書蟲6級(jí)《白衣女人》10．營(yíng)救

10．The rescue

At the first opportunity we had, Marian told me everything that had happened to her and Laura. The hardest part for her was after she had returned to Limmeridge House.

I was in despair, Walter,' she said. 'Mr Kyrle's investigation was finished, and had shown nothing, he said. Mr Fairlie was no help at all — I heard that he didn't even leave his room to go to the funeral! But he did show me a letter he'd received from Count Fosco, which contained news of Anne Catherick. The Count said that Anne Catherick had been found and put back in the asylum from which she had escaped. But because she hated Sir Percival and wanted to make trouble for him, she was now claiming that she was not Anne Catherick at all, but Lady Glyde. The Count warned Mr Fairlie that if she escaped again, she might try to annoy members of Lady Glyde's family.

I wasn't well enough to do anything for about a month after returning to Limmeridge, but when I felt stronger, I decided to make some investigations myself. First, I planned to visit the asylum in London and talk to poor Anne Catherick, to find out why she was claiming to be Laura. I knew the address because you had given it to me, all those months ago.

Well, Walter, you can guess what's coming, I'm sure. The director of the asylum, who seemed an honest person, told me that Anne Catherick had been brought back on 27th July. He was puzzled by some odd personal changes in her, but assumed they were caused by her mental illness. He then called a nurse to take me to Anne Catherick, who was walking in the gardens.

Imagine the shock, Walter — seeing my dead sister walking towards me in that garden! We just ran into each other's arms, unable to say a word. How the nurse stared at us!'

I think I know how you must have felt,' I said. 'I shall never forget in the churchyard at Limmeridge... But tell me, however did you get Laura out of the asylum?'

Bribery, Walter. I didn't want to risk a legal battle and all the delay that would involve, so I persuaded the nurse that a terrible mistake had been made and she would be doing a good thing in helping Anne Catherick escape. And I offered her ￡400. The plan went smoothly, and by early afternoon the next day Laura and I were on the train to Cumberland.'

And Laura?' I asked. 'What actually happened on the day she left Blackwater Park and came to London?'

Marian sighed. 'Oh, Walter, it's not at all clear. Poor Laura's mind is so confused now that her memory of events is very unreliable. She can't even remember the date she left Blackwater. All she has been able to tell me is this. The Count met her at the station, and said that I was still in London and that he would take her to see me at once. She doesn't remember where the cab went, but it was clearly not to his house in St John's Wood. She was taken to a house in a narrow street, where people came and went, asking her questions she didn't understand. At this point the Count told her I was now very ill; she was so frightened by this news she nearly fainted. Someone then gave her a glass of water, which she said tasted odd — and after that she lost consciousness.'

Poor, poor Laura,' I murmured.

She woke up,' Marian continued, 'in the asylum, unable to leave, unable to make contact with the outside world. She was called by Anne Catherick's name and found she was wearing clothes with Anne Catherick's name on them. She was told Lady Glyde was dead and buried, and that she was Anne Catherick, Anne Catherick, Anne Catherick... Day in, day out, from 27th July to 15th October, she was made to feel that she was mad. It's hardly surprising her mind is so confused now.'

And what happened at Limmeridge?' I asked.

Marian turned her face away. 'I can't bear to think about it,' she said. 'The worst part was taking Laura into Mr Fairlie's room. He looked straight into Laura's face and said, "My niece is buried in Limmeridge churchyard. I don't recognize this woman. Remove her from my house before I call on the law to protect me." Even the servants were doubtful about her identity, because she was so much changed and so confused by her experiences. Perhaps people would have been persuaded if we'd stayed longer, but I didn't dare risk it. At any minute the people from the asylum might come looking for us, so I decided to return to London at once and hide. Then, as we were passing the churchyard, Laura insisted on a last look at her mother's grave. And... well, that moment changed our three lives.'

I think God was guiding Laura's footsteps,' I said.

How well I remember that day — that moment when Laura laid her poor head innocently and trustingly on my shoulder, and said, 'They have tried to make me forget everything, Walter, but I remember Marian, and I remember you.'

*　　*　　*

The plot against Laura was now clear. Anne Catherick had been taken into Count Fosco's house as Lady Glyde, and Lady Glyde had taken the dead woman's place in the asylum. It was also clear that the three of us could expect no mercy from Count Fosco and Sir Percival, who between them had gained ￡30,000 from the plot. They would do everything in their power to prevent their crime being discovered, and would hunt for their victim to separate her from her only friends — Marian and myself. This is why I had chosen a poor and crowded part of London to live in. It is easier to hide in a place where people are always coming and going.

Our life quickly took on a regular pattern — work, watching out for our enemies, and care of Laura, whom we surrounded with a gentle, protective love, helping her slowly but steadily to recover her balance of mind and her self-confidence.

Meanwhile, Marian and I began the battle. We studied the statements that Mr Kyrle had taken from witnesses — the doctor, and the servants and cook in Count Fosco's house. I obtained a copy of Lady Glyde's death certificate, and Marian wrote to Mrs Michelson, who replied, saying that she could not remember the exact date of Laura's departure from Blackwater Park. Nor could she remember when the letter announcing Laura's death, which was undated, had arrived from Madame Fosco.

I also arranged to visit Mr Kyrle, to ask for his help. After listening to my long explanation, the lawyer shook his head.

My legal opinion, Mr Hartright, is that you won't win this case in a court of law. I accept, of course, that the identity of Lady Glyde as a living person is a proved fact to Miss Halcombe and yourself. But there is no evidence. If you could prove that the date on the death certificate was earlier than the date of Lady Glyde's journey to London, then you might have a case.'

As I left, he gave me a letter that had been delivered to him for Marian, and told me, in answer to my question, that Sir Percival Glyde had returned to London.

Outside in the street I soon noticed two men following me, and realized too late that the Count's spies must have been watching the lawyer's office, in the hope that Marian or I would go there. I went home by a very long route and managed to lose them, but it was a warning to me to be more careful.

Marian was very worried when I told her about the two men. Then I gave her the letter. She recognized the writing instantly.

It's from Count Fosco.'

Dear and admirable woman, do not be afraid! Stay hidden, with your gentle companion, and nothing will happen to you. Challenge nothing, threaten nobody. Do not, I beg you, force me into action. If Mr Hartright returns to England, do not speak to him. If he crosses my path, he is a Lost man. F.

Walter!' Marian said, her eyes flashing with anger. 'If ever the Count and Sir Percival are at your mercy and you must spare one of them, don't let it be the Count.'

I'll keep this letter to remind me when the time comes,' I said. 'But tomorrow I will go to Blackwater, to try and find out the date of Laura's journey to London. It's the one weak point in their plot.'

You mean that perhaps Laura did not leave for London until after the date on the death certificate?'

Exactly. I think she left on 26th July. The Director of the asylum said she was taken there on the 27th. I doubt if they could have kept her drugged more than one night. We know from Mrs Michelson that Sir Percival left on the same day as Laura. I'll ask everyone in the village if they remember when he left.'

And if that fails?'

If that fails, Marian, I'll force a confession from Sir Percival. We have one weapon against him — his secret. Anne Catherick said that if his secret was known, it would ruin him. I intend to find out that secret. The woman in white, though dead in her grave, is still with us and is showing us the way!'

* * *

bribery n. persuading a person to act in one's favor by a gift of money or services 賄賂

unreliable adj. not liable 不可靠的

plot n. a conspiracy or secret plan esp. to achieve an unlawful end 陰謀

mercy n. kindness, pity, and willingness to forgive 仁慈

cross one's path meet sb by chance 與…偶然相遇

flash v. burst 閃爍

10．營(yíng)救

我們剛一有機(jī)會(huì)交談，瑪麗安就把她和勞拉的遭遇從頭到尾講給我聽。最令她難過的是回到利默里奇之后的經(jīng)歷。

“我太絕望了，沃爾特，”她說，“克爾先生的調(diào)查結(jié)束了，他說什么也沒發(fā)現(xiàn)。費(fèi)爾利先生一點(diǎn)兒忙也不幫——我聽說他甚至都沒離開他的房間去參加葬禮！不過他倒是把福斯科伯爵的信給了我，信里面有安妮·凱瑟里克的消息。伯爵說安妮·凱瑟里克已經(jīng)找到了，被送回了原來的精神病院。但是，凱瑟里克因?yàn)橥春掮晡魍郀柧羰浚虢o他找麻煩，所以她現(xiàn)在自稱不是安妮·凱瑟里克，而是格萊德夫人。伯爵提醒費(fèi)爾利先生，假如她再逃出來，很可能要給格萊德夫人的家人添亂子。

“回來的頭一個(gè)月，我身體虛弱，什么也干不了。后來身體恢復(fù)了，我決定親自去調(diào)查。首先，我準(zhǔn)備去倫敦的精神病院找可憐的安妮·凱瑟里克談?wù)?，弄清楚為什么她要自稱是勞拉。我知道地址，是你幾個(gè)月前給我的。

“噢，沃爾特，我相信你能猜到接下來發(fā)生的事情。精神病院的院長(zhǎng)看上去是個(gè)正直的人，他告訴我，安妮·凱瑟里克是7月27日被送回來的。他對(duì)凱瑟里克身上的變化感到很困惑，但他推測(cè)是由于精神方面的疾病造成的。然后，他叫一名護(hù)士帶我去見安妮·凱瑟里克，她正在花園散步。

“想象一下，當(dāng)時(shí)我有多么震驚，沃爾特——我看到自己死去的妹妹在花園里朝我走來！我們跑向?qū)Ψ?，緊緊地抱在一起，一句話也說不出來。護(hù)士不解地望著我們?！?/p>

“我很清楚你當(dāng)時(shí)的心情，”我說，“我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記在利默里奇教堂墓地……可是，你是怎么把勞拉救出精神病院的呢？”

“賄賂，沃爾特。我不想打官司，那樣太冒險(xiǎn)，也會(huì)耽誤很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。所以，我對(duì)護(hù)士說，這里一定有嚴(yán)重的誤會(huì)，如果她能幫助安妮·凱瑟里克逃走，就做了一件天大的好事。之后，我給了她400英鎊。計(jì)劃進(jìn)行得很順利，第二天剛過中午，我和勞拉就乘上了開往坎伯蘭郡的火車。”

“那么，勞拉呢？”我問，“她離開布萊克沃特莊園到倫敦后，到底發(fā)生了什么？”

瑪麗安嘆了口氣，“噢，沃爾特，現(xiàn)在還不清楚?？蓱z的勞拉思維很亂，她的記憶不可靠。她連離開布萊克沃特的日期都記不起來。她能告訴我的就是，伯爵在車站接她，告訴她我還在倫敦，他要帶勞拉馬上去見我。她不記得車往哪里走了，但是很明顯不是去伯爵在圣約翰伍德的家。她被帶進(jìn)一條小巷里的一間房子，那里人來人往，問一些她聽不懂的問題。這時(shí)，伯爵告訴她我病得很嚴(yán)重，她聽了非常害怕，幾乎昏了過去。接著有人給了她一杯水，她說水的味道很怪，之后她就失去了知覺。”

“可憐的勞拉。”我低聲自語著。

“她醒來以后，”瑪麗安接著說，“發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在精神病院里，既不能離開，也無法同外界接觸。別人叫她安妮·凱瑟里克，她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己穿著有安妮·凱瑟里克名字的衣服。別人告訴她格萊德夫人已經(jīng)死了，被安葬了，她就是安妮·凱瑟里克，安妮·凱瑟里克，安妮·凱瑟里克……一天又一天，從7月27日到10月15日，他們強(qiáng)迫她認(rèn)為自己瘋了。難怪現(xiàn)在她思維混亂?！?/p>

“在利默里奇發(fā)生了什么？”我問道。

瑪麗安把頭轉(zhuǎn)向一側(cè)?！拔液?jiǎn)直不忍心想在那兒發(fā)生的事情?！彼卮穑白钤愕木褪俏?guī)诶哌M(jìn)費(fèi)爾利先生的房間后，他緊盯著勞拉的臉說：‘我侄女已經(jīng)埋在利默里奇教堂墓地了。我不認(rèn)識(shí)這個(gè)女人。趕快帶她出去，不然我要用法律來保護(hù)自己了?！腿藗円矊?duì)勞拉的身份很懷疑，因?yàn)樗兓罅?，她的?jīng)歷也讓她思緒異常混亂。也許我們逗留的時(shí)間長(zhǎng)一些，大家會(huì)被說服，但是我不想冒這個(gè)險(xiǎn)，因?yàn)榫癫≡旱娜穗S時(shí)都會(huì)來找我們，所以我決定馬上回倫敦躲起來。當(dāng)我們經(jīng)過教堂的時(shí)候，勞拉堅(jiān)持要最后再看一眼她母親的墳?zāi)埂：髞怼?，那一刻改變了我們?nèi)齻€(gè)人的生活?！?/p>

“我想是上帝在引導(dǎo)著勞拉的腳步?！蔽艺f。

我清楚地記得那天——可憐的勞拉將頭依偎在我的肩頭，充滿了純潔與信任。她說：“他們想叫我忘掉一切，沃爾特，但我還記得瑪麗安，我還記得你?！?/p>

*　　*　　*

針對(duì)勞拉的陰謀現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)清楚了。安妮·凱瑟里克被當(dāng)作格萊德夫人帶進(jìn)了福斯科伯爵的家里，格萊德夫人在精神病院里取代了那個(gè)已經(jīng)死了的女人的位置。還有一點(diǎn)也很明顯，福斯科伯爵和珀西瓦爾爵士是不會(huì)放過我們?nèi)齻€(gè)的。他們兩人從這個(gè)陰謀中得到30,000英鎊。他們會(huì)盡一切可能不讓他們的罪行敗露，也會(huì)極力追尋他們所陷害的人，并把她同她的朋友們——瑪麗安和我——分開。這就是為什么我選擇倫敦一處既貧窮又擁擠的地方住下來，因?yàn)樵谝粋€(gè)人來人往的地方比較容易躲藏。

我們的生活很快形成了一個(gè)較為固定的模式——工作，留意我們的敵人，照顧勞拉。我們細(xì)心地照顧她，保護(hù)她，幫助她慢慢地恢復(fù)正常的思維和自信心。

與此同時(shí)，瑪麗安和我開始了緊張的調(diào)查。我們仔細(xì)研究克爾先生記錄的證詞——分別來自醫(yī)生以及伯爵家的仆人和廚師。我弄到了一份格萊德夫人的死亡證明。瑪麗安給米切爾森太太寫信，米切爾森太太回信說記不清勞拉離開布萊克沃特莊園的確切日期了，也記不清福斯科夫人來信通知他們勞拉死訊的具體時(shí)間了，那封信沒有注明日期。

我還安排與克爾先生見面，請(qǐng)求他的幫助。聽我把前因后果一一講完后，克爾先生搖了搖頭。

“作為律師，哈特里特先生，我認(rèn)為你不會(huì)贏得這場(chǎng)官司。當(dāng)然我同意，你和哈爾庫姆小姐可以證明格萊德夫人還活著，但是你沒有證據(jù)。如果你能證明死亡證明上的時(shí)間比格萊德夫人去倫敦的時(shí)間早，那你可能會(huì)贏這場(chǎng)官司。”

我要離開的時(shí)候，他交給我一封信，是要他轉(zhuǎn)給瑪麗安的。同時(shí)，他在回答我的提問時(shí)透露，珀西瓦爾爵士已經(jīng)回到倫敦了。

在外面的街道上，我很快注意到有兩個(gè)人在跟蹤我。我這才意識(shí)到伯爵的人肯定一直在監(jiān)視克爾先生的辦公室，以防瑪麗安和我會(huì)到那兒去。我繞遠(yuǎn)路回家，設(shè)法甩掉了跟蹤我的人，但是這件事提醒我今后要更加小心。

我把兩個(gè)人跟蹤我的事告訴了瑪麗安，她非常擔(dān)心。我把那封信交給她，她馬上就認(rèn)出了寫信人的筆跡。

“是福斯科伯爵寫的?！?/p>

親愛的、尊敬的女士，請(qǐng)不要害怕！繼續(xù)同你溫柔的伙伴藏好，你們就不會(huì)有事。不要試圖做任何事情，不要給任何人帶來威脅。我請(qǐng)求你們，不要強(qiáng)迫我采取行動(dòng)。如果哈特里特先生回英國來，不要同他接觸。假如他找我的麻煩，他就死定了。福斯科。

“沃爾特！”瑪麗安眼里閃著憤怒的光，“如果伯爵和珀西瓦爾爵士落到你的手里，而你又必須放過他們中的一個(gè)的話，一定不要放過伯爵。”

“我要留著這封信，讓它到時(shí)候提醒我應(yīng)該怎么做，”我說，“明天我要去一趟布萊克沃特，查一查勞拉去倫敦的日期。這是他們陰謀中的一個(gè)漏洞?！?/p>

“你是說勞拉可能是在死亡證明上的日期之后才去倫敦的？”

“沒錯(cuò)。我想她是7月26日動(dòng)身的。精神病院的院長(zhǎng)說她是27日被送進(jìn)去的。我懷疑他們是否能讓勞拉昏迷超過一晚上的時(shí)間。米切爾森太太說，珀西瓦爾爵士是和勞拉同一天離開的。我要問村里的每一個(gè)人，是不是還記得珀西瓦爾爵士什么時(shí)候離開的?！?/p>

“如果這樣不行呢？”

“如果不行的話，瑪麗安，我就逼珀西瓦爾爵士認(rèn)罪。我們用他的秘密對(duì)付他，安妮·凱瑟里克說如果他的秘密讓人知道了，那他就完了。我想查出他的秘密來。那個(gè)白衣女人雖說已經(jīng)死了，但是還同我們?cè)谝黄?，她?huì)為我們引路的！”