狄更斯雙語小説:《董貝父子》第28章Part 8

Florence passed him as if she were in a dream, and hurried upstairs. The garish light was in the long-darkened drawing-room and there were steps and platforms, and men In paper caps, in the high places. Her mother's picture was gone with the rest of the moveables, and on the mark where it had been, was scrawled in chalk, 'this room in panel. Green and gold.' The staircase was a labyrinth of posts and planks like the outside of the house, and a whole Olympus of plumbers and glaziers was reclining in various attitudes, on the skylight. Her own room was not yet touched within, but there were beams and boards raised against it without, baulking the daylight. She went up swiftly to that other bedroom, where the little bed was; and a dark giant of a man with a pipe in his mouth, and his head tied up in a pocket-handkerchief, was staring in at the window.
It was here that Susan Nipper, who had been in quest of Florence, found her, and said, would she go downstairs to her Papa, who wished to speak to her.
'At home! and wishing to speak to me!' cried Florence, trembling.
Susan, who was infinitely more distraught than Florence herself, repeated her errand; and Florence, pale and agitated, hurried down again, without a moment's hesitation. She thought upon the way down, would she dare to kiss him? The longing of her heart resolved her, and she thought she would.
Her father might have heard that heart beat, when it came into his presence. One instant, and it would have beat against his breast.
But he was not alone. There were two ladies there; and Florence stopped. Striving so hard with her emotion, that if her brute friend Di had not burst in and overwhelmed her with his caresses as a welcome home - at which one of the ladies gave a little scream, and that diverted her attention from herself - she would have swooned upon the floor.
'Florence,' said her father, putting out his hand: so stiffly that it held her off: 'how do you do?'
Florence took the hand between her own, and putting it timidly to her lips, yielded to its withdrawal. It touched the door in shutting it, with quite as much endearment as it had touched her.
'What dog is that?' said Mr Dombey, displeased.
'It is a dog, Papa - from Brighton.'
'Well!' said Mr Dombey; and a cloud passed over his face, for he understood her.

弗洛倫斯彷彿在夢中似地走過他身旁，急急忙忙跑上樓去。耀眼的光線充滿了過去長期黑暗的客廳，在高處可以看到梯子、踏板和戴着紙帽子的工人。她母親的畫像已經和其他傢俱一道搬走了，在原先掛像的地方潦草地塗寫着幾個粉筆字：“這間房間要鑲上護牆板，綠色和金黃色的。”樓梯間像屋外一樣，一片縱橫交錯的柱子和木板；一羣白鐵工和玻璃工像奧林匹斯山上的羣神 一樣，在天窗上彎下身子，以各種不同的姿勢操作着。她自己的房間裏面暫時還沒有觸動，但是房子外面支立着樑杆和木板，阻擋陽光從窗户射進去。她迅速走上另一間擺着小牀的房間去，一位皮膚黝黑的大漢，嘴巴里銜着一支煙管，頭上包紮着一塊手絹，正在窗口張大眼睛往裏看。
一直在尋找弗洛倫斯的蘇珊·尼珀，就在這裏找到了她，並建議她下樓到她爸爸那裏去；他希望跟她説話。
“他在家！還希望跟我説話！”弗洛倫斯顫抖地喊道。
蘇珊比弗洛倫斯更加心神錯亂，又把她的使命重説了一遍；弗洛倫斯臉色蒼白，心情激動，沒有片刻遲疑，就急急忙忙跑下樓去。在下樓的路途中想：她敢不敢吻他呢？心中難以抑制的願望使她下定了決心，她想她敢。
當她走到她父親面前的時候，他也許會聽到她的心在跳動。再過一瞬間，它就要貼在他的胸前跳動了。
可是他不是一個人。那裏還有兩位夫人；弗洛倫斯站住了。她心情鬥爭得十分激烈，如果這時她那粗野的朋友戴沒有衝進房間，親熱地撫摸着她的全身，表示歡迎她回家的話，那麼她真會暈倒在地板上的。其中有一位夫人看到這個情景，輕輕地尖叫了一聲，這轉移了弗洛倫斯對自己的注意力。
“弗洛倫斯，”她的父親向她伸出手，説道；那冷冰冰的神態，使她不禁在原地站住，不敢再走向前去，“你好嗎？”
弗洛倫斯把他的手握在自己的雙手中，膽怯地把它拉近嘴脣，當它抽回去的時候，她不敢違抗地順從了。他走去關門，這手剛才接觸到她時就跟現在接觸到門時一樣冷淡。
“這條狗是怎麼回事？”董貝先生不高興地問道。
“這條狗，爸爸，是從布賴頓來的。”
“唔！”董貝先生説道，這時一朵陰雲掠過他的臉孔，因為他明白她的意思。