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“我怕冬天，我更怕回到巴黎去。” 'Why?' “为什么呢？” 'Lots of reasons.' “原因很多。” And she went on quickly, without explaining the reasons for her fears: 她没有告诉我她惧怕的原因，却突然接下去说： 'Do you want to leave this place? I'll sell everything I have. We'll go and live far away. There'll be nothing left of the person I used to be. No one will know who I am. Would you like that?' “你愿意离开这里吗？我把我所有的东西统统卖掉，一起到那里去生活，丝毫不留下我过去的痕迹。谁也不会知道我是谁。你愿意吗？” 
“玛格丽特，如果你喜欢的话，我们走吧，我们去作一次旅行。”我对她说，“但是有什么必要变卖东西呢？你回来时看到这些东西不是很高兴吗？我没有足够的财产来接受你这种牺牲，但是像像样样地作一次五、六个月的旅行，我的钱还是绰绰有余的，只要能讨你哪怕是一丁点儿喜欢的话。” 'If that's the way of it, no, ' she continued, leaving the window and moving to the sofa in the dark shadow of the bedroom. 'What's the point of going all that way to spend money? I cost you enough here as it is.' “还是不去的好，”她离开窗子继续说，一面走过去坐在房间阴暗处的长沙发椅上，“到那里去花钱有什么意思？我在这儿已经花了你不少钱了。” 'That sounds like a reproach, Marguerite. You're being ungracious.' “你是在埋怨我，玛格丽特，这可不公道啊！” 'Forgive me, my dear, ' she said, holding out her hand to me, 'this stormy weather makes me irritable. I'm not saying what I mean. ' “请原谅，朋友，”她伸手给我说，“这种暴风雨天气使我精神不愉快；我讲的并不是我心里想的话。” And, after kissing me, she sat for a long time, lost in thought. 说着她吻了我一下，随后又陷入沉思。 
类似这样的情景发生过好几次，虽然我不知道她产生这些想法的原因是什么，但是我很清楚玛格丽特是在担忧未来。她是不会怀疑我的爱情的，因为我越来越爱她了。但是我经常看到她忧心忡忡，她除了推诿说身体不佳之外，从来不告诉我她忧愁的原因。 Fearing that she would weary of too monotonous a life, I suggested that we might return to Paris, but she invariably rejected the suggestion, and assured me that she could not be as happy anywhere as she was in the country. 我怕她对这种过于单调的生活感到厌倦，就建议她回到巴黎去，但她总是一口拒绝，并一再对我说没有地方能比乡下使她感到更加快乐。 Prudence made only rare visits now. On the other hand, she wrote a number of letters which I never asked to see, although each one left Marguerite deeply preoccupied. I did not know what to make of it. 普律当丝现在不常来了，但是她经常来信，虽然玛格丽特一收到信就心事重重，我也从来没有要求看看这些信，我猜不出这些信的内容。 One day, Marguerite remained in her room. I entered. She was writing. 一天，玛格丽特在她房间里，我走了进去，她正在写信。 'Who are you writing to?' I asked her. “你写信给谁？”我问她。 
“写给普律当丝，要不要我把信念给你听听？” I had a profound distaste for anything that could seem like suspiciousness. So I answered Marguerite saying that there was no need for me to know what she was writing. And yet, I was sure of it, that letter would have acquainted me with the real reason for her fits of sadness. 一切看来像是猜疑的事情我都很憎恶，因此我回答玛格丽特说，我不需要知道她写些什么，但是我可以断定这封信能告诉我她忧愁的真正原因。 The next day, the weather was superb. Marguerite suggested that we might take a boat out on the river and visit the lle de Croissy. She seemed in the best of spirits. It was five o'clock by the time we got back. 第二天，天气非常好，玛格丽特提出要乘船去克罗瓦西岛玩，她似乎非常高兴。我们回家时已经五点钟了。 'Madame Duvernoy came, ' said Nanine as soon as she saw us come in. “迪韦尔诺瓦太太来过了，”纳尼娜看见我们进门就说。 'Did she go away again?' asked Marguerite. “她走了吗？”玛格丽特问道。 
“走了，坐夫人的车子走的，她说这是讲好了的。” 'Very good, ' said Marguerite quickly. 'Let dinner be served at once.' “很好，”玛格丽特急切地说，“吩咐下去给我们开饭。” Two days later, there was a letter from Prudence, and for the next fortnight Marguerite seemed to have done with her mysterious sad moods, for which she never stopped asking me to forgive her now that they had ceased. 两天以后，普律当丝来了一封信，以后的两周里，玛格丽特已经不再那么莫名其妙地发愁了，而且还不断地要求我为这件事原谅她。 However, the carriage did not come back. 但是马车没有回来。 'How is it that Prudence hasn't returned your brougham?' I asked one day. “普律当丝怎么不把你的马车送回来？”有一天我问。 
“那两匹马里有一匹病了，车子还要修理。反正这里用不着坐车子，趁我们还没有回巴黎之前把它修修好不是很好吗？” Prudence came down to see us a few days after this and confirmed what Marguerite had told me. 几天以后，普律当丝来看望我们，她向我证实了玛格丽特对我讲的话。 The two women went for a stroll by themselves in the garden, and when I joined them they changed the subject they had been discussing. 两个女人在花园里散步，当我向她们走去的时候，她们就把话题扯开去了。 That evening, as she was going, Prudence complained of the cold and asked Marguerite to lend her an Indian shawl. 晚上普律当丝告辞的时候，抱怨天气太冷，要求玛格丽特把开司米披肩借给她。 And so a month went by during which Marguerite was gayer and more loving than she had ever been. 一个月就这样过去了，在这一个月里玛格丽特比过去任何时候都要快乐，也更加爱我了。 
但是马车没再回来，披肩也没有送回来。凡此种种不由得使我起了疑心。我知道玛格丽特存放普律当丝来信的抽屉，趁她在花园里的时候，我跑到这个抽屉跟前。我想打开看看，但是打不开，抽屉锁得紧紧的。 I then searched through the drawers where her trinkets and diamonds were normally kept. They opened without difficulty, but the jewel-cases had disappeared ?along with their contents, naturally. 接着我开始搜寻那些她平时盛放首饰和钻石的抽屉，这些抽屉一下就打开了，但是首饰盒不见了，盒子里面的东西不用说也没有了。 A pang of fear shot through my heart. 一阵恐惧猛地袭上了我的心头。 I was about to go and ask Marguerite to tell me exactly why these items were missing. But I knew for certain that she would not admit the truth. 我想去问玛格丽特这些东西究竟到哪儿去了，但是她肯定不会对我说实话的。 So I said: 'My dear Marguerite, I want to ask if it's all right for me to go up to town. No one where I live knows where I am, and there must have been letters from my father. I expect he's worried. I must write to him.' “我的好玛格丽特，”于是我这样对她说，“我来请求你允许我到巴黎去一次。我家里的人还不知道我在哪里，我父亲也该来信了，他一定在挂念我，我一定要给他写封回信。” 
“去吧，我的朋友，”她对我说，“但是要早点回来。” I left. 我走了。 I hurried round to Prudence's at once. 我立即跑到普律当丝的家里。
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