狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》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倫斯要想給她父親寫信，所以建議回家去，並請求卡克先生跟他們一道去，在他家吃晚飯，不用卸去騎馬的服裝。不幸的是，卡克先生早已接受別人的邀請，不能再在這裏吃晚飯，但是如果董貝小姐想要寫信，他就再也高興不過地陪他們回去，並充當她忠實的奴僕，隨她喜歡要他等待多久就等待多久。當他露出他那最寬闊的微笑說這些話，並彎下身子靠近她，拍拍馬脖子的時候，弗洛倫斯碰到了他的眼光，可以說是看到而不是聽到他說，“那條船杳無音訊！”
弗洛倫斯惶惑不安，驚恐萬分，從他身邊往後退縮，甚至根本不能肯定他是不是說了這些話，因爲他似乎是以異乎尋常的方式，通過他的微笑把這些話顯示給她看，而不是說出來的。她用微弱的聲音說，她謝謝他，但是她不打算寫信；她沒有什麼話要說的。
“不捎點東西去嗎？”露出牙齒的人問道。
“不捎什麼東西，”弗洛倫斯說道，“除了勞駕您轉達我的——我的親切的愛之外。”
雖然弗洛倫斯心緒煩亂，但是她還是擡起眼睛，用哀求的和意味深長的眼光望着他的臉；這眼光清楚地請求他寬恕她，如果他知道——他同樣清楚地知道這一點——，她和她父親之間相互傳遞口訊是一件很不尋常的事情，而像現在這樣的傳遞口訊，那更是異乎尋常的。卡克先生微笑着，深深地鞠躬；巴尼特爵士請求他向董貝先生轉達他本人和斯克特爾斯夫人衷心的問候，於是卡克先生向大家告別，騎着馬離開了，在那德高望重的老兩口心中留下了一個良好的印象。這時弗洛倫斯開始渾身打顫，巴尼特爵士相信當時流行的一種迷信說法，認爲這時正有人走過她的墳地。卡克先生這時拐了個彎，往後看看，鞠着躬，然後消失不見了，彷彿他爲了達到這個目的，正直向教堂墓地騎去。