抗拒的力量。他看到她是不顾一切的，她对他的不能熄灭的憎恨不会在什么地方停住。他的眼光跟随着她，看到她怀着粗暴无情、毫不迁就的决心，把手伸进衣服，放在雪白的胸脯上；他想，如果她的手来打他、没打中的话，那么它就会很快接下去打她自己的胸脯的。

因此，他不敢走近她；但是他走进来的门是在他的身后，所以他就走回去把门锁上。

“最后，请听一下我的警告！你自己得当心点！”她又微笑着说道，“就像所有背信弃义的人一样，你已经被人出卖了。他已经知道，你现在在这里，或者将要到这里来，或者一直在这里。今天夜里我确实看见我的丈夫在街上乘坐在一辆四轮马车里！”

“婊子，你撒谎！”卡克喊道。

就在这时候，门厅里的铃大声响着。当她像女巫一样举起手来，在她的符咒的召唤下，传过来的时候，他的脸色发白了。

“听！你听到了吗？”

他用背顶着门；因为他看到她发生了点变化，以为她正走来想从他身边闪过去。可是她在片刻间走进对面通到卧室的门里去，把门砰地一声关上了。

一旦她有了转变，一旦她的坚定不屈的眼光转到别处，他觉得他就能对付她。他想这夜间警报引起的突然惊恐已经征服了她，因为就是没有这惊恐她也已过度疲劳了。他推开门急忙跟着她进去。

可是房间鱼黑洞洞的，他喊她她又没有回答，所以他只好回来拿灯。他把灯举得高高的，仔细观察着四周，指望她蹲伏在什么角落里；可是房间里空无一人。因此，他像一个在陌生地方走路的人那样迈着迟疑不决的步子，走进客厅，接着又走进餐厅，害怕地环视四周，并在屏风与躺椅后面窥视；可是她不在那里；她也不在门厅里，门厅里空荡荡的，他一眼就可以看得清清楚楚。

在这段时间里，铃声一直不断地重新震响着。外面一些人在敲门。他把灯放在离门较远的地方，走近门口，仔细倾听。有好几个在交谈，至少有两个人是说英语的。虽然门是厚实的，也很嘈杂，但他对当中一个人的熟悉极了，所以毫不怀疑这是谁的。

他又拿起灯，很快穿过所有的房间往回走；在离开每个房间的时候，他都停下脚步，把灯举得比头还高，往四下里看看有没有她。当他这样站在卧室里的时候，那扇通向墙中通道的门突然吸引了他的注意。他走到那扇门旁，发现它从外面被锁上了。不过她在穿过这扇门的时候，掉了一块面纱，它被夹在门缝里。

在这段时间里，楼上的人们一直在拉着铃并用手敲着门，用脚踢着门。

他并不是个胆小鬼，可是这些敲门的正不断传来；在这以前发生的事情使他意气懊丧；这个地方对他是生疏的（甚至当他从门厅回来的时候，这也使他感到慌乱）；他的计划已遭到失败（因为说起来奇怪，如果他取得成功的话，那么他会大胆得多）；现在的时间是很不合适的；他记起他在近处没有什么人可以请求给予友好的帮助；特别重要的是，他心中突然感觉到（这甚至使他的心感到像铅一样沉重），他已辜负了他的信任、奸诈地欺骗了他的那个人正拿着从他脸上摘下的假面具，在这里要寻到他，向他挑战；——所有这一切，使他感到恐慌。他试图弄开那扇夹着面纱的门，可是他怎么用力也弄不开。他打开一扇窗子，通过百叶窗的格子往下面的庭院里看；但是要往下跳实在太高了，地面上的石头是冷酷无情的。

铃声和敲门声依旧继续在响着——他也继续处在恐慌的状态中——，他回到卧室中的那扇门旁，重新做出努力，每一次都比上一次更顽强地使劲，终于把它扭开了。他看到小楼梯就在不远的地方，同时感觉到夜间的冷空气迎面袭来，于是就悄悄地又回来取帽子和外衣，并把他后面的门尽量关牢；然后他手里拿着灯，蹑手蹑脚地从梯子上走下去；当他看到街道的时候，他灭了灯，把它搁在一个角落里，并走到星光正在照耀着的外面。