狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第27章Part 05
As her eye rested on him for an instant, and then lighted on the ground, he saw in its bright and searching glance a suspicion that he had not come up at the moment of his interference, but had secretly observed her sooner. As he saw that, she saw in his eye that her distrust was not without foundation.
'Really,' cried Mrs Skewton, who had taken this opportunity of inspecting Mr Carker through her glass, and satisfying herself (as she lisped audibly to the Major) that he was all heart; 'really now, this is one of the most enchanting coincidences that I ever heard of. The idea! My dearest Edith, there is such an obvious destiny in it, that really one might almost be induced to cross one's arms upon one's frock, and say, like those wicked Turks, there is no What's-his-name but Thingummy, and What-you-may-call-it is his prophet!'
Edith designed no revision of this extraordinary quotation from the Koran, but Mr Dombey felt it necessary to offer a few polite remarks.
'It gives me great pleasure,' said Mr Dombey, with cumbrous gallantry, 'that a gentleman so nearly connected with myself as Carker is, should have had the honour and happiness of rendering the least assistance to Mrs Granger.' Mr Dombey bowed to her. 'But it gives me some pain, and it occasions me to be really envious of Carker;' he unconsciously laid stress on these words, as sensible that they must appear to involve a very surprising proposition; 'envious of Carker, that I had not that honour and that happiness myself.' Mr Dombey bowed again. Edith, saving for a curl of her lip, was motionless.
'By the Lord, Sir,' cried the Major, bursting into speech at sight of the waiter, who was come to announce breakfast, 'it's an extraordinary thing to me that no one can have the honour and happiness of shooting all such beggars through the head without being brought to book for it. But here's an arm for Mrs Granger if she'll do J. B. the honour to accept it; and the greatest service Joe can render you, Ma'am, just now, is, to lead you into table!'
With this, the Major gave his arm to Edith; Mr Dombey led the way with Mrs Skewton; Mrs Carker went last, smiling on the party.
當她的眼光在他身上停了一剎那，隨即又落到地上的時候，他在這明亮和敏銳的一瞥中看出一種懷疑：他並不是在進行干預的時候，剛剛到達那裏，而是先前就在悄悄地觀察她的。當他看出這一點的時候，她在他的眼光中看到：她的猜疑並不是沒有根據的。
“真的，”斯丘頓夫人曾在這些時間中通過長柄眼鏡細細觀察卡克先生，並稱心滿意地說，他懷有一片善良的心意（她是對少校這麼說的，雖然口齒不清，但仍能聽得出來），“真的，這是我平生聽到過的最美妙動人的巧合中的一個。想一想吧！我最親愛的伊迪絲，這分明是命中註定的，真叫人想把兩手交叉在胸前，像那些邪惡的土耳其人一樣說，除了——那叫什麼來的以外，那就沒有——他叫什麼名字——和你可以在他的預言者裏稱爲什麼的了！”
伊迪絲不屑校正這句引自可蘭經、被引得非常可笑的引語，但董貝先生感到有必要說幾句客氣話。
“這使我感到萬分高興，”董貝先生很做作地向女士們獻示殷勤，說道，“一位像卡克這樣跟我本人關係這麼密切的先生能光榮和幸福地給格蘭傑夫人提供一點小小的幫助。”董貝先生向她鞠了一個躬，“但這使我感到有些痛苦，說真的，我妒嫉卡克，”他不知不覺地在這幾個字上加重了語氣，好像他知道這一定使人感到這是個很驚人的說法似的；“我妒嫉卡克，因爲我本人不曾有那樣的光榮和幸福。”董貝先生又鞠了一個躬。伊迪絲除了撇了一下嘴外，一動也不動。
“真的，先生，”少校看到侍者前來通知去吃早飯，就立刻打開了話匣子，喊道，“使我感到驚奇的是，沒有一個人能光榮和幸福地用槍射穿這些乞丐的頭而不被抓去訊問的。但是這裏有一隻胳膊願意爲格蘭傑夫人效勞，如果她肯接受它，把這份光榮賜給喬·白的話；現在喬能爲您作出的最大的效勞，夫人，就是領您到餐桌去！”
少校說了這些話，就把胳膊遞給伊迪絲；董貝先生和斯丘頓夫人在前面領路；卡克先生走在最後，笑嘻嘻地望着這些人。
