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-<title>CHAPTER XLVI</title>
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-<h2 class="h21"><a id="a389"></a><a id="a390"></a><a id="a391"></a>CHAPTER XLVI</h2>
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-<p class="p28"><span class="t25"><img src="images/img23.jpg" width="135" height="32" alt="img23.jpg"/></span></p>
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-<p class="p29"><span class="t29">T</span><span class="t28">HE</span><span class="t27"> </span><span class="t28">DEPARTURE</span><span class="t27"> </span><span class="t28">OF</span><span class="t27"> </span>the Bellamys left Arthur in very low spirits. His sensations were similar to those which one can well imagine an ancient Greek might have experienced who, having sent to consult the Delphic oracle, had got for his pains a very unsatisfactory reply, foreshadowing evils but not actually defining them. Lady Bellamy was in some way connected with the idea of an oracle in his mind. She looked oracular. Her dark face and inscrutable eyes, the stamp of power upon her brow, all suggested that she was a mistress of the black arts. Her words, too, were mysterious, and fraught with bitter wisdom and a deep knowledge distilled from the poisonous weeds of life.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Arthur felt with something like a shudder that, if Lady Bellamy prophesied evil, evil was following hard upon her words. And in warning him not to place his whole heart’s happiness upon one venture, lest it should meet with shipwreck, he was sure that she was prophesying with a knowledge of the future denied to ordinary mortals. How earnestly, too, she had cautioned him against putting absolute faith in Angela — so earnestly, indeed, that her talk had left a flavour of distrust in his mind. Yet how could he mistrust Angela?</p>
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-<p class="p34">Nor was he comforted by a remark that fell from Mildred Carr the afternoon following the departure of the mail. Raising her eyes, she glanced at his hand.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“What are you looking at?” he said.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Was not that queer emerald you wore your engagement ring?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Yes.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“What have you done with it?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I gave it to Lady Bellamy to give to Angela.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“What for?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“To show her that I am alive and well. I may not write, you know.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“You are very confiding.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“What do you mean?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Nothing. At least, I mean that I don’t think that I should care to hand over my engagement ring so easily. It might be misapplied, you know.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">This view of the matter helped to fill up the cup of Arthur’s nervous anxiety, and he vainly plied Mildred with questions to get her to elucidate her meaning, and state her causes of suspicion, if she had any; but she would say nothing more on the subject, which then dropped, and was not alluded to again between them.</p>
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-<p class="p34">After the Bellamys’ departure, the time wore on at Madeira without bringing about any appreciable change in the situation. But Mildred saw that their visit had robbed her of any advantages she had gained over Arthur, for they had, as it were, brought Angela’s atmosphere with them, and, faint though it was, it sufficed to overpower her influence. He made no move forward, and seemed to have entirely forgotten the episode on the hills when he had gone so very near disaster. On the contrary, he appeared to her to grow increasingly preoccupied as time went on, and to look upon her more and more in the light of a sister, till at length her patience wore thin.</p>
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-<p class="p34">As for her passion, it grew almost unrestrainable in its confinement. Now she drifted like a rudderless vessel on a sea which raged continuously and knew no space of calm. And so little oil was poured upon the troubled waters, there were so few breaks in the storm-walls that rose black between her and the desired haven of her rest. Indeed, she began to doubt if even her poor power of charming him, as at first she had been able to do, with the sparkle of her wit and the half- unconscious display of her natural grace, was not on the wane, and if she was not near to losing her precarious foothold in his esteem and affection. The thought that he might be tiring of her struck her like a freezing wind, and for a moment turned her heart to ice.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Poor Mildred! higher than ever above her head bloomed that “blue rose” she longed to pluck. Would she ever reach it after all her striving, even to gather one poor leaf, one withered petal? The path which led to it was very hard to climb, and below the breakers boiled. Would it, after all, be her fate to fall, down into that gulf of which the sorrowful waters could bring neither death nor forgetfulness?</p>
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-<p class="p34">And so Christmas came and went.</p>
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-<p class="p34">One day, when they were all sitting in the drawing-room, some eight weeks after the Bellamys had left, and Mildred was letting her mind run on such thoughts as these, Arthur, who had been reading a novel, got up and opened the folding-doors at the end of the room which separated it from the second drawing-room, and also the further doors between that room and the dining-room. Then he returned, and, standing at the top of the big drawing-room, took a bird’s-eye view of the whole suite.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“What <span class="t31">are</span> you doing, Arthur?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I am reflecting, Mildred, that, with such a suite of apartments at your command, it is a sin and a shame not to give a ball.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I will give a ball, if you like, Arthur. Will you dance with me if I do?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“How many times?” he said, laughing.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Well, I will be moderate — three times. Let me see — the first waltz, the waltz before supper, and the last galop.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“You will dance me off my head. It is dangerous to waltz with any one so pretty,” he said, in that bantering tone he often took with her, and which aggravated her intensely.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“It is more likely that my own head will suffer, as I dance so rarely.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Then, that is a bargain?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Certainly.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Dear me, Mildred, how silly you are; you are like a schoolgirl!” said</p>
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-<p class="p34">Miss Terry.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Agatha is put out because you do not offer to dance three times with her.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Oh! but I will, though, if she likes; three quadrilles.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">And so the matter passed off in mutual badinage; but Mildred did not forget her intention. On the contrary, “society” at Madeira was soon profoundly agitated by the intelligence that the lady Croesus, Mrs. Carr, was about to give a magnificent ball, and so ill-natured — or, rather, so given to jumping to conclusions — is society, that it was freely said it was in order to celebrate her engagement to Arthur Heigham. Arthur heard nothing of this; one is always the last to hear things about oneself. Mildred knew of it, however, but, whether from indifference or from some hidden motive, she neither took any steps to contradict it herself, nor would she allow Miss Terry to do so.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Nonsense,” she said; “let them talk. To contradict such things only makes people believe them the more. Mind now, Agatha, not a word of this to Mr. Heigham; it would put him out.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Well, Mildred, I should have thought that you would be put out too.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I! — oh, no! Worse things might happen,” and she shrugged her shoulders.</p>
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-<p class="p34">At length the much-expected evening came, and the arriving guests found that the ball had been planned on a scale such as Madeira had never before beheld. The night was lovely and sufficiently still to admit of the illumination of the gardens by means of Chinese lanterns that glowed all around in hundreds, and were even hung like golden fruit amongst the topmost leaves of the lofty cabbage palms, and from the tallest sprays of the bamboos. Within, the scene was equally beautiful. The suite of three reception-rooms had been thrown into one, two for dancing, and one for use as a sitting-room. They were quite full, for the Madeira season was at its height, and all the English visitors who were “anybody” were there. There happened, too, to be a man-of-war in the harbour, every man-jack, or, rather, every officer-jack of which, with the exception of those on watch — and they were to be relieved later on — was there, and prepared to enjoy himself with a gusto characteristic of the British sailor-man.</p>
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-<p class="p34">The rooms, too, were by no means devoid of beauty, but by far the loveliest woman in them was Mrs. Carr herself. She was simply dressed in a perfectly-fitting black satin gown, looped up with diamond stars that showed off the exquisite fairness of her skin to great perfection. Her ornaments were also diamonds, but such diamonds — not little flowers and birds constructed of tiny stones, but large single gems, each the size of a hazel-nut. On her head she wore a tiara of these, eleven stones in all, five on each side, and surmounted over the centre of the forehead by an enormous gem as large as a small walnut, which, standing by itself above the level of the others, flashed and blazed like a fairy star. Around her neck, wrists, and waist were similar points of concentrated light, that, shining against the black satin as she moved, gave her a truly magnificent appearance. Never before had Mildred Carr looked so perfectly lovely, for her face and form were well worthy of the gems and dress; indeed, most of the men there that night thought her eyes as beautiful as her diamonds.</p>
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-<p class="p34">The ball opened with a quadrille, but in this Mrs. Carr did not dance, being employed in the reception of her guests. Then followed a waltz, and, as its first strains struck up, several applicants came to compete for the honour of her hand; but she declined them all, saying that she was already engaged; and presently Arthur, looking very tall and quite the typical young Englishman in his dress-clothes, came hurrying up.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“You are late, Mr. Heigham,” she said; “the music has begun.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Yes; I am awfully sorry. I was dancing with Lady Florence, and could not find her old aunt.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Indeed, to me Mrs. Velley is pretty conspicuous, with that green thing on her head; but come along, we are wasting time.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">Putting his arm round her waist, they sailed away together amidst of the murmurs of the disappointed applicants.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Lucky dog,” said one.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Infernal puppy,” muttered another.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Arthur enjoyed his waltz very much, for the rooms, though full, were not crowded, and Mildred waltzed well. Still he was a little uneasy, for he felt that, in being chosen to dance the first waltz with the giver of this splendid entertainment over the heads of so many of his superiors in rank and position, he was being put rather out of his place. He did not as a rule take any great degree of notice of Mildred’s appearance, but to-night it struck him as unusually charming.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“You look very beautiful to-night, Mildred,” he said, when they halted for breath; “and what splendid diamonds you have on!”</p>
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-<p class="p34">She flushed with pleasure at his compliment.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“You must not laugh at my diamonds. I know that I am too insignificant to wear such jewels. I had two minds about putting them on.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Laugh at them, indeed. I should as soon think of laughing at the Bank of England. They are splendid.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Yes,” she said, bitterly; “they would be splendid on your Angela.</p>
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-<p class="p34">They want a splendid woman to carry them off.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">Oddly enough, he was thinking the same thing: so, having nothing to say, he went on dancing. Presently the waltz came to an end, and Mildred was obliged to hurry off to receive the Portuguese Governor, who had just put in an appearance. Arthur looked at his card, and found that he was down for the next galop with Lady Florence Claverley.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Our dance again, Lady Florence.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Really, Mr. Heigham, this is quite shocking. If everybody did not know that you belonged body and soul to the lovely widow, I should be accused of flirting with you.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Who was it made me promise to dance five times?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I did. I want to make Mrs. Carr angry.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Why should my dancing five or fifty dances with you make Mrs. Carr angry?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">Lady Florence shrugged her pretty shoulders.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Are you blind?” she said.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Arthur felt uncomfortable.</p>
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-<p class="p34">In due course, however, the last waltz before supper came round, and he, as agreed upon, danced it with his hostess. As the strains of the music died away, the doors of the supper-room and tent were thrown open.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Now, Arthur,” said Mildred, “take me in to supper.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">He hesitated.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“The Portuguese Governor — —” he began.</p>
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-<p class="p34">She stamped her little foot, and her eyes gave an ominous flash.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Must I ask you twice?” she said.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Then he yielded, though the fact of being for the second time that night placed in an unnecessarily prominent position made him feel more uncomfortable than ever, for they were seated at the head of the top table. Mildred Carr was in the exact centre, with himself on her right and the Portuguese Governor on the left. To Arthur’s left was Lady Florence, who took an opportunity to assure him solemnly that he really “bore his blushing honours, very nicely,” and to ask him “how he liked the high places at feasts?”</p>
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-<p class="p34">The supper passed off as brilliantly as most successful suppers do. Mrs. Carr looked charming, and her conversation sparkled like her own champagne; but it seemed to him that, as in the case of the wine, there was too much sting in it. The wine was a little too dry, and her talk a little too full of suppressed sarcasm, though he could not quite tell what it was aimed at, any more than he could trace the source of the champagne bubbles.</p>
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-<p class="p34">Supper done, he led her back to the ball-room. The second extra was just beginning, and she stood as though she were expecting him to ask her to dance it.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“I am sorry, Mildred, but I must go now. I am engaged this dance.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Indeed — who to?” This was very coldly said.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Lady Florence,” he answered, confusedly, though there really was no reason why he should be ashamed.</p>
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-<p class="p34">She looked at him steadily.</p>
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-<p class="p34">“Oh! I forgot, for to-night you are her monopoly. Good-bye.”</p>
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-<p class="p34">A little while after this, Arthur thought that he had had about enough dancing for awhile, and went and sat by himself in a secluded spot under the shadow of a tree-fern in a temporary conservatory put up outside a bow-window. The Chinese lantern that hung upon the fern had gone out, leaving his chair in total darkness. Presently a couple, whom he did not recognize, for he only saw their backs, strayed in, and placed themselves on a bench before him in such a way as to entirely cut off his retreat. He was making up his mind to disturb them, when they began a conversation, in which the squeezing of hands and mild terms of endearment played a part. Fearing to interrupt, lest he should disturb their equanimity, he judged it best to stop where he was. Presently, however, their talk took a turn that proved intensely interesting to him. It was something as follows: —</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">She</span>. “Have you seen the hero of the evening?”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">He</span>. “Who? Do you mean the Portuguese Governor in his war-paint?”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">She</span>. “No, of course not. You don’t call him a hero, do you? I mean our hostess’s <span class="t31">fiance</span>, the nice-looking young fellow who took her in to supper.”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">He</span>. “Oh, yes. I did not think much of him. Lucky dog! but he must be rather mean. They say that he is engaged to a girl in England, and has thrown her over for the widow.”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">She</span>. “Ah, you’re jealous! I know that you would like to be in his shoes. Come, confess.”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">He</span>. “You are very unkind. Why should I be jealous when — —”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">She</span>. “Well, you need not hurt my hand, and will you <span class="t31">never</span> remember that black shows against white!”</p>
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-<p class="p34"><span class="t31">He</span>. “It’s awfully hot here; let’s go into the garden.” [<span class="t31">Exuent</span>.]</p>
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+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
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+<head>
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+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8"/>
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+<meta name="Generator" content="Atlantis Word Processor 4.0.6.6"/>
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+<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css"/>
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+<title>CHAPTER XLVI</title>
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+</head>
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+<body>
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+<h2 class="h21"><a id="a389"></a><a id="a390"></a><a id="a391"></a>第四十六章</h2>
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+<p class="p28"><span class="t25"><img src="images/img23.jpg" width="135" height="32" alt="图片23.jpg"/></span></p>
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+<p class="p29"><span class="t29">离</span><span class="t28">开</span><span class="t27"> </span>贝拉米一家的离去让亚瑟情绪非常低落。他的感受类似于人们可以想象的一个古希腊人所经历的那样：他派人去咨询德尔菲神谕，却徒劳无功地得到了一个非常不满意的回复，预示了灾难但没有具体说明。贝拉米夫人在某种程度上与他脑海中的神谕概念联系在一起。她看起来像神谕一样。她黝黑的面孔和深不可测的眼睛，额头上权力的印记，都暗示着她是一位黑魔法的女主人。她的话语也神秘莫测，充满苦涩的智慧和从生命的有毒杂草中提炼出的深刻知识。</p>
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+<p class="p34">阿瑟带着一种类似颤抖的感觉感觉到，如果贝拉米夫人预言了邪恶，邪恶就紧跟着她的话而来。并且警告他不要把自己的全部幸福押在一次冒险上，以免它遭遇沉船，他确信她是带着一种普通人所不具备的未来知识在预言。还有，她是多么认真地告诫他不要对安吉拉抱有绝对的信任——确实如此认真，以至于她的话在他心中留下了一股不信任的味道。然而，他怎么能不信任安吉拉呢？</p>
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+<p class="p34">邮件寄出之后那个下午，米尔德里德·卡尔说出的一句话也未能安慰他。她抬起眼来，瞥了一眼他的手。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你在看什么？”他说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">"你戴的那颗古怪的绿宝石，不就是你的订婚戒指吗？"</p>
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+<p class="p34">“是的。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你用它做了什么？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“我把它交给了Bellamy夫人，让她转交给Angela。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“为什么？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“为了向她表明我活着并且很好。我可能不会写信，你知道的。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你非常坦诚。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你什么意思？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“没什么。至少，我是说，我不认为应该这么轻易地把订婚戒指交出去。它可能会被误用，你知道的。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">这种看法加剧了亚瑟的神经性焦虑，他徒劳地向米尔德里德追问，试图让她阐明本意，并说出怀疑的根据（倘若她真有依据的话）；但她对此事不愿多说，话题就此终止，此后两人也再未提及。</p>
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+<p class="p34">Bellamys离开后，时间在马德拉岛流逝，但情况没有发生任何显著变化。但Mildred看到，他们的访问剥夺了她对Arthur所获得的任何优势，因为他们似乎带来了Angela的氛围，尽管微弱，却足以压倒她的影响。他没有向前迈进，似乎完全忘记了山上的事件——那时他差点遭遇灾难。相反，在她看来，随着时间的推移，他变得越来越心事重重，并且越来越把她当作姐妹看待，直到最后她的耐心耗尽。</p>
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+<p class="p34">至于她的激情，它在禁锢中变得几乎不可抑制。如今她像一艘无舵的船，在持续狂暴、毫无平静的海上漂泊。风波几乎没有被平息，风暴之墙黑压压地升起，在她和渴望的安息港湾之间，鲜有间隙。确实，她开始怀疑，她那可怜的魅力是否在衰退——如同起初她能凭借智慧的闪光和自然优雅的半无意识流露来吸引他——以及她是否正濒临失去在他尊重与感情中岌岌可危的立足之地。想到他可能厌倦了她，这念头如寒风般刺骨，瞬间让她的心如冰。</p>
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+<p class="p34">可怜的米尔德！在她头顶上方，比以往任何时候都更高的地方，盛开着那朵她渴望摘取的'蓝玫瑰'。经过所有的努力，她最终能到达那里吗？哪怕只是摘下一片可怜的叶子，一片枯萎的花瓣？通往那里的路径非常难爬，而下方的海浪汹涌澎湃。最终，她的命运会是坠入那个深渊吗？那里的悲伤之水既不能带来死亡，也不能带来遗忘？</p>
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+<p class="p34">就这样，圣诞节来了又去了。</p>
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+<p class="p34">贝拉米一家离开约八周后的某日，当众人坐在客厅里，米尔德里德正任思绪这般漫游时，一直读着小说的亚瑟突然起身，推开了客厅尽头的折叠门——这扇门将主客厅与第二客厅隔开——接着又打开了连接第二客厅与餐厅的远侧门扉。他回到原地，站在大客厅顶端，将整片相连的厅堂尽收眼底。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你<span class="t31">在</span>做什么，亚瑟？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“米尔德丽德，我在想，既然你有这么一套公寓，不举办舞会简直是一种罪过和耻辱。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">"亚瑟，我倒是可以办场舞会，你觉得如何？若我办了舞会，你会和我跳舞吗？"</p>
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+<p class="p34">“多少次？”他笑着说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“好吧，我会适度的——三次。让我想想——第一支华尔兹、晚餐前的华尔兹，以及最后一支加洛普舞。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你会让我跳得晕头转向。和这么漂亮的人跳华尔兹太危险了，”他用那种常对她使用的调侃语气说，这让她非常恼火。</p>
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+<p class="p34">"更有可能遭殃的是我的头，因为我很少跳舞。</p>
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+<p class="p34">"那么，这就是个约定了？"</p>
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+<p class="p34">"当然可以。"</p>
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+<p class="p34">“天哪，米尔德里德，你真是傻气；简直像个小女生！”那人说道</p>
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+<p class="p34">泰瑞小姐。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“阿加莎生气了，因为你没有邀请她跳三次舞。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“哦！但如果她喜欢，我还是会的；三支四对方舞。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">于是这件事在相互调侃中过去了；但Mildred并没有忘记她的意图。相反，马德拉岛上的“社交界”很快就被一则消息深为轰动：Croesus女士，Carr夫人，即将举办一场盛大的舞会，而社交界是如此恶意——或者说，是如此轻易下结论——以至于人们纷纷传言，这是为了庆祝她与Arthur Heigham的订婚。Arthur对此一无所知；人总是最后一个听到关于自己的事情。然而，Mildred知道这件事，但无论是因为漠不关心还是某种隐藏的动机，她既不亲自采取行动反驳，也不允许Terry小姐这样做。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“胡说,” 她说; “让他们说去吧。反驳这种事只会让人们更信以为真。听着，阿加莎，这件事可别对希格姆先生提一个字; 这会惹恼他。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“嗯，米尔德里德，我本该想到你也会不高兴的。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“我！——哦，不！更糟糕的事情可能会发生，” 她耸了耸肩。</p>
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+<p class="p34">期盼良久的夜晚终于降临。宾客们踏入会场时发现，这场舞会的规模实属马德拉群岛前所未见。夜色旖旎，四下无风，数百盏中国灯笼在庭园中熠熠生辉——它们甚至如金果般悬垂在高耸的棕榈树冠层间，摇曳在修竹的顶尖枝头。室内景象同样美不胜收：三间接待厅被打通成整体空间，两间充作舞池，一间设为休憩区。此时正值马德拉旅游旺季，场内宾客如云，所有在英伦稍有头脸的访客尽数到场。恰逢港内停泊着一艘军舰，除值班人员外——他们稍后也将前来换班——所有船员，更准确地说，所有军官悉数出席，个个都带着英国水手特有的热忱劲儿准备纵情享乐。</p>
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+<p class="p34">房间本身并非缺乏美感，但其中最耀眼的无疑是卡尔夫人本人。她身着剪裁完美的黑色缎面礼服，裙裾用钻石星星扣饰高高束起，完美衬托出她白皙无瑕的肌肤。她的首饰也全是钻石——不是那种用碎钻拼成小花小鸟的寻常款式，而是单颗硕大的宝石，每颗都有榛果大小。头戴的冠冕镶嵌着十一颗钻石：两侧各五颗，前额中央则托起一颗小核桃般的巨钻。这枚主石独自高踞其他钻石之上，犹如童话里的星星般流光溢彩。在她颈间、腕间与腰际，同样凝聚着点点璀璨光芒。当她走动时，这些钻石在黑缎礼服上熠熠生辉，令她显得雍容华贵。米尔德里德·卡尔从未如此明艳照人，她的容貌与身姿完全配得上这些珠宝华服。事实上，当晚在场多数男士都觉得，她那双明眸比钻石更动人。</p>
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+<p class="p34">舞会以四对方舞开场，但卡尔夫人并未下场跳舞，她正忙着款待宾客。接着华尔兹舞曲响起，当第一个音符飘荡时，几位绅士前来邀请她共舞；可她全都婉拒了，推说已有舞伴。不一会儿，亚瑟匆匆赶来——他身材高大，穿着晚礼服，俨然是位典型的英国青年。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你迟到了，海厄姆先生，”她说；“音乐已经开始了。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“是的，我非常抱歉。我正在和弗洛伦斯夫人跳舞，结果找不到她的老阿姨了。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“确实，在我看来，Velley夫人头上那个绿色的东西很显眼；但快走吧，我们别浪费时间了。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">他把手臂环绕在她的腰间，他们一起在失望的申请者们的低语声中飘然离去。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“幸运儿，” 一个人说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“该死的小狗,”另一个低声说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">亚瑟跳得十分尽兴。舞厅虽然满员却不显拥挤，何况米尔德里德的华尔兹跳得极好。但他心底仍有些不安——想到自己能越过众多地位显赫的贵人，获选与这场盛会的主办者共舞开场华尔兹，这实在超出了他应有的身份。平日里他并不太留意米尔德里德的容貌，可今夜却觉得她格外迷人。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你今晚看起来非常美丽，米尔德里德，” 他说，当他们停下来喘口气时；“你戴的钻石多么耀眼啊！”</p>
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+<p class="p34">她因他的赞美而高兴得脸红了。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“请不要取笑我的钻石。我知道我太微不足道了，不配佩戴这样的珠宝。我本来犹豫要不要戴上它们。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“嘲笑他们？真是荒谬。我还不如去嘲笑英格兰银行呢。他们真是辉煌。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“是的,” 她苦涩地说； “它们戴在你的安吉拉身上会很棒。</p>
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+<p class="p34">他们想要一个出色的女人来迷倒他们。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">奇怪的是，他也在想着同样的事；既然无话可说，便继续跳着舞。很快华尔兹结束了，米尔德丽德不得不匆忙离开去迎接刚刚露面的葡萄牙总督。亚瑟看了看自己的舞伴名单，发现下一场加洛普舞被安排与弗洛伦斯·克莱弗利夫人共舞。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“弗洛伦斯女士，我们又跳舞了。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">"海厄姆先生，真是令人震惊。倘若不是所有人都知道您整个人都属于那位可爱的寡妇，我恐怕就要被指责与您调情了。"</p>
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+<p class="p34">“是谁让我承诺要跳五次舞的？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“我做了。我想让Carr夫人生气。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“为什么我和你跳五次或五十次舞会让Carr夫人生气呢？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">弗洛伦斯夫人耸了耸她漂亮的肩膀。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“你瞎了吗？”她说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">亚瑟感到不舒服。</p>
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+<p class="p34">然而没过多久，晚餐前的最后一支华尔兹乐曲响起。按照约定，他与女主人跳了这支舞。随着乐曲声消逝而去，晚餐室和帐篷的门被打开了。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“现在，亚瑟，”米尔德雷德说，“带我去吃晚饭。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">他犹豫了。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“葡萄牙总督 — —” 他开始说道。</p>
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+<p class="p34">她小脚一跺，眼中闪过一道凶光。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“要我重复问吗？” 她说。</p>
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+<p class="p34">然后他让步了，尽管那天晚上第二次被置于不必要的显眼位置让他感到前所未有的不舒服，因为他们坐在主桌的上首。米尔德里德·卡尔坐在正中央，他自己在她右边，葡萄牙总督在左边。在亚瑟的左边是佛罗伦萨夫人，她趁机郑重其事地向他保证，他确实“非常得体地承受了那令人脸红的荣誉”，并问他“在宴会上坐高位感觉如何？”</p>
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+<p class="p34">这场晚宴如同所有成功的晚宴般流光溢彩。卡尔夫人容光焕发，谈吐间妙语连珠，宛如她珍藏的香槟般冒着灵动的气泡；但他总觉得，这谈话与杯中酒有着相似的缺陷——香槟过于酸涩，而她的话语里则藏着太多压抑的讽刺。尽管他无法明确这些锋芒指向何处，正如他永远追索不到香槟气泡的源头。</p>
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+<p class="p34">晚餐结束后，他带她回到舞厅。第二个加时舞刚刚开始，她站在那里，仿佛期待着他邀请她跳舞。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“对不起，米尔德丽德，但我现在必须走了。我已经约好跳这支舞了。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">“确实——给谁？”这话说得很冷淡。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“弗洛伦斯夫人,” 他困惑地回答道，尽管他实在没有理由感到羞愧。</p>
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+<p class="p34">她坚定地注视着他。</p>
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+<p class="p34">“哦！我忘记了，因为今晚你是她的专属。再见。”</p>
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+<p class="p34">过了一会儿，亚瑟觉得他跳得够久了，于是独自走到一个隐蔽的地方坐下。那是在一个临时搭建的温室里，温室建在凸窗外面，被一棵树蕨的阴影覆盖着。挂在蕨上的中国灯笼已经熄灭，让他的椅子完全陷入黑暗中。不久，一对情侣走了进来，他没有认出他们，因为他只看到他们的背影。他们坐在他面前的长椅上，完全挡住了他的退路。他正下定决心要打扰他们，这时他们开始交谈起来，交谈中包括手牵手和温和的亲昵话语。他害怕打扰他们，以免破坏他们的平静，于是决定最好原地不动。然而不久，他们的谈话转向了一个让他非常感兴趣的方向。内容大致如下：——</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">She</span>. “你见到今晚的焦点人物了吗？”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">他说</span>. “谁？你是指那个穿着战斗装的葡萄牙总督吗？”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">她</span>. “不，当然不。你难道称他为英雄吗？我指的是女主人的<span class="t31">未婚夫</span>，那个带她去吃晚饭的英俊小伙子。”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">他</span>. “哦，是的。我不太看得起他。幸运儿！但他一定相当卑鄙。据说他在英国有个未婚妻，并且为了那个寡妇抛弃了她。”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">她</span>. “啊，你嫉妒了！我知道你想取代他的位置。快承认吧。”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">他说道</span>. "你太不厚道了。既然——"</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">她</span>. “好吧，你别伤我的手，你就 <span class="t31">永远</span> 记不住黑色在白色上很显眼吗！”</p>
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+<p class="p34"><span class="t31">他</span>. “这里太热了；我们进花园去吧。” [<span class="t31">退场</span>.]</p>
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+</body>
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