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我想老爷处在危险之中是不大可能笑的，小姐，你一定是在做梦了。" "I was not dreaming," I said, with some warmth, for her brazencoolness provoked me. Again she looked at me; and with the samescrutinising and conscious eye." 我没有做梦，"我带着几分恼火说，因为她那种厚颜无耻的镇定把我激怒了。她又带着同样探究和警惕的目光看着我。 "Have you told master that you heard a laugh?" she inquired." 你告诉老爷了没有，你听到笑声了？"她问道。 "I have not had the opportunity of speaking to him this morning."" 早上我还没有机会同他说呢。" "You did not think of opening your door and looking out into thegallery?" she further asked." 你没有想到开门往走廊里一瞧？"她往下问 
她似乎在盘问我，想在不知不觉中把我的话掏出来。我忽然想到，她要是发觉我知道或是怀疑她的罪行，就会恶意作弄我，我想还是警惕为妙。 "On the contrary," said I, "I bolted my door."" 恰恰相反，"我说，"我把门拴上了。" "Then you are not in the habit of bolting your door every nightbefore you get into bed?"" 那你每天睡觉之前没有拴门的习惯吗？" "Fiend! she wants to know my habits, that she may lay her plansaccordingly!" Indignation again prevailed over prudence: I repliedsharply, "Hitherto I have often omitted to fasten the bolt: I didnot think it necessary. I was not aware any danger or annoyance wasto be dreaded at Thornfield Hall: but in future" (and I laid markedstress on the words) "I shall take good care to make all securebefore I venture to lie down."" 这恶魔！她想知道我的习惯，好以此来算计我："愤怒再次压倒谨慎，我尖刻地回答："到目前为止我还是常常忽略了拴门，我认为没有这必要，我以前没有意识到在桑菲尔德还要担心什么危险或者烦恼，不过将来（我特别强调了这几个字），我要小心谨慎，弄得一切都安安全全了才敢躺下睡觉。" "It will be wise so to do," was her answer: "this neighbourhood isas quiet as any I know, and I never heard of the hall beingattempted by robbers since it was a house; though there are hundredsof pounds' worth of plate in the plate-closet, as is well known.And you see, for such a large house, there are very few servants,because master has never lived here much; and when he does come,being a bachelor, he needs little waiting on: but I always think itbest to err on the safe side; a door is soon fastened, and it is aswell to have a drawn bolt between one and any mischief that may beabout. A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence;but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though Heoften blesses them when they are used discreetly." And here sheclosed her harangue: a long one for her, and uttered with thedemureness of a Quakeress." 这样做才聪明呢，"她回答，"这一带跟我知道的任何地方都一样安静，打从府宅建成以来、我还没有听说过有强盗上门呢。尽管谁都知道，盘子柜里有价值几百英镑的盘子，而且你知道，老爷不在这里长住，就是来住，因为是单身汉也不大要人服侍，所以这么大的房子，只有很少几个仆人。不过我总认为过份注意安全总比不注意安全好，门一下子就能拴上，还是拴上门，把自己和可能发生的祸害隔开为好。小姐，很多人都把一切托付给上帝，但要我说呀，上帝不会排斥采取措施，尽管他只常常祝福那些谨慎采取的措施，"说到这里她结束了长篇演说。这番话对地来说是够长的了，而且口气里带着贵格会女教徒的假正经。 
我依旧站在那里，正被她出奇的镇定和难以理解的虚伪弄得目瞪口呆时，厨师进门来了。 "Mrs. Poole," said she, addressing Grace, "the servants' dinner willsoon be ready: will you come down?"" 普尔太太，"她对格雷斯说，"佣人的午饭马上就好了，你下楼去吗？" "No; just put my pint of porter and bit of pudding on a tray, andI'll carry it upstairs."" 不啦，你就把我那一品特葡萄酒和一小块布丁放在托盘里吧，我会端到楼上去。" "You'll have some meat?"" 你还要些肉吗？" "Just a morsel, and a taste of cheese, that's all."" 就来一小份吧，再来一点奶酪，就这些。" 
还有西米呢？" "Never mind it at present: I shall be coming down before teatime:I'll make it myself."" 现在就不用啦，用茶点之前我会下来的，我自己来做。" The cook here turned to me, saying that Mrs. Fairfax was waiting forme: so I departed. 这时厨师转向我，说费尔法克斯太太在等看我，于是我就离开了。 I hardly heard Mrs. Fairfax's account of the curtain conflagrationduring dinner, so much was I occupied in puzzling my brains over theenigmatical character of Grace Poole, and still more in ponderingthe problem of her position at Thornfield and questioning why shehad not been given into custody that morning, or, at the very least,dismissed from her master's service. He had almost as much asdeclared his conviction of her criminality last night: whatmysterious cause withheld him from accusing her? Why had heenjoined me, too, to secrecy? It was strange: a bold, vindictive,and haughty gentleman seemed somehow in the power of one of themeanest of his dependants; so much in her power, that even when shelifted her hand against his life, he dared not openly charge herwith the attempt, much less punish her for it. 吃午饭时候，费尔法克斯太太谈起帐幔失火的事。我几乎没有听见，因为我绞尽脑汁，思索着格雷斯.普尔这个神秘人物，尤其是考虑她在桑菲尔德的地位问题；对为什么那天早晨她没有被拘留，或者至少被老爷解雇，而感到纳闷。昨天晚上，他几乎等于宣布确信她犯了罪。是什么神秘的原因却使他不去指控她呢，为什么他也嘱咐我严守秘密呢，真也奇怪，一位大胆自负、复仇心切的绅士，不知怎地似乎受制于一个最卑微的下属、而且被她控制得如此之紧，甚至当她动手要谋害他时，竟不敢公开指控她的图谋，更不必说惩罚她了。 Had Grace been young and handsome, I should have been tempted tothink that tenderer feelings than prudence or fear influenced Mr.Rochester in her behalf; but, hard-favoured and matronly as she was,the idea could not be admitted. "Yet," I reflected, "she has beenyoung once; her youth would be contemporary with her master's: Mrs.Fairfax told me once, she had lived here many years. I don't thinkshe can ever have been pretty; but, for aught I know, she maypossess originality and strength of character to compensate for thewant of personal advantages. Mr. Rochester is an amateur of thedecided and eccentric: Grace is eccentric at least. What if aformer caprice (a freak very possible to a nature so sudden andheadstrong as his) has delivered him into her power, and she nowexercises over his actions a secret influence, the result of his ownindiscretion, which he cannot shake off, and dare not disregard?"But, having reached this point of conjecture, Mrs. Poole's square,flat figure, and uncomely, dry, even coarse face, recurred sodistinctly to my mind's eye, that I thought, "No; impossible! mysupposition cannot be correct. Yet," suggested the secret voicewhich talks to us in our own hearts, "you are not beautiful either,and perhaps Mr. Rochester approves you: at any rate, you have oftenfelt as if he did; and last night--remember his words; remember hislook; remember his voice!" 要是格雷斯年轻漂亮，我会不由得认为，那种比谨慎或忧虑更为温存的情感左右了罗切斯特先生，使他偏袒于她。可是她面貌丑陋，又是一付管家婆样子，这种想法也就站不住脚了。"不过，"我思忖道，"她曾有过青春年华，那时主人也跟她一样年轻。费尔法克斯太太曾告诉我，她在这里已住了很多年。我认为她从来就没有姿色，但是也许她性格的力量和独特之处弥补了外貌上的不足。罗切斯特先生喜欢果断和古怪的人，格雷斯至少很古怪。要是从前一时的荒唐（像他那种刚愎自用、反复无常的个性，完全有可能干出轻率的事来）使他落入了她的掌中，行为上的不检点酿成了恶果，使他如今对格雷斯所施加给自己的秘密影响，既无法摆脱，又不能漠视，那又有什么奇怪呢？但是，一想到这里，普尔太太宽阔、结实、扁平的身材和丑陋干瘪甚至粗糙的面容，便清晰地浮现在我眼前，于是我想："不，不可能！我的猜想不可能是对的。不过，"一个在我心里悄悄说话的声音建议道："你自己也并不漂亮，而罗切斯特先生却赞赏你，至少你总是觉得好像他是这样，而且昨天晚上--别忘了他的话，别忘了他的神态，别忘了他的嗓音！" 
这一切我都记得清清楚楚：那语言，那眼神，那声调此刻似乎活生生地再现了。这时我呆在读书室里，阿黛勒在画画，我弯着身子指导她使用画笔，她抬起头，颇有些吃惊。 "Qu' avez-vous, mademoiselle?" said she. "Vos doigts tremblentcomme la feuille, et vos joues sont rouges: mais, rouges comme descerises!""Q'avez vous, Mademoiselle" 她说"Vos doigts tremblent comme la feuille,et vos joues sont rouges: mais, rouges comme des cerises！" "I am hot, Adele, with stooping!" She went on sketching; I went onthinking." 我很热，阿黛勒，这么躬着身！"她继续画她的速写，我继续我的思考。 I hastened to drive from my mind the hateful notion I had beenconceiving respecting Grace Poole; it disgusted me. I comparedmyself with her, and found we were different. Bessie Leaven hadsaid I was quite a lady; and she spoke truth--I was a lady. And nowI looked much better than I did when Bessie saw me; I had morecolour and more flesh, more life, more vivacity, because I hadbrighter hopes and keener enjoyments. 我急于要把对格雷斯.普尔的讨厌想法，从脑海中驱走，因为它使我感到厌恶，我把她与自己作了比较，发现彼此并不相同。贝茜.利文曾说我很有小姐派头。她说的是事实，我是一位小姐。而如今，我看上去已比当初贝茜见我时好多了。我脸色已更加红润，人已更加丰满，更富有生命力，更加朝气蓬勃，因为有了更光明的前景和更大的欢乐。 "Evening approaches," said I, as I looked towards the window. "Ihave never heard Mr. Rochester's voice or step in the house to-day;but surely I shall see him before night: I feared the meeting inthe morning; now I desire it, because expectation has been so longbaffled that it is grown impatient."" 黄昏快到了，"我朝窗子看了看，自言自语地说。"今天我还没有在房间里听到过罗切斯特先生的声音和脚步声呢。不过天黑之前我肯定会见到他。早上我害怕见面，而现在却渴望见面了。我的期望久久落空，真有点让人不耐烦了。"
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