第十八章（第12/14页）

“甘愿替我出头，是吗？可那位仁兄究竟姓甚名谁？”“我们儿时在苏格兰结识的朋友，是位画家。”“邓肯·福布斯！”他立即说出他的名字，因为康妮曾经跟他提起过。

"And how would you shift the blame on to him?" "They could stay together in some hotel, or she could even stay in his apartment." "Seems to me like a lot of fuss for nothing," he said.

“你们怎么能将罪名转嫁到他身上？”“他们可以住在同家旅馆，甚至在他的公寓过夜也没问题。”“依我看，这样做实在有些小题大做。”他说。

"What else do you suggest?" said Hilda. "If your name appears, you will get no divorce from your wife, who is apparently quite an impossible person to be mixed up with." "All that!" he said grimly.

“你还有别的主意吗？”希尔达问。“要是成为共同被告，你想要办妥离婚简直比登天还难，再说你妻子本就是个棘手的女人。”“怎么搞成这样！”他郁闷地说。

There was a long silence.

又是一阵长久的沉默。

"We could go right away," he said.

“我们可以一走了之。”他说。

"There is no right away for Connie," said Hilda. "Clifford is too well known." Again the silence of pure frustration.

“康妮做不到。”希尔达说。“克利福德名声太响。”沮丧的情绪让三人再度陷入沉默。

"The world is what it is. If you want to live together without being persecuted, you will have to marry. To marry, you both have to be divorced. So how are you both going about it?" He was silent for a long time.

“现实就是如此。如果想要安安稳稳地过日子而不被起诉，就必须结婚。而要结婚，你俩就得先办妥离婚。你们究竟打算怎么处理？”他沉默良久。

"How are you going about it for us?" he said.

“你希望我们怎么做？”他说。

"We will see if Duncan will consent to figure as co-respondent: then we must get Clifford to divorce Connie: and you must go on with your divorce, and you must both keep apart till you are free.” "Sounds like a lunatic asylum." "Possibly! And the world would look on you as lunatics: or worse.” "What is worse?" "Criminals, I suppose." "Hope I can plunge in the dagger a few more times yet," he said, grinning. Then he was silent, and angry.

我们先要征询邓肯的意见，看他是否同意扮演奸夫的角色，然后，要设法让克利福德答应跟康妮离婚。而你的任务是办妥离婚，在彻底恢复自由身之前，你俩不能再见面。”“感觉就像进了疯人院。”“或许吧！世人恰恰把你们当作疯子，或许更有甚者。”“更有甚者？”“大概是通奸犯。”“真希望能多用几次我的匕首。”他冷笑着说。然后，他不再作声，只是生着闷气。

"Well!" he said at last.

“好吧！”他终于妥协。

"I agree to anything. The world is a raving idiot, and no man can kill it: though I'll do my best. But you re right. We must rescue ourselves as best we can.” He looked in humiliation, anger, weariness and misery at Connie.

“我什么都同意。世人都是不可理喻的白痴，没人能将他们全部杀绝，即使我愿意竭尽全力。不过你是对的。我们必须竭尽所能，救自己逃出生天。”他望着康妮，心里五味杂陈，有屈辱，有愤懑，有厌倦，也有痛苦。

"Ma lass!" he said.

“亲爱的！”他说。

"The world's goin' to put salt on thy tail.” "Not if we don't let it," she said.

“你只能眼睁睁地跳入世人设的圈套。”“不会的，只要我们不妥协。”她说。

She minded this conniving against the world less than he did.

说到与世界针锋相对的反抗情绪，她远没有他那般强烈。

Duncan, when approached, also insisted on seeing the delinquent game-keeper, so there was a dinner, this time in his flat: the four of them. Duncan was a rather short, broad, dark-skinned, taciturn Hamlet of a fellow with straight black hair and a weird Celtic conceit of himself. His art was all tubes and valves and spirals and strange colours, ultra-modern, yet with a certain power, even a certain purity of form and tone: only Mellors thought it cruel and repellent. He did not venture to say so, for Duncan was almost insane on the point of his art: it was a personal cult, a personal religion with him.

姐妹俩前去试探邓肯的口风，可那位画家却坚持要见见守林人，毕竟是他未能负起情人的责任。四人约定共进晚餐，地点是邓肯的公寓。邓肯又矮又壮，肤色偏暗，哈姆雷特般地沉默寡言，一头乌黑的直发，拥有典型的凯尔特人性格，自负到极点。他的画作描绘的全是管子，阀门以及螺旋状物，色彩的搭配也特立独行，具有极端的现实主义风格，但也不乏某种感染力，甚至是形式与色调的单纯搭配。不过，梅勒斯却认为这些画作冷酷无情，令人反感。他却不能贸然说出自己的看法，因为邓肯对自己的艺术观几近痴狂，简直像是种个人崇拜和信仰。