Chapter 4 Godfrey is in trouble(2)
第四章 戈弗雷遇到了麻烦(二)
The Squire's face was purple now, and for a moment he could not speak. ‘You-you let Dunstan have my money? Why did you give it to him? And why did he want it? Where’s Dunstan now? He'll answer my questions, or leave this house! Go and fetch him at once!’
乡绅脸都黑了，气得他一时说不出话。“你——你把我的钱给邓斯坦了？为什么把钱给他？他要钱做什么？邓斯坦现在在哪？叫他来回我的话，要不然滚出这里！快去把他叫来！”
‘Dunstan hasn't come home, sir. The horse was found dead, and nobody knows where Dunstan is.’
“邓斯坦还没回家，先生。找到马时，它已经死了，没人知道邓斯坦去哪了。”
‘Well, why did you let him have my money? Answer me!’ said the Squire, staring angrily at Godfrey.
“那你为什么要把我的钱给他？说话！”乡绅怒气冲冲地瞪着戈弗雷说。
‘Well, sir, I don't know,’ replied Godfrey, hesitating. He was not good at lying, and was not prepared for his father’s questions.
“呃，先生，我不知道，”戈弗雷吞吞吐吐地回。他不会说谎，也没想好怎么说。
‘You don't know?’ the Squire repeated scornfully. ‘Well, I know why. I think you've done something wrong, and you've bribed Dunstan to keep it a secret! That’s it, isn't it?’
“你不知道？”乡绅满脸嘲讽地质问。“嗯，我知道。你干了错事，要邓斯坦保密！是这样吧？”
The Squire had made a very clever guess, and Godfrey's heart banged in sudden alarm. He was not ready to confess everything yet. ‘Well, sir,’ he said, trying to speak carelessly, 'it was just a little business between Dunstan and me. You wouldn't be interested in it, you know.’
乡绅没猜错，让戈弗雷一下子就紧张了起来。他还没有准备好坦白一切。“呃，先生，”他装得漫不经心地说，“我和邓斯坦就是兄弟间的事。你不会想听的。”
‘How old are you now? Twenty-six?’ asked the Squire angrily. 'Old enough to look after your money and mine too! I’ve been much too generous to you boys, but I'm going to be harder on you all from now on. You’ve got a weak character, Godfrey,like your poor mother. I think you need a wife who knows what she wants, because you can't decide anything by yourself! When you were thinking of marrying Nancy Lammeter, I agreed, didn't I? Have you asked her or not? She hasn’t refused to marry you, has she?’
“你今年多大了？二十六？”乡绅余怒未消地问。“能管好你自己和我的钱了！我以前太惯着你们了，今后会对你们严加管教。戈弗雷，你性格软弱，跟你母亲一样。你应该娶个有想法的人当妻子，因为你自己做不了决定！你想什么时候娶给南希·拉默特，我没意见，知道吗？你问过她吗？她愿意嫁给你吗？”
‘No, I haven't asked her,' said Godfrey, feeling very hot and uncomfortable, ‘but I don't think she'll accept me.’
“没，还没问过，”戈弗雷被问得脸上发烧，人也不自在，说。“但我觉得她不会想嫁给我。”
‘Don't be stupid. Godfrey!’ said the Squire with a scornful laugh. ‘Any woman would want to marry into our family! Do you want to marry her?’
“别傻了。戈弗雷！”乡绅洋洋得意地说。“没有一个女人不想嫁进我们家的！你想娶她吗？”
‘There's no other woman I want to marry,’ said Godfrey, avoiding his father’s eyes.
“我没想过娶别的女人，”戈弗雷说，避开了他父亲的眼睛。
‘Well, then, let me speak to her father for you, since you aren't brave enough to do it yourself. She’s a pretty girl, and intelligent.’
“好，你自己不敢去说的话，那我和她父亲谈吧。她长得好，人也聪明。”
‘No, sir, please don’t say anything at the moment,’ said Godfrey quickly. ‘I must ask her myself.’
“别去找她父亲，先生，现在什么也别说，”戈弗雷连忙说。“我先问她。”
‘Well, ask her then. When you marry her, you'll have to forget about horses and so on. It’ll be good for you to do some serious work. You should get married soon.'
“好，那你问吧。你们结婚时，你肯定会把马等事抛诸脑后。那能让你干些正经事。你应该早点结婚。“
‘Please don't try to hurry things, sir,’ begged Godfrey.
“别急着准备结婚的事，先生，”戈弗雷哀求道。
‘I'll do what I like,’ said the Squire firmly. ‘And if you don’t do what I want, I'll disinherit you and you can leave the house. Now, if you know where Dunstan’s hiding - I expect you do - tell him he needn’t come home. He'll pay for his own food from now on.’
“我会按我的来，”乡绅斩钉截铁地说。“如果你不按我说的来，我就剥夺你的继承权，从这搬出去。现在，你要是知道邓斯坦藏在哪——我希望你——转告他不用回来了。今后他要自力更生了。”
‘I don't know where he is, sir. Anyway, it's you who should tell him to leave home.’
“我不知道他在哪，先生。不管怎么说，应该是你告诉他不用回来了。”
‘Don't argue with me, Godfrey,’ said the Squire. turning back to his breakfast. ‘Just go and tell the servants to get my horse ready.’
“别跟我犟嘴，戈弗雷，”乡绅说。转过身继续吃早餐。“去告诉仆人，把我的马备好。”
Godfrey left the room. He was relieved that his father had not discovered the whole truth. However, he was a little worried that the Squire would try to arrange his marriage with Nancy. While he was married to Molly, he could not marry Nancy, although it was his dearest wish. But as usual he was waiting and hoping for some unexpected change in his situation, which would save him from any unpleasantness.
戈弗雷离开餐厅。他松了一口气，父亲没猜到全部的事。但他有点担心乡绅想他和南希结婚的事。他和莫莉有婚约是不能娶南希的，尽管他很想和南希结婚。像以往一样，他在等他的处境发生出乎意料的变化，把他从琐事中拉出来。
PS:本书为书虫系列四级读物，由英国著名女作家乔治·艾略特所著、英国书虫系列著名作家克莱尔·韦斯特改写。
英文为书虫系列原文，译文是笔者翻译。本文仅因个人兴趣而译，故本文谢绝转载和各种商业用途，同时承诺若出现任何责任由作者承担，必要时简书可删除文章。
