雙語·面紗 第十四章

14

Though Kitty had met his wife at various tea-parties she had been some weeks in Hong Kong before she saw Charles Townsend. She was introduced to him only when with her husband she went to dine at his house. Kitty was on the defensive. Charles Townsend was Assistant Colonial Secretary and she had no mind to allow him to use her with the condescension which, notwithstanding her good manners, she discerned in Mrs. Townsend. The room in which they were received was spacious. It was furnished as was every other drawing-room she had been in at Hong Kong in a comfortable and homely style. It was a large party. They were the last to come and as they entered Chinese servants in uniform were handing round cocktails and olives. Mrs. Townsend greeted them in her casual fashion and looking at a list told Walter whom he was to take in to dinner.

Kitty saw a tall and very handsome man bear down on them.

“This is my husband.”

“I am to have the privilege of sitting next to you,” he said.

She immediately felt at ease and the sense of hostility vanished from her bosom. Though his eyes were smiling she had seen in them a quick look of surprise. She understood it perfectly and it made her inclined to laugh.

“I shan't be able to eat any dinner,” he said, “and if I know Dorothy the dinner's damned good.”

“Why not?”

“I ought to have been told. Some one really ought to have warned me.”

“What about?”

“No one said a word. How was I to know that I was going to meet a raging beauty?”

“Now what am I to say to that?”

“Nothing. Leave me to do the talking. And I'll say it over and over again.”

Kitty, unmoved, wondered what exactly his wife had told him about her. He must have asked. And Townsend, looking down on her with his laughing eyes, suddenly remembered.

“What is she like?” he had inquired when his wife told him she had met Dr. Fane's bride.

“Oh, quite a nice little thing. Actressy.”

“Was she on the stage?”

“Oh, no, I don't think so. Her father's a doctor or a lawyer or something. I suppose we shall have to ask them to dinner.”

“There's no hurry, is there?”

When they were sitting side by side at table he told her that he had known Walter Fane ever since he came to the Colony.

“We play bridge together. He's far and away the best bridge player at the Club.”

She told Walter on the way home.

“That's not saying very much, you know.”

“How does he play?”

“Not badly. He plays a winning hand very well, but when he has bad cards he goes all to pieces.”

“Does he play as well as you?”

“I have no illusions about my play. I should describe myself as a very good player in the second class. Townsend thinks he's in the first. He isn't.”

“Don't you like him?”

“I neither like him nor dislike him. I believe he's not bad at his job and everyone says he's a good sportsman. He doesn't very much interest me.”

It was not the first time that Walter's moderation had exasperated her. She asked herself why it was necessary to be so prudent: you either liked people or you didn't. She had liked Charles Townsend very much. And she had not expected to. He was probably the most popular man in the Colony. It was supposed that the Colonial Secretary would retire soon and everyone hoped that Townsend would succeed him. He played tennis and polo and golf. He kept racing ponies. He was always ready to do any one a good turn. He never let red tape interfere with him. He put on no airs. Kitty did not know why she had resented hearing him so well spoken of, she could not help thinking he must be very conceited: she had been extremely silly; that was the last thing you could accuse him of.

She had enjoyed her evening. They had talked of the theatres in London, and of Ascot and Cowes, all the things she knew about, so that really she might have met him at some nice house in Lennox Gardens; and later, when the men came into the drawing-room after dinner, he had strolled over and sat beside her again. Though he had not said anything very amusing, he had made her laugh; it must have been the way he said it: there was a caressing sound in his deep, rich voice, a delightful expression in his kind, shining blue eyes, which made you feel very much at home with him. Of course he had charm. That was what made him so pleasant.

He was tall, six foot two at least, she thought, and he had a beautiful figure; he was evidently in very good condition and he had not a spare ounce of fat on him. He was well-dressed, the best-dressed man in the room, and he wore his clothes well. She liked a man to be smart. Her eyes wandered to Walter: he really should try to be a little better turned out. She noticed Townsend's cuff-links and waistcoat buttons; she had seen similar ones at Cartier's. Of course the Townsends had private means. His face was deeply sunburned, but the sun had not taken the healthy color from his cheeks. She liked the little trim curly moustache which did not conceal his full red lips. He had black hair, short and brushed very sleek. But of course his eyes, under thick, bushy eyebrows, were his best feature: they were so very blue, and they had a laughing tenderness which persuaded you of the sweetness of his disposition. No man who had those blue eyes could bear to hurt any one. She could not but know that she had made an impression on him. If he had not said charming things to her his eyes, warm with admiration, would have betrayed him. His ease was delightful. He had no self-consciousness. Kitty was at home in these circumstances and she admired the way in which amid the banter which was the staple of their conversation he insinuated every now and then a pretty, flattering speech. When she shook hands with him on leaving he gave her hand a pressure that she could not mistake.

“I hope we shall see you again soon,” he said casually, but his eyes gave his words a meaning which she could not fail to see.

“Hong Kong is very small, isn't it?” she said.

第十四章

雖然凱蒂在不同的茶會(huì)上碰到過查理·湯森的太太，但是在她到了香港幾周之后才見到查理本人。當(dāng)她和丈夫一起去查理家赴宴時(shí)，人們把她介紹給了他。凱蒂當(dāng)時(shí)心存戒備，查理·湯森是殖民地大臣助理，她不想讓他居高臨下地看待她。雖然湯森太太對(duì)她還是彬彬有禮的，但凱蒂能夠察覺到她有點(diǎn)兒看不起她。接待凱蒂夫婦的房間很寬敞，家具擺設(shè)和她在香港所去過的其他人家的客廳一樣，都是一種家庭氣氛濃厚的舒適風(fēng)格。那次的聚會(huì)規(guī)模很大，他們是最后一撥到的客人。進(jìn)入客廳后，身著制服的仆人們在人群中穿梭，給客人們端雞尾酒、送橄欖果。湯森太太很隨意地招呼著他們，看著客人名單告訴沃爾特有人會(huì)把他領(lǐng)到餐桌旁。

凱蒂看到一位個(gè)頭較高、長相十分英俊的男人向他們走來。

“這位是我丈夫。”

“我將有幸坐在您身邊?！彼f道。

她立即放松了下來，心底里的敵意也消失得無影無蹤。他的眼睛里也帶著微笑，她同時(shí)也看出他的目光中閃過一抹吃驚的神色，她太了解這種神色了，但還是暗自想笑。

“飯我是吃不了了?！彼f道，“即使我了解多蘿西，飯菜一定特別可口。”

“為什么吃不了？”

“應(yīng)該有人告訴我，真的早就應(yīng)該有人提醒我了?！?/p>

“提醒什么？”

“沒人跟我提一個(gè)字兒，我怎么會(huì)知道我要遇見一個(gè)大美人呢？”

“您這么說，讓我說什么好呢？”

“什么也不用說，讓我自說自話好了，我要一遍又一遍地說?！?/p>

凱蒂雖然未動(dòng)聲色，但心里好奇，關(guān)于自己，他的太太究竟跟他說了些什么？他一定問了她一些問題。查理用他那雙含笑的眼睛低頭望著她，猛然想起了什么。

“她長什么樣？”當(dāng)他的太太告訴他，她已經(jīng)見到了費(fèi)恩博士新婚的妻子以后，他問道。

“噢，很可愛的小人兒，明星范兒十足?！?/p>

“她是個(gè)演員嗎？”

“哦，不是，我覺得她不是個(gè)演員。她的父親是個(gè)醫(yī)生，或者律師什么的，我記不太清了。我想我們應(yīng)該邀請(qǐng)他們來參加宴會(huì)?！?/p>

“不著急，慢慢來，不是嗎？”

當(dāng)他們緊挨著坐在餐桌邊上的時(shí)候，查理告訴凱蒂他剛來香港就認(rèn)識(shí)沃爾特了。

“我們一起玩橋牌，在俱樂部中，他可是超一流的玩家?！?/p>

在回家的路上，她把這話告訴了沃爾特。

“你知道，他說得有點(diǎn)兒夸張。”

“他打得怎么樣？”

“打得也不賴。他有一手好牌時(shí)，打得相當(dāng)好，可有一手壞牌時(shí)，就打得一塌糊涂?！?/p>

“他打得和你一樣好嗎？”

“我對(duì)自己的牌技心中有數(shù)，我認(rèn)為自己是二流玩家中打得相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的。而查理認(rèn)為自己屬于一流的玩家，實(shí)際上不是這樣的?！?/p>

“你不喜歡他嗎？”

“我說不上喜歡他，也不能說不喜歡。我覺得他工作還算可以，大家都說他是個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)健將，我對(duì)他興趣不大?！?/p>

這已經(jīng)不是第一次了，沃爾特?zé)o關(guān)痛癢的鎮(zhèn)靜讓她感到惱火。她在心中自問，這樣穩(wěn)健世故有必要，有道理嗎？對(duì)一個(gè)人，你要么喜歡，要么不喜歡。她就很喜歡查理·湯森，雖然她沒有料到會(huì)這樣。他可能在香港是最受歡迎的人了，可以預(yù)料，如果殖民地大臣不久后退休，大家都希望查理能夠接替。他打網(wǎng)球、馬球和高爾夫，也熱衷賽馬。他總是時(shí)刻準(zhǔn)備對(duì)別人施以援手，決不讓繁文縟節(jié)干擾辦事的效率，也從不擺架子。凱蒂不知道為什么自己以前聽到別人贊揚(yáng)他都會(huì)覺得不以為然，她不禁想到他一定是個(gè)十分自負(fù)的家伙，她真是太傻了，看走了眼，他最不可能受到的指摘就是說他矜持傲慢。

整個(gè)晚上她都過得很愉快。他們談到了倫敦的劇院，談到了阿斯科特賽馬大會(huì)和考斯帆船賽，談到了她知道的一切事情，她覺得和他一見如故，真的好像在倫諾克斯花園中某個(gè)舒適的房子里兩個(gè)人曾經(jīng)見過面。后來，在宴會(huì)之后，男人們都去了客廳，他踱步過來，又坐到了她身邊。雖然他不再說一些很好玩的事情，剛才已經(jīng)讓她笑個(gè)不停了，但還是用他一貫的說話方式和她聊著天，他的聲音深沉、醇厚，有一種親切感。在他善良、閃光的藍(lán)色眼睛里，有著一種愉快的神色，讓人覺得和藹可親，和他在一起很放松。當(dāng)然，他身上還有一種魅力，使得他可愛、迷人。

他的個(gè)頭很高，她覺得至少有六英尺二英寸，而且身材很勻稱。顯然，他的條件很好，身上沒有一盎司的贅肉。他衣冠楚楚，是房間里穿著最得體的男士，可見他平時(shí)很注意穿著打扮。她喜歡男士看上去很精神的樣子，她的目光在沃爾特的身上打量了一番——他真的應(yīng)該好好捯飭一下了。她注意到查理襯衣的袖扣和馬甲上的紐扣，以前她在卡地亞的商店里也見過類似的款式，當(dāng)然這是因?yàn)闇易暹€有很多私人產(chǎn)業(yè)。他的臉被曬得黝黑，但太陽顯然并沒有帶走他臉頰上健康的顏色。她喜歡他那修剪得很整齊的彎卷的小胡子，以及并未被胡子遮住的紅嘴唇。他的短發(fā)烏黑，梳理得溜光水滑。當(dāng)然還有他的眼睛，在濃眉之下是他最迷人之處：眼珠湛藍(lán)，帶著含笑的溫柔，讓人感受到他性格中的體貼。有這樣一雙藍(lán)眼睛的人是不會(huì)忍心傷害任何人的。她分明知道自己也給他留下了好印象，即使他還沒有向她說出什么迷人的話語，但他的眼睛，帶著崇拜的暖意，已經(jīng)暴露了心底的秘密。他的放松自如也讓人愉快，而他自己似乎并沒有察覺。凱蒂對(duì)這種氛圍感到很愜意，她也欣賞這樣的方式，在作為聊天主料的打趣中，他時(shí)不時(shí)地會(huì)用上一兩句聽上去極為順耳的奉承話。當(dāng)她和他握手告別時(shí)，她明白無誤地感覺到了他手上的力度。

“我希望我們不久之后就能再次見到您。”他很隨意地說道，但他的眼神在說這話時(shí)顯得意味深長，她不可能不明白。

“香港真的很小，不是嗎？”她說道。