双语·面纱 第十四章
Though Kitty had met his wife at various tea-parties she had been some weeks in Hong Kong before she saw Charles Townsend. She was introduced to him only when with her husband she went to dine at his house. Kitty was on the defensive. Charles Townsend was Assistant Colonial Secretary and she had no mind to allow him to use her with the condescension which, notwithstanding her good manners, she discerned in Mrs. Townsend. The room in which they were received was spacious. It was furnished as was every other drawing-room she had been in at Hong Kong in a comfortable and homely style. It was a large party. They were the last to come and as they entered Chinese servants in uniform were handing round cocktails and olives. Mrs. Townsend greeted them in her casual fashion and looking at a list told Walter whom he was to take in to dinner.
Kitty saw a tall and very handsome man bear down on them.
“This is my husband.”
“I am to have the privilege of sitting next to you,” he said.
She immediately felt at ease and the sense of hostility vanished from her bosom. Though his eyes were smiling she had seen in them a quick look of surprise. She understood it perfectly and it made her inclined to laugh.
“I shan't be able to eat any dinner,” he said, “and if I know Dorothy the dinner's damned good.”
“Why not?”
“I ought to have been told. Some one really ought to have warned me.”
“What about?”
“No one said a word. How was I to know that I was going to meet a raging beauty?”
“Now what am I to say to that?”
“Nothing. Leave me to do the talking. And I'll say it over and over again.”
Kitty, unmoved, wondered what exactly his wife had told him about her. He must have asked. And Townsend, looking down on her with his laughing eyes, suddenly remembered.
“What is she like?” he had inquired when his wife told him she had met Dr. Fane's bride.
“Oh, quite a nice little thing. Actressy.”
“Was she on the stage?”
“Oh, no, I don't think so. Her father's a doctor or a lawyer or something. I suppose we shall have to ask them to dinner.”
“There's no hurry, is there?”
When they were sitting side by side at table he told her that he had known Walter Fane ever since he came to the Colony.
“We play bridge together. He's far and away the best bridge player at the Club.”
She told Walter on the way home.
“That's not saying very much, you know.”
“How does he play?”
“Not badly. He plays a winning hand very well, but when he has bad cards he goes all to pieces.”
“Does he play as well as you?”
“I have no illusions about my play. I should describe myself as a very good player in the second class. Townsend thinks he's in the first. He isn't.”
“Don't you like him?”
“I neither like him nor dislike him. I believe he's not bad at his job and everyone says he's a good sportsman. He doesn't very much interest me.”
It was not the first time that Walter's moderation had exasperated her. She asked herself why it was necessary to be so prudent: you either liked people or you didn't. She had liked Charles Townsend very much. And she had not expected to. He was probably the most popular man in the Colony. It was supposed that the Colonial Secretary would retire soon and everyone hoped that Townsend would succeed him. He played tennis and polo and golf. He kept racing ponies. He was always ready to do any one a good turn. He never let red tape interfere with him. He put on no airs. Kitty did not know why she had resented hearing him so well spoken of, she could not help thinking he must be very conceited: she had been extremely silly; that was the last thing you could accuse him of.
She had enjoyed her evening. They had talked of the theatres in London, and of Ascot and Cowes, all the things she knew about, so that really she might have met him at some nice house in Lennox Gardens; and later, when the men came into the drawing-room after dinner, he had strolled over and sat beside her again. Though he had not said anything very amusing, he had made her laugh; it must have been the way he said it: there was a caressing sound in his deep, rich voice, a delightful expression in his kind, shining blue eyes, which made you feel very much at home with him. Of course he had charm. That was what made him so pleasant.
He was tall, six foot two at least, she thought, and he had a beautiful figure; he was evidently in very good condition and he had not a spare ounce of fat on him. He was well-dressed, the best-dressed man in the room, and he wore his clothes well. She liked a man to be smart. Her eyes wandered to Walter: he really should try to be a little better turned out. She noticed Townsend's cuff-links and waistcoat buttons; she had seen similar ones at Cartier's. Of course the Townsends had private means. His face was deeply sunburned, but the sun had not taken the healthy color from his cheeks. She liked the little trim curly moustache which did not conceal his full red lips. He had black hair, short and brushed very sleek. But of course his eyes, under thick, bushy eyebrows, were his best feature: they were so very blue, and they had a laughing tenderness which persuaded you of the sweetness of his disposition. No man who had those blue eyes could bear to hurt any one. She could not but know that she had made an impression on him. If he had not said charming things to her his eyes, warm with admiration, would have betrayed him. His ease was delightful. He had no self-consciousness. Kitty was at home in these circumstances and she admired the way in which amid the banter which was the staple of their conversation he insinuated every now and then a pretty, flattering speech. When she shook hands with him on leaving he gave her hand a pressure that she could not mistake.
“I hope we shall see you again soon,” he said casually, but his eyes gave his words a meaning which she could not fail to see.
“Hong Kong is very small, isn't it?” she said.
虽然凯蒂在不同的茶会上碰到过查理·汤森的太太，但是在她到了香港几周之后才见到查理本人。当她和丈夫一起去查理家赴宴时，人们把她介绍给了他。凯蒂当时心存戒备，查理·汤森是殖民地大臣助理，她不想让他居高临下地看待她。虽然汤森太太对她还是彬彬有礼的，但凯蒂能够察觉到她有点儿看不起她。接待凯蒂夫妇的房间很宽敞，家具摆设和她在香港所去过的其他人家的客厅一样，都是一种家庭气氛浓厚的舒适风格。那次的聚会规模很大，他们是最后一拨到的客人。进入客厅后，身着制服的仆人们在人群中穿梭，给客人们端鸡尾酒、送橄榄果。汤森太太很随意地招呼着他们，看着客人名单告诉沃尔特有人会把他领到餐桌旁。
凯蒂看到一位个头较高、长相十分英俊的男人向他们走来。
“这位是我丈夫。”
“我将有幸坐在您身边。”他说道。
她立即放松了下来，心底里的敌意也消失得无影无踪。他的眼睛里也带着微笑，她同时也看出他的目光中闪过一抹吃惊的神色，她太了解这种神色了，但还是暗自想笑。
“饭我是吃不了了。”他说道，“即使我了解多萝西，饭菜一定特别可口。”
“为什么吃不了？”
“应该有人告诉我，真的早就应该有人提醒我了。”
“提醒什么？”
“没人跟我提一个字儿，我怎么会知道我要遇见一个大美人呢？”
“您这么说，让我说什么好呢？”
“什么也不用说，让我自说自话好了，我要一遍又一遍地说。”
凯蒂虽然未动声色，但心里好奇，关于自己，他的太太究竟跟他说了些什么？他一定问了她一些问题。查理用他那双含笑的眼睛低头望着她，猛然想起了什么。
“她长什么样？”当他的太太告诉他，她已经见到了费恩博士新婚的妻子以后，他问道。
“噢，很可爱的小人儿，明星范儿十足。”
“她是个演员吗？”
“哦，不是，我觉得她不是个演员。她的父亲是个医生，或者律师什么的，我记不太清了。我想我们应该邀请他们来参加宴会。”
“不着急，慢慢来，不是吗？”
当他们紧挨着坐在餐桌边上的时候，查理告诉凯蒂他刚来香港就认识沃尔特了。
“我们一起玩桥牌，在俱乐部中，他可是超一流的玩家。”
在回家的路上，她把这话告诉了沃尔特。
“你知道，他说得有点儿夸张。”
“他打得怎么样？”
“打得也不赖。他有一手好牌时，打得相当好，可有一手坏牌时，就打得一塌糊涂。”
“他打得和你一样好吗？”
“我对自己的牌技心中有数，我认为自己是二流玩家中打得相当不错的。而查理认为自己属于一流的玩家，实际上不是这样的。”
“你不喜欢他吗？”
“我说不上喜欢他，也不能说不喜欢。我觉得他工作还算可以，大家都说他是个运动健将，我对他兴趣不大。”
这已经不是第一次了，沃尔特无关痛痒的镇静让她感到恼火。她在心中自问，这样稳健世故有必要，有道理吗？对一个人，你要么喜欢，要么不喜欢。她就很喜欢查理·汤森，虽然她没有料到会这样。他可能在香港是最受欢迎的人了，可以预料，如果殖民地大臣不久后退休，大家都希望查理能够接替。他打网球、马球和高尔夫，也热衷赛马。他总是时刻准备对别人施以援手，决不让繁文缛节干扰办事的效率，也从不摆架子。凯蒂不知道为什么自己以前听到别人赞扬他都会觉得不以为然，她不禁想到他一定是个十分自负的家伙，她真是太傻了，看走了眼，他最不可能受到的指摘就是说他矜持傲慢。
整个晚上她都过得很愉快。他们谈到了伦敦的剧院，谈到了阿斯科特赛马大会和考斯帆船赛，谈到了她知道的一切事情，她觉得和他一见如故，真的好像在伦诺克斯花园中某个舒适的房子里两个人曾经见过面。后来，在宴会之后，男人们都去了客厅，他踱步过来，又坐到了她身边。虽然他不再说一些很好玩的事情，刚才已经让她笑个不停了，但还是用他一贯的说话方式和她聊着天，他的声音深沉、醇厚，有一种亲切感。在他善良、闪光的蓝色眼睛里，有着一种愉快的神色，让人觉得和蔼可亲，和他在一起很放松。当然，他身上还有一种魅力，使得他可爱、迷人。
他的个头很高，她觉得至少有六英尺二英寸，而且身材很匀称。显然，他的条件很好，身上没有一盎司的赘肉。他衣冠楚楚，是房间里穿着最得体的男士，可见他平时很注意穿着打扮。她喜欢男士看上去很精神的样子，她的目光在沃尔特的身上打量了一番——他真的应该好好捯饬一下了。她注意到查理衬衣的袖扣和马甲上的纽扣，以前她在卡地亚的商店里也见过类似的款式，当然这是因为汤森家族还有很多私人产业。他的脸被晒得黝黑，但太阳显然并没有带走他脸颊上健康的颜色。她喜欢他那修剪得很整齐的弯卷的小胡子，以及并未被胡子遮住的红嘴唇。他的短发乌黑，梳理得溜光水滑。当然还有他的眼睛，在浓眉之下是他最迷人之处：眼珠湛蓝，带着含笑的温柔，让人感受到他性格中的体贴。有这样一双蓝眼睛的人是不会忍心伤害任何人的。她分明知道自己也给他留下了好印象，即使他还没有向她说出什么迷人的话语，但他的眼睛，带着崇拜的暖意，已经暴露了心底的秘密。他的放松自如也让人愉快，而他自己似乎并没有察觉。凯蒂对这种氛围感到很惬意，她也欣赏这样的方式，在作为聊天主料的打趣中，他时不时地会用上一两句听上去极为顺耳的奉承话。当她和他握手告别时，她明白无误地感觉到了他手上的力度。
“我希望我们不久之后就能再次见到您。”他很随意地说道，但他的眼神在说这话时显得意味深长，她不可能不明白。
“香港真的很小，不是吗？”她说道。
