牛津書蟲系列 織工馬南 8 Eppie has grown up
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8 Eppie has grown up
8 埃比長(zhǎng)大了
It was a bright autumn Sunday，sixteen years after Silas had found Eppie in his cottage.The Raveloe church bells were ringing，and people were coming out of church after the morning service.First came the new squire，Godfrey Cass，looking a little heavier now，but with a straight back and a firm step.On his arm was his wife Nancy，still a pretty woman.Just behind them came Mr Lammeter and Priscilla.They all went into the Red House.
這是西拉斯在小屋找到埃比16年后的秋天的一個(gè)晴朗的禮拜日。瑞福洛教堂的鐘聲響了，做完晨禱的人們陸續(xù)走出教堂。走在最前面的是新的鄉(xiāng)紳戈弗雷·凱斯，他比以前胖了一些，可是背很直，步伐也很堅(jiān)定。他的太太南茜挽著他的胳膊。南茜仍然那么漂亮。在他們后面的是拉默特先生和普麗西拉。大家一起走進(jìn)了紅屋。
'You and Priscilla will stay for tea，won't you?Nancy asked her father.
“你和普麗西拉會(huì)在這兒喝茶吧?”南茜問(wèn)自己的父親。
'My dear，you must ask Priscilla，'replied Mr Lammeter with a smile.'She manages me and the farm as well.'
“親愛(ài)的，那得問(wèn)問(wèn)普麗西拉，”拉默特先生笑著說(shuō)，“她既管著農(nóng)場(chǎng)，也管著我。”
'Well，it's better for your health if I manage everything，fa ther，'said Priscilla.'Then there's nothing for you to worry about.No，Nancy dear，we must go home now. But you and I can have a walk round the garden while the servants are get ting the horses ready.
“一切由我來(lái)管對(duì)你有好處，爸爸。”普麗西拉說(shuō)，“這樣你就不用為各種事操心了。不，親愛(ài)的南茜，我們得回家去了。不過(guò)咱們可以趁用人備馬的時(shí)候到花園里去走一走。”
When the sisters were alone in the garden，Priscilla said，'My dear，I'm very glad you're going to have a dairy.Making your own butter will give you something to think about all the time.You'll never be sad when you've got a dairy.'And she put her arm through her sister's.
姐妹兩人單獨(dú)在花園里的時(shí)候，普麗西拉說(shuō)：“我親愛(ài)的，我真高興你就要有牛奶廠了。自己做奶酪，你就會(huì)整天有事可想了。有了牛奶廠，你就再不會(huì)發(fā)愁了。”她挽起妹妹的胳膊。
'Dear Priscilla，'said Nancy gratefully.'I'm only ever sad when Godfrey is.I could be happy if he could accept our life as it is.But it's more difficult for a man .'
“親愛(ài)的普麗西拉，”南茜感激地說(shuō)，“只有戈弗雷發(fā)愁的時(shí)候我才會(huì)發(fā)愁。如果他能接受我們的生活，我會(huì)很高興，可這對(duì)一個(gè)男人來(lái)說(shuō)太難了。”
'Men!'cried Priscilla impatiently.'They're always wanting something new!Never happy with what they've got!I'm glad I was too ugly to get married!I'm much happier with fa-ther!'
“男人!”普麗西拉不耐煩地說(shuō)，“他們總想要新鮮的東西，從不會(huì)對(duì)得到的東西感到滿意!我真幸運(yùn)太丑了嫁不出去!我和爸爸在一起要快樂(lè)得多。”
' Oh Priscilla，'said Nancy.'Don't be angry with Godfrey—he's a very good husband. But of course he's disappointed that we haven't had children—he wanted them so much.'
“哦，普麗西拉，”南茜說(shuō)，“你別怪戈弗雷——他是個(gè)很好的丈夫。當(dāng)然他因?yàn)槲覀儧](méi)有孩子失望——他太想要孩子了。”
'Well，father is waiting for me—I'd better go now.Goodbye，my dear.'And the sisters kissed goodbye When Priscilla and her father had left，Godfrey said，'Nancy，I think I'll just go and look at some of the fields we're draining near the old quarry .'
“好了，爸爸在等我——我得走了。再見，親愛(ài)的!”姐妹倆互相吻別。普麗西拉和她父親走后，戈弗雷說(shuō)：“南茜，我想我得去看看那幾片靠近采石場(chǎng)的正在排水的地。”
'You'll be back by tea-time，dear?'
“你會(huì)回來(lái)喝茶嗎?親愛(ài)的?”
'Oh yes，I'll be back in an hour.'
“會(huì)，我一小時(shí)后回來(lái)。”
This was a habit of Godfrey's on Sunday afternoons.He en-joyed walking round the fields that belonged to him now.So Nancy often had a quiet hour at about this time，which she spent reading，or sometimes just thinking.
這是戈弗雷在禮拜日下午的習(xí)慣，他喜歡繞著那些現(xiàn)在屬于他的土地走一走。南茜會(huì)利用這安靜的一小時(shí)看看書，或是想想事。
She remembered all the little things that had happened to her，especially during her marriage，in the last fifteen years .The great sadness of her married life had been the death of her only baby.Like most women，she had looked forward to be-coming a mother very much.But when the baby died soon af-ter it was born，she made herself accept the fact. She did not allow herself to think about it，or to wish for anything different.Godfrey，however，had been terribly disappointed，es-pecially when it seemed likely that Nancy could have no more children.
她記得以前發(fā)生過(guò)的所有小事，尤其是結(jié)婚15年來(lái)的情形。唯一的孩子的夭折是她婚姻生活中最大的痛苦。和大部分女人一樣，她渴望著做一個(gè)母親，但她的孩子降生后不久就死了，于是她強(qiáng)迫自己接受了這個(gè)事實(shí)。她不許自己去想這件事，也不許自己去做其他的設(shè)想。然而戈弗雷極其失望，尤其當(dāng)看到南茜很可能不能再要孩子的時(shí)候。
Nancy's religion was extremely important to her.She firmly believed that people should accept whatever happened to them in life，because it was God who decided everything.But she un-derstood how difficult it was for Godfrey to accept that their marriage would be childless.'Was I right，'she wondered for the hundredth time，'to refuse him，when he said we should adopt a child?I believe that if God hasn't given us a child，it's because God doesn't want us to have one.I'm sure I'm right.But poor Godfrey!It's worse for him than for me.I've got him， and the house，and now the dairy to think about. But although he's always good to me，I know he's unhappy—he wants children so much!'
宗教信仰對(duì)南茜非常重要，她堅(jiān)信人們應(yīng)當(dāng)接受命運(yùn)賦予他們的一切，因?yàn)槟鞘巧系郯才诺模栏旮ダ资嵌嗝措y以接受他們沒(méi)有孩子的婚姻。“我這樣對(duì)嗎?”南茜第100次問(wèn)自己，“拒絕按他說(shuō)的去收養(yǎng)一個(gè)孩子?我想上帝沒(méi)給我們孩子是因?yàn)樗幌胱屛覀冇泻⒆?。我想我是?duì)的?？墒强蓱z的戈弗雷，他比我要痛苦，我擁有了他，擁有了房子，又將有牛奶廠，可他雖然對(duì)我一直很好，可我知道他并不開心——他太想要孩子了。”
From the first moment Godfrey had spoken of adopting a child，he had mentioned Eppie's name.She had always been the child he wanted to adopt.He had no idea that Silas would rather die than lose Eppie，and he imagined that the weaver would be glad if the child were adopted by the Cass family.'After all，the girl will have a much better life with us，'he told himself.'I can't be really happy if we don't have a child.And I can never tell Nancy the truth about Eppie—I'm afraid she'll hate me for it.'
戈弗雷第一次提起收養(yǎng)孩子的時(shí)候就講到了埃比的名字。他一直很想收養(yǎng)她，沒(méi)有想到西拉斯寧可死也不愿意失去埃比，只認(rèn)為織布匠會(huì)為埃比被凱斯家收養(yǎng)而高興。“不管怎樣，小姑娘跟著我們會(huì)過(guò)得好得多。”他對(duì)自己說(shuō)。“沒(méi)有孩子我不會(huì)真的幸福。可我又不能說(shuō)出關(guān)于埃比的實(shí)情——南茜一定會(huì)因此而恨我的。”
While Nancy was sitting quietly in the Red House，thinking about her husband，Silas and Eppie were sitting outside their cottage near the quarry They had been to church too，which they did every week，like the Casses and most of the villagers Silas had started taking Eppie to church when she was very young，because Dolly Winthrop had persuaded him that every child should have some religious training.Because of Eppie，Silas was completely accepted in Raveloe now.Nobody thought he was strange any more;in fact，he was almost a popular fig-ure in the village.
南茜靜靜地坐在家里想著她丈夫的時(shí)候，西拉斯和埃比正坐在他們采石場(chǎng)旁邊的小屋前面。像平時(shí)一樣。他們也同凱斯一家和其他村民一道做了禮拜。因?yàn)槎嗬騽裎骼拐f(shuō)每個(gè)孩子都應(yīng)該接受宗教教育，所以西拉斯在埃比很小的時(shí)候就開始帶她去教堂。由于埃比的原因，西拉斯現(xiàn)在完完全全被瑞福洛的人們所接受了。沒(méi)人再認(rèn)為他奇怪，實(shí)際上，他幾乎成了瑞福洛村里一個(gè)很受歡迎的人。
He was older now，and could not work as hard as he used to.Recently，as he had more time to think，he had begun to re-member the past，and his old friends at the Light Street chapel.He realized how his once lonely life had changed since Eppie had come to him Now he had friends，and trusted people，and was happy. And he began to see that the God in the Raveloe church was the same God he had been so angry with，the last time he had been to the chapel.It seemed to him that there had been some mistake in his past，which had thrown a dark shadow over his early life Perhaps now he would never know whether Mr Paston，the chapel minister，still thought he was guilty of stealing.And he would never dis-cover why the drawing of the lots had seemed to prove his guilt.'But there must be a Good of goodness in this world，'he thought，'because He sent Eppie to me.I must just trust，and believe that He is right.'
西拉斯年齡大了，不能像原來(lái)那樣拚命干活了。最近，因?yàn)橛辛烁嗟乃伎嫉臅r(shí)間，他開始回憶過(guò)去，回憶日光街小教堂的老朋友們。他意識(shí)到了自己一度寂寞的生活是怎么因?yàn)榘１榷淖兊?。他現(xiàn)在有朋友，信任別人而且幸福。他開始覺(jué)得瑞福洛的這個(gè)上帝和最后一次去日光街小教堂時(shí)他曾氣惱過(guò)的那個(gè)上帝是同一個(gè)上帝。他認(rèn)為自己可能前世做過(guò)什么錯(cuò)事，給自己的前半生罩上了一層陰影?？赡芩肋h(yuǎn)無(wú)法知道小教堂的牧師帕斯通先生是不是仍認(rèn)為他犯了偷竊罪，他也永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法發(fā)現(xiàn)為什么抽簽會(huì)證明他有罪。“但這世上一定有一個(gè)好的上帝，”他想，“因?yàn)樗寻１人徒o了我。我必須相信他是對(duì)的。”
He had told Eppie how her mother had died in the snow，and he had given her the dead woman's wedding ring.Eppie was not at all interested in who her real father was，as she thought she had the best father in the world already.At the moment she was sitting close to Silas outside their door in the sunshine.Neither of them had spoken for a while.
他對(duì)埃比講了她母親是怎么死在雪地上的，并把她媽媽的結(jié)婚戒指給了她。埃比一點(diǎn)兒也不關(guān)心她的親生父親是誰(shuí)，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得自己已經(jīng)有了一個(gè)世界上最好的爸爸。這會(huì)兒她正緊挨著西拉斯坐在門外曬太陽(yáng)。兩人都沉默了一會(huì)兒。
'Father，'she said gently，'if I get married，do you think I should wear my mother's ring?'
“爸爸，”埃比輕聲說(shuō)，“如果我結(jié)婚，我要不要戴媽媽的戒指?”
'Oh，Eppie!'said Silas，surprised.'Are you thinking of get-ting married，then?'
“什么，埃比，”西拉斯嚇了一跳，“你想結(jié)婚了嗎?”
'Well，Aaron was talking to me about it，'replied Eppie，blushing.'You know he's nearly twenty-four now，and is earning good money， and he'd like to marry soon.'
“阿榮對(duì)我談起了，”埃比的臉紅了，“你知道他都快二十四歲了，而且也掙錢了，他想早點(diǎn)兒結(jié)婚。”
'And who would he like to marry?'asked Silas with rather a sad smile.
“他想娶誰(shuí)?”西拉斯笑得很悲傷。
'Why，me，of course，daddy!'said Eppie，laughing and kiss-ing her father.'He won't want to marry anyone else!'
“當(dāng)然是我了，爸爸!”埃比笑著吻了她的父親，“他除了我誰(shuí)也不娶。”
'And you'd like to marry him，would you?'asked Silas.
“你想嫁給他，是嗎?”西拉斯問(wèn)。
'Yes，one day.I don't know when.Aaron says everyone's married some time.But I told him that's not true，because you haven't ever been married，have you，daddy?'
“是的，有一天會(huì)的。我也不知道會(huì)是哪一天。阿榮說(shuō)人總要結(jié)婚，我說(shuō)那可不一定，你就沒(méi)結(jié)過(guò)婚，對(duì)吧，爸爸?”
'No，child，'said Silas.'I was a lonely man before you were sent to me.'
“是的，孩子，”西拉斯說(shuō)，“在你來(lái)到我身邊之前，我一直是一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的人。”
'But you'll never be lonely again，father，'said Eppie loving-ly.'That's what Aaron said.He doesn't want to take me away from you.He wants us all to live together，and he'll do all the work，and you needn't work at all，father.He'll be like a son to you.'
“不過(guò)你不會(huì)再孤獨(dú)了，爸爸，”埃比深情地說(shuō)，“阿榮也這么說(shuō)，他不想把我從你身邊奪走，他想我們大家生活在一起，他干所有的活兒，你不用再工作了，他會(huì)像兒子那樣孝敬你。”
'Well，my child，you're young to be married，'said Silas.'But he's a good young man.We'll ask his mother what we should do.She always gives us good advice.You see，Eppie，I'm getting older，and I'd like to think of you with a strong young husband to take care of you for the rest of your life.Yes，we'll ask Dolly Winthrop for her opinion.'
“可是，我的孩子，你太小了還不該結(jié)婚，”西拉斯說(shuō)，“可他確實(shí)是個(gè)好小伙子。咱們問(wèn)問(wèn)他媽媽，看看該怎么做。她總能幫我們。你看，埃比，我老了，我也希望你有個(gè)年輕強(qiáng)壯的丈夫來(lái)照顧你以后的生活。好吧，我們?nèi)?wèn)問(wèn)多莉·溫思羅普的意見。”
8 Eppie has grown up
It was a bright autumn Sunday，sixteen years after Silas had found Eppie in his cottage.The Raveloe church bells were ringing，and people were coming out of church after the morning service.First came the new squire，Godfrey Cass，looking a little heavier now，but with a straight back and a firm step.On his arm was his wife Nancy，still a pretty woman.Just behind them came Mr Lammeter and Priscilla.They all went into the Red House.
'You and Priscilla will stay for tea，won't you?Nancy asked her father.
'My dear，you must ask Priscilla，'replied Mr Lammeter with a smile.'She manages me and the farm as well.'
'Well，it's better for your health if I manage everything，fa ther，'said Priscilla.'Then there's nothing for you to worry about.No，Nancy dear，we must go home now. But you and I can have a walk round the garden while the servants are get ting the horses ready.
When the sisters were alone in the garden，Priscilla said，'My dear，I'm very glad you're going to have a dairy.Making your own butter will give you something to think about all the time.You'll never be sad when you've got a dairy.'And she put her arm through her sister's.
'Dear Priscilla，'said Nancy gratefully.'I'm only ever sad when Godfrey is.I could be happy if he could accept our life as it is.But it's more difficult for a man .'
'Men!'cried Priscilla impatiently.'They're always wanting something new!Never happy with what they've got!I'm glad I was too ugly to get married!I'm much happier with fa-ther!'
' Oh Priscilla，'said Nancy.'Don't be angry with Godfrey—he's a very good husband. But of course he's disappointed that we haven't had children—he wanted them so much.'
'Well，father is waiting for me—I'd better go now.Goodbye，my dear.'And the sisters kissed goodbye When Priscilla and her father had left，Godfrey said，'Nancy，I think I'll just go and look at some of the fields we're draining near the old quarry .'
'You'll be back by tea-time，dear?'
'Oh yes，I'll be back in an hour.'
This was a habit of Godfrey's on Sunday afternoons.He en-joyed walking round the fields that belonged to him now.So Nancy often had a quiet hour at about this time，which she spent reading，or sometimes just thinking.
She remembered all the little things that had happened to her，especially during her marriage，in the last fifteen years .The great sadness of her married life had been the death of her only baby.Like most women，she had looked forward to be-coming a mother very much.But when the baby died soon af-ter it was born，she made herself accept the fact. She did not allow herself to think about it，or to wish for anything different.Godfrey，however，had been terribly disappointed，es-pecially when it seemed likely that Nancy could have no more children.
Nancy's religion was extremely important to her.She firmly believed that people should accept whatever happened to them in life，because it was God who decided everything.But she un-derstood how difficult it was for Godfrey to accept that their marriage would be childless.'Was I right，'she wondered for the hundredth time，'to refuse him，when he said we should adopt a child?I believe that if God hasn't given us a child，it's because God doesn't want us to have one.I'm sure I'm right.But poor Godfrey!It's worse for him than for me.I've got him， and the house，and now the dairy to think about. But although he's always good to me，I know he's unhappy—he wants children so much!'
From the first moment Godfrey had spoken of adopting a child，he had mentioned Eppie's name.She had always been the child he wanted to adopt.He had no idea that Silas would rather die than lose Eppie，and he imagined that the weaver would be glad if the child were adopted by the Cass family.'After all，the girl will have a much better life with us，'he told himself.'I can't be really happy if we don't have a child.And I can never tell Nancy the truth about Eppie—I'm afraid she'll hate me for it.'
While Nancy was sitting quietly in the Red House，thinking about her husband，Silas and Eppie were sitting outside their cottage near the quarry They had been to church too，which they did every week，like the Casses and most of the villagers Silas had started taking Eppie to church when she was very young，because Dolly Winthrop had persuaded him that every child should have some religious training.Because of Eppie，Silas was completely accepted in Raveloe now.Nobody thought he was strange any more;in fact，he was almost a popular fig-ure in the village.
He was older now，and could not work as hard as he used to.Recently，as he had more time to think，he had begun to re-member the past，and his old friends at the Light Street chapel.He realized how his once lonely life had changed since Eppie had come to him Now he had friends，and trusted people，and was happy. And he began to see that the God in the Raveloe church was the same God he had been so angry with，the last time he had been to the chapel.It seemed to him that there had been some mistake in his past，which had thrown a dark shadow over his early life Perhaps now he would never know whether Mr Paston，the chapel minister，still thought he was guilty of stealing.And he would never dis-cover why the drawing of the lots had seemed to prove his guilt.'But there must be a Good of goodness in this world，'he thought，'because He sent Eppie to me.I must just trust，and believe that He is right.'
He had told Eppie how her mother had died in the snow，and he had given her the dead woman's wedding ring.Eppie was not at all interested in who her real father was，as she thought she had the best father in the world already.At the moment she was sitting close to Silas outside their door in the sunshine.Neither of them had spoken for a while.
'Father，'she said gently，'if I get married，do you think I should wear my mother's ring?'
'Oh，Eppie!'said Silas，surprised.'Are you thinking of get-ting married，then?'
'Well，Aaron was talking to me about it，'replied Eppie，blushing.'You know he's nearly twenty-four now，and is earning good money， and he'd like to marry soon.'
'And who would he like to marry?'asked Silas with rather a sad smile.
'Why，me，of course，daddy!'said Eppie，laughing and kiss-ing her father.'He won't want to marry anyone else!'
'And you'd like to marry him，would you?'asked Silas.
'Yes，one day.I don't know when.Aaron says everyone's married some time.But I told him that's not true，because you haven't ever been married，have you，daddy?'
'No，child，'said Silas.'I was a lonely man before you were sent to me.'
'But you'll never be lonely again，father，'said Eppie loving-ly.'That's what Aaron said.He doesn't want to take me away from you.He wants us all to live together，and he'll do all the work，and you needn't work at all，father.He'll be like a son to you.'
'Well，my child，you're young to be married，'said Silas.'But he's a good young man.We'll ask his mother what we should do.She always gives us good advice.You see，Eppie，I'm getting older，and I'd like to think of you with a strong young husband to take care of you for the rest of your life.Yes，we'll ask Dolly Winthrop for her opinion.'
8 埃比長(zhǎng)大了
這是西拉斯在小屋找到埃比16年后的秋天的一個(gè)晴朗的禮拜日。瑞福洛教堂的鐘聲響了，做完晨禱的人們陸續(xù)走出教堂。走在最前面的是新的鄉(xiāng)紳戈弗雷·凱斯，他比以前胖了一些，可是背很直，步伐也很堅(jiān)定。他的太太南茜挽著他的胳膊。南茜仍然那么漂亮。在他們后面的是拉默特先生和普麗西拉。大家一起走進(jìn)了紅屋。
“你和普麗西拉會(huì)在這兒喝茶吧?”南茜問(wèn)自己的父親。
“親愛(ài)的，那得問(wèn)問(wèn)普麗西拉，”拉默特先生笑著說(shuō)，“她既管著農(nóng)場(chǎng)，也管著我。”
“一切由我來(lái)管對(duì)你有好處，爸爸。”普麗西拉說(shuō)，“這樣你就不用為各種事操心了。不，親愛(ài)的南茜，我們得回家去了。不過(guò)咱們可以趁用人備馬的時(shí)候到花園里去走一走。”
姐妹兩人單獨(dú)在花園里的時(shí)候，普麗西拉說(shuō)：“我親愛(ài)的，我真高興你就要有牛奶廠了。自己做奶酪，你就會(huì)整天有事可想了。有了牛奶廠，你就再不會(huì)發(fā)愁了。”她挽起妹妹的胳膊。
“親愛(ài)的普麗西拉，”南茜感激地說(shuō)，“只有戈弗雷發(fā)愁的時(shí)候我才會(huì)發(fā)愁。如果他能接受我們的生活，我會(huì)很高興，可這對(duì)一個(gè)男人來(lái)說(shuō)太難了。”
“男人!”普麗西拉不耐煩地說(shuō)，“他們總想要新鮮的東西，從不會(huì)對(duì)得到的東西感到滿意!我真幸運(yùn)太丑了嫁不出去!我和爸爸在一起要快樂(lè)得多。”
“哦，普麗西拉，”南茜說(shuō)，“你別怪戈弗雷——他是個(gè)很好的丈夫。當(dāng)然他因?yàn)槲覀儧](méi)有孩子失望——他太想要孩子了。”
“好了，爸爸在等我——我得走了。再見，親愛(ài)的!”姐妹倆互相吻別。普麗西拉和她父親走后，戈弗雷說(shuō)：“南茜，我想我得去看看那幾片靠近采石場(chǎng)的正在排水的地。”
“你會(huì)回來(lái)喝茶嗎?親愛(ài)的?”
“會(huì)，我一小時(shí)后回來(lái)。”
這是戈弗雷在禮拜日下午的習(xí)慣，他喜歡繞著那些現(xiàn)在屬于他的土地走一走。南茜會(huì)利用這安靜的一小時(shí)看看書，或是想想事。
她記得以前發(fā)生過(guò)的所有小事，尤其是結(jié)婚15年來(lái)的情形。唯一的孩子的夭折是她婚姻生活中最大的痛苦。和大部分女人一樣，她渴望著做一個(gè)母親，但她的孩子降生后不久就死了，于是她強(qiáng)迫自己接受了這個(gè)事實(shí)。她不許自己去想這件事，也不許自己去做其他的設(shè)想。然而戈弗雷極其失望，尤其當(dāng)看到南茜很可能不能再要孩子的時(shí)候。
宗教信仰對(duì)南茜非常重要，她堅(jiān)信人們應(yīng)當(dāng)接受命運(yùn)賦予他們的一切，因?yàn)槟鞘巧系郯才诺?，但她知道戈弗雷是多么難以接受他們沒(méi)有孩子的婚姻。“我這樣對(duì)嗎?”南茜第100次問(wèn)自己，“拒絕按他說(shuō)的去收養(yǎng)一個(gè)孩子?我想上帝沒(méi)給我們孩子是因?yàn)樗幌胱屛覀冇泻⒆印Ｎ蚁胛沂菍?duì)的。可是可憐的戈弗雷，他比我要痛苦，我擁有了他，擁有了房子，又將有牛奶廠，可他雖然對(duì)我一直很好，可我知道他并不開心——他太想要孩子了。”
戈弗雷第一次提起收養(yǎng)孩子的時(shí)候就講到了埃比的名字。他一直很想收養(yǎng)她，沒(méi)有想到西拉斯寧可死也不愿意失去埃比，只認(rèn)為織布匠會(huì)為埃比被凱斯家收養(yǎng)而高興。“不管怎樣，小姑娘跟著我們會(huì)過(guò)得好得多。”他對(duì)自己說(shuō)。“沒(méi)有孩子我不會(huì)真的幸福?？晌矣植荒苷f(shuō)出關(guān)于埃比的實(shí)情——南茜一定會(huì)因此而恨我的。”
南茜靜靜地坐在家里想著她丈夫的時(shí)候，西拉斯和埃比正坐在他們采石場(chǎng)旁邊的小屋前面。像平時(shí)一樣。他們也同凱斯一家和其他村民一道做了禮拜。因?yàn)槎嗬騽裎骼拐f(shuō)每個(gè)孩子都應(yīng)該接受宗教教育，所以西拉斯在埃比很小的時(shí)候就開始帶她去教堂。由于埃比的原因，西拉斯現(xiàn)在完完全全被瑞福洛的人們所接受了。沒(méi)人再認(rèn)為他奇怪，實(shí)際上，他幾乎成了瑞福洛村里一個(gè)很受歡迎的人。
西拉斯年齡大了，不能像原來(lái)那樣拚命干活了。最近，因?yàn)橛辛烁嗟乃伎嫉臅r(shí)間，他開始回憶過(guò)去，回憶日光街小教堂的老朋友們。他意識(shí)到了自己一度寂寞的生活是怎么因?yàn)榘１榷淖兊?。他現(xiàn)在有朋友，信任別人而且幸福。他開始覺(jué)得瑞福洛的這個(gè)上帝和最后一次去日光街小教堂時(shí)他曾氣惱過(guò)的那個(gè)上帝是同一個(gè)上帝。他認(rèn)為自己可能前世做過(guò)什么錯(cuò)事，給自己的前半生罩上了一層陰影?？赡芩肋h(yuǎn)無(wú)法知道小教堂的牧師帕斯通先生是不是仍認(rèn)為他犯了偷竊罪，他也永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法發(fā)現(xiàn)為什么抽簽會(huì)證明他有罪。“但這世上一定有一個(gè)好的上帝，”他想，“因?yàn)樗寻１人徒o了我。我必須相信他是對(duì)的。”
他對(duì)埃比講了她母親是怎么死在雪地上的，并把她媽媽的結(jié)婚戒指給了她。埃比一點(diǎn)兒也不關(guān)心她的親生父親是誰(shuí)，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得自己已經(jīng)有了一個(gè)世界上最好的爸爸。這會(huì)兒她正緊挨著西拉斯坐在門外曬太陽(yáng)。兩人都沉默了一會(huì)兒。
“爸爸，”埃比輕聲說(shuō)，“如果我結(jié)婚，我要不要戴媽媽的戒指?”
“什么，埃比，”西拉斯嚇了一跳，“你想結(jié)婚了嗎?”
“阿榮對(duì)我談起了，”埃比的臉紅了，“你知道他都快二十四歲了，而且也掙錢了，他想早點(diǎn)兒結(jié)婚。”
“他想娶誰(shuí)?”西拉斯笑得很悲傷。
“當(dāng)然是我了，爸爸!”埃比笑著吻了她的父親，“他除了我誰(shuí)也不娶。”
“你想嫁給他，是嗎?”西拉斯問(wèn)。
“是的，有一天會(huì)的。我也不知道會(huì)是哪一天。阿榮說(shuō)人總要結(jié)婚，我說(shuō)那可不一定，你就沒(méi)結(jié)過(guò)婚，對(duì)吧，爸爸?”
“是的，孩子，”西拉斯說(shuō)，“在你來(lái)到我身邊之前，我一直是一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的人。”
“不過(guò)你不會(huì)再孤獨(dú)了，爸爸，”埃比深情地說(shuō)，“阿榮也這么說(shuō)，他不想把我從你身邊奪走，他想我們大家生活在一起，他干所有的活兒，你不用再工作了，他會(huì)像兒子那樣孝敬你。”
“可是，我的孩子，你太小了還不該結(jié)婚，”西拉斯說(shuō)，“可他確實(shí)是個(gè)好小伙子。咱們問(wèn)問(wèn)他媽媽，看看該怎么做。她總能幫我們。你看，埃比，我老了，我也希望你有個(gè)年輕強(qiáng)壯的丈夫來(lái)照顧你以后的生活。好吧，我們?nèi)?wèn)問(wèn)多莉·溫思羅普的意見。”
