狄更斯双语小说:《董贝父子》第24章Part 14

Sir Barnet immediately divining that Florence would desire to write a letter to her father, proposed to return, and besought Mr Carker to come home and dine in his riding gear. Mr Carker had the misfortune to be engaged to dinner, but if Miss Dombey wished to write, nothing would delight him more than to accompany them back, and to be her faithful slave in waiting as long as she pleased. As he said this with his widest smile, and bent down close to her to pat his horse's neck, Florence meeting his eyes, saw, rather than heard him say, 'There is no news of the ship!'
Confused, frightened, shrinking from him, and not even sure that he had said those words, for he seemed to have shown them to her in some extraordinary manner through his smile, instead of uttering them, Florence faintly said that she was obliged to him, but she would not write; she had nothing to say.
'Nothing to send, Miss Dombey?' said the man of teeth.
'Nothing,' said Florence, 'but my - but my dear love- if you please.'
Disturbed as Florence was, she raised her eyes to his face with an imploring and expressive look, that plainly besought him, if he knew - which he as plainly did - that any message between her and her father was an uncommon charge, but that one most of all, to spare her. Mr Carker smiled and bowed low, and being charged by Sir Barnet with the best compliments of himself and Lady Skettles, took his leave, and rode away: leaving a favourable impression on that worthy couple. Florence was seized with such a shudder as he went, that Sir Barnet, adopting the popular superstition, supposed somebody was passing over her grave. Mr Carker turning a corner, on the instant, looked back, and bowed, and disappeared, as if he rode off to the churchyard straight, to do it.

巴尼特爵士立即揣度弗洛伦斯要想给她父亲写信，所以建议回家去，并请求卡克先生跟他们一道去，在他家吃晚饭，不用卸去骑马的服装。不幸的是，卡克先生早已接受别人的邀请，不能再在这里吃晚饭，但是如果董贝小姐想要写信，他就再也高兴不过地陪他们回去，并充当她忠实的奴仆，随她喜欢要他等待多久就等待多久。当他露出他那最宽阔的微笑说这些话，并弯下身子靠近她，拍拍马脖子的时候，弗洛伦斯碰到了他的眼光，可以说是看到而不是听到他说，“那条船杳无音讯！”
弗洛伦斯惶惑不安，惊恐万分，从他身边往后退缩，甚至根本不能肯定他是不是说了这些话，因为他似乎是以异乎寻常的方式，通过他的微笑把这些话显示给她看，而不是说出来的。她用微弱的声音说，她谢谢他，但是她不打算写信；她没有什么话要说的。
“不捎点东西去吗？”露出牙齿的人问道。
“不捎什么东西，”弗洛伦斯说道，“除了劳驾您转达我的——我的亲切的爱之外。”
虽然弗洛伦斯心绪烦乱，但是她还是抬起眼睛，用哀求的和意味深长的眼光望着他的脸；这眼光清楚地请求他宽恕她，如果他知道——他同样清楚地知道这一点——，她和她父亲之间相互传递口讯是一件很不寻常的事情，而像现在这样的传递口讯，那更是异乎寻常的。卡克先生微笑着，深深地鞠躬；巴尼特爵士请求他向董贝先生转达他本人和斯克特尔斯夫人衷心的问候，于是卡克先生向大家告别，骑着马离开了，在那德高望重的老两口心中留下了一个良好的印象。这时弗洛伦斯开始浑身打颤，巴尼特爵士相信当时流行的一种迷信说法，认为这时正有人走过她的坟地。卡克先生这时拐了个弯，往后看看，鞠着躬，然后消失不见了，仿佛他为了达到这个目的，正直向教堂墓地骑去。