第231期:與沃麗斯相識

今天分享的是愛德華的故事。

1) Her name was Bessie Wallis was born into a poor, southern family on June 19th, 1896.
她的原名叫貝西.沃麗斯.沃菲爾德。她1896年出生再一個貧窮的南方家庭。
2) The only thing I could do was dress better than anyone else.
我唯一能做的就是比別人穿的美。
4 Meeting
On Saturday the weather was cold and windy. It was raining heavily so we could not ride our horses. We decided to stay in the house and have an early lunch with some of Lady Furness' friends.
At one o'clock Wallis arrived with her husband. She was beautifully dressed and she smiled all the time. She spoke with Lord Furness for a few minutes, and then Lady Furness brought her over to see me.
'Sir, I would like you to meet one of my dearest and sweetest American friends, Mrs Wallis Simpson.'
'How do you do, Mrs. Simpson,'I said.'Please come and sit down.'
Lady Furness left us and we began to talk.
I could see that Wallis was not felling very well. She had a bad cold and her eyes were red.'I'm afraid that our English houses aren't very warm,' I said.'We don't have American central heating here.'
There was a long silence. Mrs. Simpson turned her face and looked out of the window. Then she said:'You have disappointed me, Sir.'
'And why is that?'I asked.
'Because everybody asks me about American central heating. I thought that the Prince of Wales would talk about something more interesting.'
I began to laugh.
'What's the matter, Sir?'Wallis asked.'Have I said something wrong?'
'No,'I replied.'I'm laughing because you didn't lie to me. You told me the truth.'
'But why is that funny? Doesn't everybody do that?'
'One day I'll be King of England,' I replied.'And people are afraid of me. If I say that the sky is yellow, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. If I say that Wednesday is the first day of the week, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. And if I say that Scotland is bigger than Canada, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. But you told me that I was boring！ You told me the truth. I like that'.
There was another silence and then Wallis began to laugh.'Can I say one more thing, Sir?'
'Yes, Mrs Simpson, what is it?'
'It's your trousers, Sir.'
'My trousers?'
'Yes, Sir. They are black and your shoes are brown.'These two colors don't look right together.'
I stood up and looked in the mirror.'Yes, Mrs. Simpson, you're right. I look very strange. The next time we meet, I will be better dressed.'

4 相識
星期六, 天氣很冷, 颳着風。雨下得很大, 所以我們無法出去騎馬。我們決定待在屋裏, 早點開午飯。與我們共進午餐的是弗內斯勳爵夫人的一些朋友。
1點鐘, 沃利斯和她的丈夫來了。她穿得很漂亮, 始終面帶微笑。她與弗內斯勳爵夫人談了幾分鐘, 然後弗內斯勳爵夫人把她帶到我面前。
“殿下, 我想介紹您認識我的一位最可愛、最甜美的美國朋友, 沃利斯·辛普森夫人。”
“您好, 辛普森夫人,”我說, “請過來坐坐。”
弗內斯勳爵夫人走開了, 我們交談起來。
我看得出, 沃利斯不太舒服。她得了重感冒, 眼睛紅紅的。“恐怕我們英國的房子不夠暖和,”我說,“我們這兒沒有美國的中央供暖系統。”
接着是長長的一段沉默。辛普森夫人轉頭向窗外望去。然後她說:“您讓我感到失望, 殿下。”
“爲什麼?”我問。
“因爲每個人都問我美國中央供暖的事兒。我想, 威爾士親王準會談些比較有趣的事。”
我大笑起來。
“怎麼了, 殿下?”沃利斯問,“我說錯什麼了嗎?”
“沒有,”我回答,“我笑是因爲你沒對我說謊。你講了真話。”
“可這有什麼可笑的?難道大家不都這樣嗎?”
“有朝一日我會成爲英國的國王,”我答道,“所以人們都怕我。如果我說天是黃的, 他們會說,'對,殿下,您說得對'。如果我說星期三是一週裏的第一天,他們會說,'對,殿下,您說得對'。如果我說蘇格蘭比加拿大還要大,他們會說,'對,殿下, 你說得對'。可是,您卻告訴我,我令人乏味！您講了真心話。我喜歡這樣！”
又是一段沉默,然後沃利斯笑了起來“我能再說一件事嗎,殿下?”
“可以,辛普森夫人,什麼事?”
“是您的褲子,殿下。”
“我的褲子?”
“是的,殿下。您的褲子是黑色的,鞋卻是棕色的。這兩種顏色配在一起有點兒不協調。”
我站起身,照了照鏡子。“不錯, 辛普森夫人,您說得對。我看上去真奇怪。等我們下次見面時,我會穿得更得體些。”


5 Wallis
Wallis was born in Baltimore. She never knew her father. He died when she was five months old. But her mother was a strong and loving woman, and Wallis was a happy child.
When she was twenty, she married a man called Win－field Spencer. For the first few years they were happy together. But one day Winfield lost some money in the street. He was very angry. When he came home, he took a bottle of whisky from a cupbodrd and began to drink.
That night he hit Wallis in the mouth. She screamed and he hit her again. There was blood on her face and she was shaking like a leaf.' Please, Winfield,'she said.'No more.
But Winfield took her arm and pulled her up the stairs.'You're my prisoner,'he shouted at her,'and you're not going to leave.'Then he pushed her into the bathroom and locked the door.
The next morning Wallis went back to her family.'I can't stay with him,'she said.'I want a divorce.'
'Poor Wallis,'Edward said.'But what happened next, Lady Furness?'
'Well,'said Lady Furness,'a few months later she met a fine man called Ernest Simpson. He's quiet, but interesting. They got married and they now live in a beautiful flat in the centre of London.'
'And are they happy?'asked Edward. Lady Furness looked at the Prince and smiled.'I don't know, Sir,'she said.'I don' t know.'

5 沃利斯
沃利斯出生在巴爾的摩。她從不認識自己的父親。她才5個月大,父親就去世了。她母親是個堅強而充滿愛心的女人,沃利斯童年很幸福。
她20歲時與一位名叫溫菲爾德·斯潘塞的人結了婚。在婚後的最初幾年裏,他們在一起很幸福。可有一天,溫菲爾德在街上丟了錢。他很惱怒。回到家, 他從櫃子裏拿出一瓶威士忌,喝了起來。
那天晚上,他扇了沃利斯一記耳光。她尖叫起來,他又打她。她臉上都是血,身體像一片葉子一樣顫抖着。“求求你,溫菲爾德,”她說,“別打了。”
但溫菲爾德拽起她的一隻胳膊,一直把她拖到樓上。“你是我的囚犯,”他對她吼道,“你別想走。”然後他把她推進浴室,鎖上了門。
第二天早晨,沃利斯回到孃家。“我不能和他在一起生活了,”她說,“我要離婚。”
“可憐的沃利斯,”愛德華說,“可是後來呢,弗內斯勳爵夫人?”
“後來,”弗內斯勳爵夫人說,“幾個月後她認識了一位叫歐內斯特·辛普森的好人。他很少說話,但很風趣。他們結了婚, 現在住在倫敦市中心一套漂亮的公寓裏。”
“那他們在一起快樂嗎?”愛德華問。
弗內斯勳爵夫人看着王子笑了。“我不知道,殿下,”她說,“我不知道。”

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