雙語(yǔ)·面紗 第四章

Kitty, coming to Hong Kong on her marriage, had found it hard to reconcile herself to the fact that her social position was determined by her husband's occupation. Of course everyone had been very kind and for two or three months they had gone out to parties almost every night; when they dined at Government House the Governor took her in as a bride; but she had understood quickly that as the wife of the Government bacteriologist she was of no particular consequence. It made her angry.

“It's too absurd,” she told her husband. “Why, there's hardly any one here that one would bother about for five minutes at home. Mother wouldn't dream of asking any of them to dine at our house.”

“You mustn't let it worry you,” he answered. “It doesn't really matter, you know.”

“Of course it doesn't matter, it only shows how stupid they are, but it is rather funny when you think of all the people who used to come to our house at home that here we should be treated like dirt.”

“From a social standpoint the man of science does not exist,” he smiled.

She knew that now, but she had not known it when she married him.

“I don't know that it exactly amuses me to be taken in to dinner by the agent of the P. and O.,” she said, laughing in order that what she said might not seem snobbish.

Perhaps he saw the reproach behind her lightness of manner, for he took her hand and shyly pressed it.

“I'm awfully sorry, Kitty dear, but don't let it vex you.”

“Oh. I'm not going to let it do that.”

凱蒂婚后和丈夫來(lái)到了香港，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)一時(shí)很難適應(yīng)這里的社交場(chǎng)合，因?yàn)樗纳缃坏匚皇怯善湔煞虻穆殬I(yè)所決定的。當(dāng)然每個(gè)人都對(duì)她很好，有那么兩三個(gè)月他們夫婦幾乎每天晚上都要參加聚會(huì)。在政府官邸出席晚宴時(shí)，總督對(duì)待她就像對(duì)待新娘子一般。但是她自己很快就明白了，作為一名政府雇用的細(xì)菌學(xué)家的妻子，其實(shí)大家并沒(méi)把她太當(dāng)回事，這讓她很是郁悶。

“真是太荒唐了，”她對(duì)自己的丈夫說(shuō)，“唉，這兒的人幾乎沒(méi)有人愿意來(lái)咱們家，如果來(lái)了待上五分鐘都覺(jué)得麻煩。我母親絕對(duì)不會(huì)愿意邀請(qǐng)他們到我們家來(lái)吃飯的?！?/p>

“你不必為這么點(diǎn)兒小事煩心?！彼卮鸬?，“真的無(wú)所謂。”

“當(dāng)然無(wú)所謂啦，這只能顯得他們很愚蠢。過(guò)去在英國(guó)時(shí)，大家都爭(zhēng)著來(lái)我們家吃飯，而在這兒，我們被當(dāng)作垃圾，這也太滑稽了。”

“從社交的立場(chǎng)上看，科學(xué)家就是微不足道的?！彼χ卮鸬?。

她現(xiàn)在知道了這點(diǎn)，可當(dāng)初嫁給他時(shí)，她還沒(méi)明白這個(gè)道理。

“我還不知道自己是被半島東方郵輪公司的代理人帶著去出席晚宴的，這確實(shí)讓我感到好笑?！睘榱俗屗脑捖犐先ゲ荒敲磩?shì)利，她笑著說(shuō)道。

也許他聽出了她故意顯得輕松的話語(yǔ)中責(zé)備的含義，他拉起她的一只手，不好意思地放在自己的掌心里。

“我真的很抱歉，親愛的凱蒂，別郁悶了，好嗎？”

“噢，我不會(huì)再胡思亂想了?！?/p>