書蟲6級《名利場》第九章: 克勞利上校的麻煩

Rawdon went with the three men who arrested him without argument. He knew that if the money was paid, he would be released from prison the next day.

羅頓乖乖地跟逮捕他的三個人走了。他知道，只要付了錢，他第二天就能從監(jiān)獄里出來。

The third man went to call a cab to take them to the prison. Rawdon was not too anxious. "It's not a lot," he thought. "Becky can find that much quite easily. But she'll be asleep by now. Let her have her sleep. I'll write to her in the morning."

第三個人去叫了輛出租馬車，載他們?nèi)ケO(jiān)獄。羅頓并沒太發(fā)愁。“錢不多。”他想，“貝姬很容易就能湊到。但是，她現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)睡了。讓她睡吧。我明早給她寫信。”

Early on Saturday, he sent this letter by messenger.

周六一早，他派信差送了這封信。

"How much is it for?" he asked the men.

“要多少錢？”他問那些人。

"Only a small amount," the first man replied. "A hundred and seventy pounds. Bills for Mr Nathan."

“只是一筆小錢。”第一個人回答，“一百七十英鎊。內(nèi)森先生的賬。”

DEAR BECKY, -- I HOPE you slept well. As I was walking home last night, I was arrested for Nathan's bills -- a hundred and seventy. Take my watch and anything you can spare and sell them to raise the money. Please do it soon, as tomorrow's Sunday and I don't want to spend another night here. I'm glad it's not Rawdy's weekend for coming home. Yours, R. (Please hurry.)

親愛的貝姬：希望你昨晚睡得好。昨晚走回家時，我因欠內(nèi)森的賬被捕了，共一百七十英鎊。拿我的表和其他你能拿出的東西賣了，湊上這筆錢。請快點，明天就是周日，我不想在這里再過一晚了。很高興羅迪這個周末不回家。羅（請抓緊時間。）

It would only take three hours, he thought, before Becky would arrive with the money and open his prison doors. But the day passed and no messenger came, and no Becky. It was not until the evening that this letter was delivered.

他想，只要三個小時，貝姬就會帶著錢來到這里，打開他牢房的門。但是白天過去了，沒有信差前來，貝姬也不見蹤影。直到晚上才有一封信送來。

I was desperate for them to go and when at last they did, I went down on my knees to Lord Steyne and begged him to give me two hundred pounds. He was in a great fury -- but finally he went away, promising to send me the money in the morning, when I will bring it at once to my poor old prisoner -- with a kiss from his affectionate Becky. (P. S. I am writing in bed. Oh, I have such a headache, and such a heartache!)

我心里急切 盼著他們趕緊離開。最后他們終于走了，我跪在斯泰恩勛爵面前，求他給我兩百英鎊。他大發(fā)雷霆，但是走的時候，答應早晨會把錢送來，那時我就可以立刻帶著錢來接我可憐的囚犯了。隨信附上一吻，深愛你的貝姬。（又及，我在床上寫的信。唉，我的頭好痛，心也好痛?。?/p>

MY POOR DEAREST LOVE, -- I could not sleep at all last night because of worrying over what had happened to you. In the morning I felt so ill that I sent for the doctor, who gave me some medicine to help me sleep, and said I must not be disturbed. So your messenger spent hours waiting. You can imagine how I felt when I finally read your letter. I got ready at once to go out, but then Lord Steyne arrived with some friends (they were so full of compliments about last night!).

我可憐的、最最親愛的：我昨晚整夜睡不著覺，擔心你出了什么事。早晨我病得很嚴重，只得請了醫(yī)生來。他給我開了幫助睡眠的藥，說我絕不能受打擾。因此，你的信差等了好幾個小 時。你能想象得到，后來我終于看到你的信時是怎樣的感受啊。我立刻準備好出門，不料斯泰恩勛爵帶著他的朋友們來了（他們對昨晚贊不絕口呢?。?。

When Rawdon read this letter, his face turned red with anger, and all his suspicions returned. She could not even go out and sell a few things to free him. She could talk about compliments paid to her while he was in prison. Who had put him there? He could hardly bear to think of what he suspected. Quickly, he sat down and wrote a short note to Sir Pitt or Lady Crawley. He begged them to help him, for the sake of his child.

羅頓讀了信，氣得滿面通紅，所有的疑慮又涌上心頭。她都不出去賣些東西讓他擺脫牢獄之災。他身在監(jiān)獄，她還能談論那些恭維她的話。是誰害他進監(jiān)獄？他簡直不敢想那些疑慮。很快，他坐下來，寫了一封短信給皮特爵士和克勞利女士。他哀求他們看在他孩子的份上幫幫他。

The debt was quickly paid, and Rawdon thanked Lady Jane again and again, as the carriage took them home. It was nine o'clock at night. He left Lady Jane at her house, and walked and ran through the streets until he arrived breathless outside his own door. Trembling, he stopped and stared up at the house. Lights shone brightly from the drawing-room windows. She had said that she was in bed and ill. He stood there for some time, the light from the rooms on his pale face.

債務很快就還清了。坐馬車回家的路上，羅頓再三感謝簡女士。晚上九點鐘，他把簡女士送到家后，一路上連走帶跑，上氣不接下氣地跑到自己家門前。他停下腳步，抬頭看著房子，渾身顫抖?？蛷d窗戶透出明亮的燈光。她之前說她生病臥床。他站了好一會兒，房子里透出的燈光照在他蒼白的臉上。

He took out his door key, let himself into the house, and went silently up the stairs. Everywhere was quiet; all the servants had been sent away. He heard laughter in the drawing-room -- laughter and singing. Becky was singing. And a voice shouted, "Well done! Well done!" It was Lord Steyne's.

他取出家門鑰匙，開門進屋，悄悄上樓。四處一片安靜，仆人們都被打發(fā)走了。他聽到客廳傳來笑聲——笑聲和歌聲。貝姬在唱歌。一個聲音大喊：“唱得好！唱得好！”說話人是斯泰恩勛爵。

Rawdon opened the door and went in. There was a little table with dinner for two -- and wine. Lord Steyne was leaning over the sofa on which Becky was sitting. She wore her finest evening dress, and around her neck sparkled the diamonds which Steyne had given her. He had her hand in his, and was bowing over it to kiss it, when Becky jumped up with a faint scream as she caught sight of Rawdon's white face. She tried to smile, and Steyne stood up, pale, and with fury in his face.

羅頓打開門，走了進去。一張小桌子上擺著兩人的晚餐，還有葡萄酒。貝姬坐在沙發(fā)上，斯泰恩勛爵俯身向她靠去。她穿著她最漂亮的晚禮服，脖子上斯泰恩勛爵送給她的鉆石項鏈閃閃發(fā)光。他拉著她的手，正要低頭親吻上去。就在這時，貝姬看見羅頓慘白的臉，發(fā)出一聲微弱的驚叫，嚇得跳了起來。她努力擠出笑臉，而斯泰恩勛爵站起身，鐵青著臉，怒形于色。

Rawdon was so moved by her kind voice that he ran to her, and threw his arms round her, gasping out his thanks.

羅頓聽到她親切的聲音大為感動，他跑到她面前，擁抱她，氣喘吁吁地道謝。

An hour later, he was told he had a visitor. It was Lady Jane. "Pitt was out when your note arrived," she said, "so I came myself."

一個小時后，他被告知有訪客。來人是簡女士。“你的信到的時候，皮特不在家。”她說，“所以我自己來了。”

The expression on Rawdon's face made Becky throw herself in front of him. "I am innocent, Rawdon," she said. "Before God, I am innocent!" She turned to Lord Steyne. "Say I am innocent!" she cried.

貝姬一看羅頓的臉色，立刻沖到他面前。“我是清白的，羅頓。”她說，“我對天發(fā)誓，我是清白的！”她轉(zhuǎn)向斯泰恩勛爵。“說我是清白的！”她大喊。

He attempted a laugh, and came forward, holding out his hand. "What, you're back? How are you, Crawley?" he said.

他勉強笑了一下，走上前來，伸出手。“啊，回來了？你還好嗎，克勞利？”他說。

"Take off those jewels." She took them off, still trembling.

“摘掉那些珠寶。”她一面哆嗦，一面把珠寶取下來。

He thought a trap had been laid for him, and was as furious with the wife as with the husband. "You -- innocent! Damn you!" he screamed. "You -- innocent! Why, every jewel on your body has been paid for by me! I have given you thousands of pounds which your husband has spent, and for which he has sold you! Don't think you can frighten me. Let me pass."

他覺得這是給他設的一個圈套，對妻子和對丈夫同樣怒不可遏。“你——清白！去你的吧！”他大叫，“你——清白！喂，你身上的每件珠寶都是我掏的錢！我給了你幾千英鎊，都讓你丈夫花了，這等于他把你給賣了！別以為你能嚇唬住我。讓我過去。”

Rawdon seized him by the neck. "You lie!" he cried. "You lie, you cowardly devil!" he struck the noble Lord twice across the face, and threw him, bleeding, to the ground. Unable to stop him, Becky stood there trembling. She admired her husband, strong, brave, and victorious.

羅頓掐住他的脖子。“你撒謊！”他大喊，“你撒謊，你這個膽小鬼！”他扇了高貴的勛爵兩巴掌，不顧他受傷流血，把他推倒在地。貝姬阻止不了羅頓，站在那里渾身發(fā)抖。她崇拜她的丈夫——他強壯，勇敢，無往不勝。

"Come here," Rawdon said. Becky came at once.

“過來。”羅頓說。貝姬立刻上前。

What were her thoughts when he left her? She sat for hours, with the sunlight now pouring into the room. She had heard the door bang as her husband left. She knew he would never come back. He was gone for ever. Would he kill himself? No, not until he had fought Lord Steyne. She thought of all her past life -- how comfortless it seemed, how miserable, lonely, and pointless.

他離開的時候，她在想什么？她在房間里坐了幾個小時，直到陽光灑了進來。她丈夫走時，她聽見門砰的一響。她知道他再也不會回來了，他會在她生活里消失。他會自殺嗎？不會，除非他已和斯泰恩勛爵決斗過。她想著以往的生活——似乎是那樣缺乏安慰，那樣痛苦孤獨，那樣毫無意義。

"Don't kill me, Rawdon," she said.

“饒我一命，羅頓。”她說。

"No," said Becky, "that is --"

“沒。”貝姬說，“那是——”

"I am innocent," Becky said. And he left her without another word.

“我是清白的。”貝姬說。他一言不發(fā)，轉(zhuǎn)身離開了。

"I'll send it back to him today," said Rawdon. "And I'll pay Miss Briggs, who was kind to the boy, and some of the debts. You might have sent me a hundred pounds, Becky, out of all this. I have always shared with you."

“我今天就把這個還給他。”羅頓說，“我會付錢給布里格斯小姐，她對孩子很好。我還會再還一些債。貝姬，這么多錢物，你本應該給我送一百英鎊的。我一直都跟你共甘苦的啊。”

He laughed angrily. "I want to see if that man lies about the money as he has about me. Has he given you any?"

他憤怒地冷笑。“他罵我的話全是胡說，我要看看關于錢的事他有沒有撒謊。他給過你錢嗎？”

"Did he give you this?" Rawdon said.

“是他給你的嗎？”羅頓說。

"Yes," Becky answered.

“是的。”貝姬回答。

Rawdon took the diamonds and threw them at Lord Steyne.

羅頓拿過鉆石項鏈，扔給斯泰恩勛爵。

"Give me your keys," Rawdon said, and they went out together.

“把你的鑰匙給我。”羅頓說。接著他們一起離開客廳。

"Come upstairs," Rawdon said to his wife.

“上樓。”羅頓對妻子說。

Becky had kept back the key to her secret little desk, but Rawdon searched long and hard, and in the end she was forced to open her desk too. It contained love letters, jewellery, and bank-notes -- including a new one for a thousand pounds.

貝姬把她秘密小桌子的鑰匙隱藏起來，但是羅頓找了很久，查得很仔細，最后她不得不把她的小桌子也打開了。里面裝著情書、珠寶和鈔票——其中有一張嶄新的一千英鎊票子。

"I warned you. I always said this would happen," his brother answered. "I can't give you any more money, Rawdon."

“我警告過你。我總說你會落到這般田地。”他哥哥回答，“我不能再給你錢了，羅頓。”

"Good heavens, Rawdon!" he said. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at home?"

“老天爺，羅頓！”他說，“你在這里干什么？你怎么沒在家待著？”

"It's not money I want," Rawdon said. "It's the boy I'm worried about. Promise me that when I'm gone you'll take him. Your wife has always been kind to him. My marriage is over."

“我要的不是錢。”羅頓說，“我擔心的是孩子。答應我，我走了后你會好好照顧他。嫂子一向?qū)λ芎谩Ｎ业幕橐鐾甑傲恕?rdquo;

"Home!" said Rawdon, with a wild laugh. "Pitt, I'm finished."

“家！”羅頓狂笑著說，“皮特，我完了。”

When Rawdon arrived at his brother's house in Great Gaunt Street, he was shown into the study to wait. As the clock struck nine, Sir Pitt came into the room, fresh and clean, a model of neatness. He stared in surprise when he saw poor Rawdon, redeyed and unshaven, with untidy hair.

羅頓到了大岡特街的哥哥家，被領到書房等候。時鐘剛敲九下，皮特爵士就走進書房。他看上去精神抖擻，裝扮齊整，簡直就是整潔的典范。而可憐的羅頓，眼睛紅腫，胡子拉碴，頭發(fā)亂作一團，爵士吃驚地盯著他。

Sir Pitt immediately guessed the truth, and that the "devil" Rawdon wanted to kill was Lord Steyne. Rawdon told his brother the story, and went on, in a broken voice, "There has to be a fight. I attacked him, so he must have his chance of revenge. And I may be killed. Will you and Jane take care of the boy, Pitt? It would comfort me to know that."

皮特爵士立刻猜到了實情，那個羅頓想殺死的“混蛋”是斯泰恩勛爵。羅頓給他哥哥講了事情的經(jīng)過，然后用哽咽的聲音繼續(xù)說：“一定會有一場決斗。我打了他，所以一定要給他機會報仇。我可能會被殺死。皮特，你和簡愿意照顧我兒子嗎？如果你答應，我就放心了。”

"Good God! Is she dead?" Sir Pitt said, in concern.

“天哪！她死了？”皮特爵士關心地問。

"I wish I was," said Rawdon. "If there wasn't my son to worry about, I'd have killed myself this morning, and that devil too."

“我希望是我 死了。”羅頓說，“要不是擔心我兒子，我今天早晨就自殺了，還要殺了那個混蛋。”

Sir Pitt was deeply moved, and shook his brother's hand. "Of course, Rawdon, of course. You have my word on it."

皮特爵士大為感動，和弟弟握了握手。“當然，羅頓，當然。我向你保證。”

"Good thing too," Macmurdo said. "Who is it?"

“干得好。”麥克默多說，“是誰??？”

The money for Miss Briggs was not forgotten, and Rawdon gave it to Pitt. "Please see that she gets it," he said. "I've always felt ashamed of taking the poor old woman's money."

給布里格斯小姐的錢也沒落下，羅頓把錢交給了皮特。“請確保她收到。”他說，“我一直都很羞愧，拿了可憐老婦人的錢。”

Rawdon went next to see his friend, Captain Macmurdo, to ask him to make the arrangements for the fight. "I'm going to kill him, Mac," Rawdon said. "There's only one way out of it. They had me arrested. I found them alone together. I told him he was a liar and a coward, and knocked him down and beat him."

接下來，羅頓去見他的朋友麥克默多上尉，請他安排決斗的事宜。“我要殺了他，麥克。”羅頓說，“只有一條路可走。他們害我被逮捕。我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們單獨在一起。我對他說他是個騙子、懦夫，然后把他打倒，揍了他一頓。”

"No," said Rawdon. He took out the thousand-pound note he had found in Becky's desk. "He gave her this, Mac, and she hid it. She had all this money in the house, and she didn't come and rescue me when I was locked up for debt. You don't know how much I loved her. I sacrificed everything for her."

“不會。”羅頓說。他拿出在貝姬桌里找到的那張一千英鎊的票子。“這是他給她的，麥克，而她藏了起來。這筆錢一直在屋里放著，我因為欠債被關起來，她都沒來解救我。你不知道我有多么愛她。我為她犧牲了一切。”

Rawdon told him.

羅頓告訴了他。

"Steyne! Good God! He's a friend of the Prince. But -- she may be innocent, after all," Macmurdo said.

“斯泰恩！老天！他是親王的朋友。不過——她畢竟也有可能是清白的。”麥克默多說。

When Becky finally shook off her mood of black despair, it was late in the morning. She rang the bell for the servants, again and again, but no one came. In the end she went downstairs and found several people in the drawing-room. The landlord, the landlord's wife, the cook, and several other servants were sitting there, complaining loudly and drinking wine.

貝姬終于從絕望的情緒中緩過勁來時，上午快過去了。她一遍又一遍地打鈴召喚仆人，但沒有人來。最后，她下樓去，發(fā)現(xiàn)客廳里有幾個人。房東、房東的妻子、廚子，還有其他幾個仆人正坐在那里，一邊喝酒，一邊大聲抱怨。

Becky was furious. "How dare you!" she screamed at them. "How dare you sit on my sofas, drinking my wine!"

貝姬怒火中燒。“你們好大膽！”她對他們尖叫，“你們竟敢坐我的沙發(fā)，喝我的葡萄酒！”

The Captain sighed, and agreed to make the arrangements.

上尉嘆了口氣，同意安排決斗的事。

Every servant in the house knew what had happened, and that Becky was finished. They knew she had no money, and could not pay them their long-overdue wages. Some of them had already left, taking valuables with them. Becky's French maid had taken the jewellery left lying on the drawing-room floor, together with all the silver spoons and several of Becky's fine dresses.

家里的仆人都知道發(fā)生了什么事，知道貝姬完蛋了。他們知道她沒錢，付不了長期拖欠他們的薪水。他們中有一些人已經(jīng)拿上值錢的東西離開了。貝姬的法國女仆拿走了丟在客廳地板上的珠寶首飾，以及所有的銀湯匙和貝姬的幾件高級裙子。

"Your sofa, indeed!" said the cook. "I'm sitting on a sofa that belongs to your landlord, like everything else in this house!"

“你的 沙發(fā)，哼！”廚子說，“我坐的沙發(fā)是你房東的，這房里所有的東西都是！”

"Is it true, then, what I read in the paper?" said Sir Pitt. He had just read a paragraph that had surprised him greatly.

“那么，我在報紙上看到的是真的？”皮特爵士說。他剛讀到一段文章，令他大吃一驚。

The landlord was almost weeping. "Where's my rent, Mrs Crawley, eh? You've ruined me! I've known the Crawley family all my life. I never thought that one of them would ruin me!"

房東就快哭出來了。“我的房租呢，克勞利夫人，呃？你害得我傾家蕩產(chǎn)了！我從小就認識克勞利一家人，我從來沒想到他們家會有人弄得我傾家蕩產(chǎn)??！”

Becky promised to pay them all the next day, and hurried out of the house. She walked quickly through the streets (she had no money to pay for a carriage) to Sir Pitt's house in Great Gaunt Street. Where was Lady Jane Crawley? It was Sunday, she was at church. And Sir Pitt? In his study. Becky slipped past the servant and was in Sir Pitt's room before her astonished brother-in-law had even laid down his newspaper.

貝姬許諾次日付清欠他們的錢，然后就匆匆出門了。她快步穿過街道（她沒錢雇馬車），前往大岡特街皮特爵士的家。簡·克勞利女士在哪里？那天是星期天，她在教堂。皮特爵士呢？在書房。貝姬溜過仆人身邊，闖進了皮特爵士的書房，她吃驚的大伯還沒來得及把報紙放下。

He turned red, and moved back from her with a look of great alarm and horror.

他漲紅了臉，往后退去，一副驚慌失措的樣子。

"Don't look at me like that," Becky said. "I am not guilty, dear Pitt. You must believe me! You were my friend once. Oh, how could this happen just when I had such good news -- just when all our problems were going to be ended."

“別那樣看著我。”貝姬說，“我是無辜的，親愛的皮特。你一定要相信我！你曾是我的朋友啊。唉，怎么能發(fā)生這種事呢，就在我剛得到好消息的時候——就在我們所有的問題都快解決的時候。”

And so she went on with her persuasive story, pouring it into the ears of her confused brother-in-law. Yes, she had money of which Rawdon knew nothing. But Pitt knew what his brother was like, knew how careless he was about money, how he would have spent it on horses and gambling…

她繼續(xù)說著合情合理的故事，一股腦兒灌進她大伯的耳朵里，弄得他迷迷瞪瞪的。沒錯，她是有些羅頓不知道的錢，但皮特知道他弟弟是什么樣的人，對錢是多么不放在心上，有錢就會拿去賭馬或賭博……

"Yes, it's true. Lord Steyne told me on Friday night that as soon as the news arrived of the death of the previous Governor, he obtained the position for my husband. Rawdon will be the new Governor of Coventry Island! But I had to wait until the announcement was official. And then Rawdon came home…"

“是的，是真的。斯泰恩勛爵周五晚上告訴我，前任總督的死訊一到，他就幫我丈夫拿到了這個職位。羅頓就要當考文垂島的新任總督了！但是我得等到官方通知下來。然后羅頓就回到家……”

"I did it all for my dear husband," she cried. "Lord Steyne liked me, yes, and I tried hard, in every honest way I could, to please him. But it was for Rawdon -- and you! I wanted him to get Rawdon a good position -- I wanted him to make you a lord. Oh, Pitt, dear Pitt, pity me! Bring Rawdon back to me!"

“我做這一切都是為了親愛的丈夫。”她哭著說，“斯泰恩勛爵喜歡我，沒錯，而我也想盡辦法討好他，良家婦女能做的我都做了。但那是為了羅頓，也為了你??！我想讓他給羅頓謀個好職位，我想讓他把你弄成勛爵。啊，皮特，親愛的皮特，可憐可憐我吧！把羅頓帶回我身邊吧！”

As she spoke, she threw herself down on her knees and, weeping passionately, seized Pitt's hand and kissed it.

說到這里，她跪在地上放聲痛哭，一把抓住皮特的手親吻。

It was at that moment that Lady Jane, returning from church, came into the room. She was pale with anger.

就在這時，從教堂回來的簡女士走進房間。她氣得面色蒼白。

"My love!" cried Sir Pitt. "You do Rebecca an injustice…"

“親愛的！”皮特爵士大叫，“你冤枉麗貝卡了……”

"How dare Mrs Crawley enter this house?" she said. "She's a wicked woman -- a heartless mother, a false wife!"

“克勞利夫人怎么敢進這個家？”她說，“她是個邪惡的女人，沒心肝的母親，不忠誠的妻子！”

"I have been a faithful and obedient wife to you, Pitt," Lady Jane continued, "but I will not have that woman in my house. If she enters it, I and my children will leave it. You must choose, sir, between her and me." And with that, she walked out of the room, leaving Becky and Sir Pitt astonished by her strong words.

“我一直是個忠順的妻子，皮特。”簡女士繼續(xù)說，“但是我的家里容不下那個女人。她要在這里，我就和孩子們離開。先生，你必須在我和她之間作出選擇。”說完，她走出了房間，貝姬和皮特爵士聽了她激烈的言辭，目瞪口呆。

"It was the diamond bracelet you gave me," Becky said sadly. And before she left him, Sir Pitt had promised to find Rawdon and do all he could to persuade him to forgive his wife.

“那是因為你把鉆石手鐲送給我的緣故。”貝姬傷心地說。在她離開之前，皮特爵士答應找到羅頓，竭盡所能說服他原諒妻子。

Lord Steyne refused to challenge Colonel Crawley to a duel. He sent a friend to talk to Captain Macmurdo, and the friend explained that Lord Steyne was innocent, Mrs Crawley was innocent; that he and his wife had also been invited to Curzon Street on that fatal evening but had failed to come owing to his wife's headache; and finally, that the proof of Lord Steyne's friendship for Colonel Crawley was demonstrated beyond question by the appointment of Colonel Crawley as the new Governor of Coventry Island.

斯泰恩勛爵拒絕和克勞利上校決斗。他派了一個朋友和麥克默多上尉談。這個朋友解釋說，斯泰恩勛爵是清白的，克勞利夫人也是清白的。那個不幸的晚上，他和他妻子也受邀去柯曾大街作客，但是因為妻子頭痛而沒有赴約。最后，斯泰恩勛爵對克勞利上校的友情也得到了證明，是毋庸置疑的：克勞利上校被任命為考文垂島的新總督。

Sir Pitt tried hard to bring Rawdon and Becky together again. He pointed out to his brother all the arguments that supported Becky's story, and stated his own belief in her innocence.

皮特爵士費盡心思想讓羅頓和貝姬重歸于好。他向弟弟指出諸多支撐貝姬說法的證據(jù)，聲明他本人相信她的清白。

"Don't be a fool, man," he said. "You've knocked Steyne down and beaten him already. It's my belief your wife's innocent. I think you should take the appointment and hold your tongue."

“別傻了，老兄。”他說，“你已經(jīng)把斯泰恩打倒，揍過他了。我相信你妻子是清白的。我覺得你應該接受任命，不再提這件事了。”

Rawdon still wanted to fight, but Captain Macmurdo said no.

羅頓還想打一場，但是麥克默多上尉不同意。

So there was no duel between the two men. The thousand-pound note was sent back to Lord Steyne, and after long, hard persuasion from his friends, Rawdon finally agreed to accept the position of Governor of Coventry Island. The climate on the island was said to be very unhealthy -- the previous Governor had died after only eighteen months there -- but the salary was excellent, and Rawdon would be free of debt for the first time in many long years.

因此，兩位男士沒有決斗，一千英鎊的票子也還給了斯泰恩勛爵。經(jīng)過朋友們苦口婆心的一番勸說，羅頓終于同意接受考文垂島總督一職。據(jù)說，島上氣候?qū)】凳植焕叭慰偠皆谀抢锊糯耸藗€月就死了。但是薪俸極高，羅頓這么多年來負債累累的日子就快結(jié)束了。

But Rawdon would not hear of it. "She's been hiding money from me for ten years," he said. "She swore that night that she had received no money from Steyne. She knew it was all over, as soon as I found it. If she's not guilty, Pitt, she's as bad as guilty; and I'll never see her again -- never." His head sank down on his chest as he said this, and he looked quite broken and sad.

但是羅頓聽不進去。“她瞞著我藏了十年錢。”他說，“她那晚發(fā)誓，她沒有從斯泰恩那里收過錢。我一找到，她就知道一切都完了。皮特，即使她無罪，她的罪名也不能因此減輕。我決不再見她，決不。”他說話時，腦袋耷拉著，看上去悲痛欲絕。

His mother never made any attempt to see him. Was she guilty or not? Everybody knows that Vanity Fair is never kind with its verdicts in these matters. Rawdon's lawyers paid her enough money to live on, and people said she had gone to Europe, but where she lived, or how she lived, no one knew -- or cared.

他母親沒有想辦法和他見面。她是不是有罪呢？大家都知道，名利場在這些事的裁定上從不仁慈大度。羅頓的律師給了她足夠生活的錢。有人說她去了歐洲，但是她住在哪里，過得如何，卻無人知曉，也無人關心。

True to his word, Rawdon left for Coventry Island without forgiving Becky, and young Rawdy went home to Sir Pitt and Lady Jane at Queen's Crawley in the school holidays, where he was very happy. His father wrote to him by every mail.

羅頓沒有食言，他沒有原諒貝姬，就啟程去考文垂島了。學校放假時，小羅迪去皮特爵士和簡女士在昆士克勞利的家，他在那里十分快樂。每班郵船上都會有他父親給他寫的信。