It was Ashley’s birthday and Melanie was giving him a surprise reception that night. —
这是阿什利的生日，梅拉尼将在晚上给他一个惊喜的招待会。 —

Everyone knew about the reception, except Ashley. —
除了阿什利之外，每个人都知道这个招待会。 —

Even Wade and little Beau knew and were sworn to secrecy that puffed them up with pride. —
即使是韦德和小博，都知道并守口如瓶，这使他们感到非常自豪。 —

Everyone in Atlanta who was nice had been invited and was coming. —
所有在亚特兰大的友善的人都受邀并将会到场。 —

General Gordon and his family had graciously accepted, Alexander Stephens would be present if his ever-uncertain health permitted and even Bob Toombs, the stormy petrel of the Confederacy, was expected.
戈登将军和他的家人亲切地接受了邀请，亚历山大·斯蒂芬斯如果他时常不稳定的健康状况允许的话也会出席，甚至还有南军的麻烦制造者鲍勃·汤姆斯。

All that morning, Scarlett, with Melanie, India and Aunt Pitty flew about the little house, directing the negroes as they hung freshly laundered curtains, polished silver, waxed the floor and cooked, stirred and tasted the refreshments. —
整个早上，斯嘉丽和梅拉尼，还有印第亚和彭蒂姨妈，在小屋内忙碌着，指挥着仆人们挂上新洗的窗帘，擦亮银器，打蜡地板，烹饪、搅拌和品尝点心。 —

Scarlett had never seen Melanie so excited or so happy.
斯嘉丽从未见过梅拉尼如此兴奋和幸福。

“You see, dear, Ashley hasn’t had a birthday party since—since, you remember the barbecue at Twelve Oaks? —
“你瞧，亲爱的，自从……自从，你还记得那次在十二橡树庄园的烤肉会上吗？ —

The day we heard about Mr. Lincoln’s call for volunteers? —
就是我们听到林肯先生要志愿兵的消息的那一天？” —

Well, he hasn’t had a birthday party since then. —
嗯，自那以后他就没有过生日派对了。 —

And he works so hard and he’s so tired when he gets home at night that he really hasn’t thought about today being his birthday. —
而且他工作非常努力，晚上回家的时候已经非常累了，他真的没有想到今天是他的生日。 —

And won’t he be surprised after supper when everybody troops in!”
晚饭后当大家一起涌进来的时候，他会很惊讶的！”

“How you goin’ to manage them lanterns on the lawn without Mr. Wilkes seein’ them when he comes home to supper?” —
“你们怎么打算在院子里放那些灯笼，这样Wilkes先生回家吃晚饭时不会看到它们呢？” —

demanded Archie grumpily.
阿奇抱怨道。

He had sat all morning watching the preparations, interested but unwilling to admit it. —
他整个上午都坐在那里看着准备工作，感兴趣但又不愿承认。 —

He had never been behind the scenes at a large town folks’ party and it was a new experience. —
他从来没有在一个大城镇人民聚会的幕后活动中待过，这是一个新的经历。 —

He made frank remarks about women running around like the house was afire, just because they were having company, but wild horses could not have dragged him from the scene. —
他直言不讳地评论了女人们在家里像房子着火一样东奔西走，只因为要有客人，但就是野马也不能将他从场景中拖走。 —

The colored-paper lanterns which Mrs. Elsing and Fanny had made and painted for the occasion held a special interest for him, as he had never seen “sech contraptions” before. —
莱瑟灯笼是为这个场合由艾尔辛夫人和芬妮制作和绘制的，对他来说特别有趣，因为他以前从未见过“这样的东西”。 —

They had been hidden in his room in the cellar and he had examined them minutely.
它们被藏在他的地下室房间里，他仔细地检查了它们。

“Mercy! I hadn’t thought of that!” cried Melanie. “Archie, how fortunate that you mentioned it. —
“天哪！我没想到这个！”梅兰妮大叫道。”阿奇，你提起这个真是太幸运了。 —

Dear, dear! What shall I do? They’ve got to be strung on the bushes and trees and little candles put in them and lighted just at the proper time when the guests are arriving. —
亲爱的，亲爱的！我该怎么办？它们必须被挂在树丛和树上，放上小蜡烛，然后在客人到达的时候点燃。 —

Scarlett, can you send Pork down to do it while we’re eating supper?”
斯嘉丽，你能派波克去做这件事吗？我们吃晚饭的时候他可以去弄。

“Miz Wilkes, you got more sense than most women but you gits flurried right easy,” said Archie. —
“娘子娘子，你比大多数女人聪明，可是你容易慌张，”阿奇说。 —

“And as for that fool nigger, Pork, he ain’t got no bizness with them thar contraptions. —
“至于那个傻黑奴波克，他可不该碰那些玩意儿。 —

He’d set them afire in no time. They are—right pretty,” he conceded. —
他会立刻把它们烧着。不过，它们——真漂亮，”他承认道。 —

“I’ll hang them for you, whilst you and Mr. Wilkes are eatin’.”
“在你和威尔克斯先生吃饭的时候，我会把它们挂起来的。

“Oh, Archie, how kind of you!” Melanie turned childlike eyes of gratitude and dependence upon him. —
“哦，阿奇，你真好！”梅兰妮感恩和依赖地望着他，眼神像个孩子。 —

“I don’t know what I should do without you. —
“没了你我该怎么办。 —

Do you suppose you could go put the candles in them now, so we’d have that much out of the way?”
你觉得你现在能去把蜡烛放进去吗，这样我们就能先解决一部分了？”

“Well, I could, p’raps,” said Archie ungraciously and stumped off toward the cellar stairs.
“嗯，我可能能做到，”阿尔奇不客气地说着，朝地下室的楼梯走去。

“There’s more ways of killing a cat than choking him to death with butter,” giggled Melanie when the whiskered old man had thumped down the stairs. —
“杀猫的方法比用黄油闷死它更多样化，”梅兰妮笑着说，当那个长着胡子的老人沉重地下了楼梯后。 —

“I had intended all along for Archie to put up those lanterns but you know how he is. —
“我早就打算让阿尔奇安装那些灯笼，但你知道他是怎样的人。 —

He won’t do a thing if you ask him to. And now we’ve got him out from underfoot for a while. —
如果你叫他做事，他什么也不会做。现在我们终于把他撵到一边了。 —

The darkies are so scared of him they just won’t do any work when he’s around, breathing down their necks.”
黑人们一到他在旁边监督的时候，就害怕得什么工作也不做。”

“Melly, I wouldn’t have that old desperado in my house,” said Scarlett crossly. —
“梅莉，我可不希望这个老恶棍进我的屋子，”斯嘉丽不耐烦地说着。 —

She hated Archie as much as he hated her and they barely spoke. —
她不喜欢阿尔奇，他也不喜欢她，他们几乎不说话。 —

Melanie’s was the only house in which he would remain if she were present. —
梅兰妮的家是唯一一个他会呆着的地方，只要她在场。 —

And even in Melanie’s house, he stared at her with suspicion and cold contempt. —
即使在梅兰妮的屋子里，他也用怀疑和冷漠的眼神盯着她看。 —

“He’ll cause you trouble, mark my words.”
“相信我的话，他会给你惹麻烦的。”

“Oh, he’s harmless if you flatter him and act like you depend on him,” said Melanie. —
“哦，只要你奉承他，表现得你离不开他，他就无害了，”梅兰妮说着。 —

“And he’s so devoted to Ashley and Beau that I always feel safe having him around.”
“他对阿什利和博非常忠诚，我有他在身边的时候总是感到安全。”

“You mean he’s so devoted to you, Melly,” said India, her cold face relaxing into a faintly warm smile as her gaze rested fondly on her sister-in-law. —
“你是说他对你非常忠诚，梅莉，”印第安娅说道，她冷漠的脸上露出了一丝微笑，目光亲切地停在了她的嫂子身上。 —

“I believe you’re the first person that old ruffian has loved since his wife—er—since his wife. —
“我相信自从他的妻子去世后，你是第一个他爱的人。” —

I think he’d really like for somebody to insult you, so he could kill them to show his respect for you.”
“我觉得他真的希望有人侮辱你，这样他就可以为了表达对你的尊敬而杀了他们。”

“Mercy! How you run on, India!” said Melanie blushing. —
“天哪！你怎么这么说，印第安娅！”梅兰妮脸红了。 —

“He thinks I’m a terrible goose and you know it.”
“他认为我是个可笑的傻瓜，你也知道。”

“Well, I don’t see that what that smelly old hill-billy thinks is of any importance,” said Scarlett abruptly. —
“嗯，我并不认为那个臭老山羊想法有任何重要性，”斯佳丽突然说道。 —

The very thought of how Archie had sat in judgment upon her about the convicts always enraged her. —
一想到阿奇对她关于囚犯的事情发表意见，她就感到愤怒。 —

“I have to go now. I’ve got to go get dinner and then go by the store and pay off the clerks and go by the lumber yard and pay the drivers and Hugh Elsing.”
“我现在得走了。我得去做晚饭，然后去商店支付员工的工资，去木材厂给司机支付工资，还有休·埃尔辛。”

“Oh, are you going to the lumber yard?” asked Melanie. —
“哦，你要去木材厂吗？”梅兰妮问道。 —

“Ashley is coming in to the yard in the late afternoon to see Hugh. Can you possibly hold him there till five o’clock? —
“艾什莉在傍晚时分到院子里去见休。你能不能把他拖到五点之后呢？” —

If he comes home earlier he’ll be sure to catch us finishing up a cake or something and then he won’t be surprised at all.”
“如果他早点回家，肯定会撞见我们正在做蛋糕或其他什么，那样他就一点都不会惊喜了。”

Scarlett smiled inwardly, good temper restored.
斯嘉丽暗暗笑了笑，好脾气恢复了。

“Yes, I’ll hold him,” she said.
“好，我会把他拖住的。”她说。

As she spoke, India’s pale lashless eyes met hers piercingly. —
她说话的时候，印度的苍白无睫毛的眼睛锐利地与她的对视。 —

She always looks at me so oddly when I speak of Ashley, thought Scarlett.
每次我说到休的时候，她总是奇怪地盯着我看，斯嘉丽心想。

“Well, hold him there as long as you can after five o’clock,” said Melanie. —
“嗯，在五点之后尽量把他拖住,“梅兰妮说。 —

“And then India will drive down and pick him up. —
“然后印度会开车去接他。” —

… Scarlett, do come early tonight. I don’t want you to miss a minute of the reception.”
… 斯嘉丽，今晚一定要早点来。我不想让你错过一分钟的招待会。

As Scarlett rode home she thought sullenly: —
当斯嘉丽骑回家时，她心存怨气地想道： —

“She doesn’t want me to miss a minute of the reception, eh? —
“她不想让我错过一分钟的招待会，啊？ —

Well then, why didn’t she invite me to receive with her and India and Aunt Pitty?”
那好，为什么她不邀请我和印度以及佩蒂阿姨一起接待呢？”

Generally, Scarlett would not have cared whether she received at Melly’s piddling parties or not. —
通常情况下，斯嘉丽并不在乎是否参加梅莉的微不足道的聚会。 —

But this was the largest party Melanie had ever given and Ashley’s birthday party too, and Scarlett longed to stand by Ashley’s side and receive with him. —
但是这是梅兰妮举办的最盛大的聚会，也是艾希莉的生日聚会，斯嘉丽渴望站在艾希莉身边，并和他一起接待。 —

But she knew why she had not been invited to receive. —
但是她知道自己为什么没有被邀请去接待。 —

Even had she not known it, Rhett’s comment on the subject had been frank enough.
即使她不知道，雷特的评论已经足够坦率了。

“A Scallawag receive when all the prominent ex-Confederates and Democrats are going to be there? —
“一个无赖接待，当所有重要的前邦联人士和民主党人都会在那里吗？ —

Your notions are as enchanting as they are muddle headed. —
你的想法既迷人又迷糊。 —

It’s only because of Miss Melly’s loyalty that you are invited at all.”
之所以你被邀请，仅仅是因为梅莉小姐对你的忠诚而已。”

Scarlett dressed with more than usual care that afternoon for her trip to the store and the lumber yard, wearing the new dull-green changeable taffeta frock that looked lilac in some lights and the new pale-green bonnet, circled about with dark-green plumes. —
斯嘉丽在下午去商店和木材场时比平时更加精心打扮，穿着那件新的暗绿色变化缎面连衣裙，在某些光线下看起来是紫色的，还戴着新的浅绿色帽子，上面围着深绿色的羽毛。 —

If only Rhett would let her cut bangs and frizzle them on her forehead, how much better this bonnet would look! —
如果只有雷特让她剪齐刘海，并把它们弄乱在额头上，这顶帽子看起来会更好！ —

But he had declared that he would shave her whole head if she banged her forelocks. —
但是他宣称，如果她剪了刘海，他将会把她整个头发剃光。 —

And these days he acted so atrociously he really might do it.
而这些天他的行为太可怕了，他真的可能做出来。

It was a lovely afternoon, sunny but not too hot, bright but not glaring, and the warm breeze that rustled the trees along Peachtree Street made the plumes on Scarlett’s bonnet dance. —
这是一个可爱的下午，阳光明媚但并不炎热，明亮但并不刺眼，桃树街上的温暖微风使得斯嘉丽帽子上的羽毛舞动起来。 —

Her heart danced too, as always when she was going to see Ashley. —
她的心也随之舞动，就像往常一样，当她要去见阿什利的时候。 —

Perhaps, if she paid off the team drivers and Hugh early, they would go home and leave her and Ashley alone in the square little office in the middle of the lumber yard. —
也许，如果她提前给车夫和休付款，他们会回家，让她和阿什利独处在木材厂中间的那个小办公室里。 —

Chances to see Ashley alone were all too infrequent these days. —
这些日子想要与阿什利独处的机会实在太少了。 —

And to think that Melanie had asked her to hold him! That was funny!
想到梅兰妮竟然让她照顾他！这太有意思了！

Her heart was merry when she reached the store, and she paid off Willie and the other counter boys without even asking what the day’s business had been. —
她来到商店时心情愉快，没有询问今天的生意如何就把威利和其他售货员结清了。 —

It was Saturday, the biggest day of the week for the store, for all the farmers came to town to shop that day, but she asked no questions.
今天是星期六，是商店一周最忙碌的一天，所有的农民都会来镇上购物，但她没有询问任何问题。

Along the way to the lumber yard she stopped a dozen times to speak with Carpetbagger ladies in splendid equipages—not so splendid as her own, she thought with pleasure—and with many men who came through the red dust of the street to stand hat in hand and compliment her. —
在去木材厂的路上，她停下了十几次，与华丽马车上的搬运工夫人们交谈——虽然她觉得那些马车没有她的那么豪华，但心里还是很开心的——还有许多穿过红尘大街走来，带着帽子恭敬地称赞她的男人们。 —

It was a beautiful afternoon, she was happy, she looked pretty and her progress was a royal one. —
那是一个美丽的下午，她很开心，看起来很漂亮，她的行进进展顺利。 —

Because of these delays she arrived at the lumber yard later than she intended and found Hugh and the team drivers sitting on a low pile of lumber waiting for her.
因为这些延误，她比计划的时间晚到了木材厂，发现休和车队司机坐在一堆低矮的木材上等着她。

“Is Ashley here?”
“艾什利在这里吗？”

“Yes, he’s in the office,” said Hugh, the habitually worried expression leaving his face at the sight of her happy, dancing eyes. —
“是的，他在办公室里，”休说，他一贯担心的表情在看到她幸福跳跃的眼神时消失了。 —

“He’s trying to—I mean, he’s going over the books.”
“他在努力—我是说，他在检查账簿。”

“Oh, he needn’t bother about that today,” she said and then lowering her voice: —
“哦，他今天不必为此烦恼了，”她说，然后声音低了下去： —

“Melly sent me down to keep him here till they get the house straight for the reception tonight.”
“梅利让我过来，让他在他们的招待会开始之前在这里等着。”

Hugh smiled for he was going to the reception. —
休笑了，因为他也要去参加招待会。 —

He liked parties and he guessed Scarlett did too from the way she looked this afternoon. —
他喜欢派对，而从她今天下午的模样，他猜到她也喜欢派对。 —

She paid off the teamsters and Hugh and, abruptly leaving them, walked toward the office, showing plainly by her manner that she did not care to be accompanied. —
她给车队工人和休付了钱，突然离开他们，径直走向办公室，她的举止明显显示出她不愿意有人陪伴。 —

Ashley met her at the door and stood in the afternoon sunshine, his hair bright and on his lips a little smile that was almost a grin.
阿什利在门口迎接她，站在阳光下，他的头发明亮，嘴角挂着一个几乎是笑容的微笑。

“Why, Scarlett, what are you doing downtown this time of the day? —
“嗨，斯嘉丽，你这个时间在市区做什么？你为什么不去我家帮梅莉准备惊喜派对？” —

Why aren’t you out at my house helping Melly get ready for the surprise party?”
“哎呀，阿什利·威尔克斯！”她愤怒地喊道。

“Why, Ashley Wilkes!” she cried indignantly. —
“你不应该知道这件事的。 —

“You weren’t supposed to know a thing about it. —
“如果你不惊讶的话，梅莉会非常失望。” —

Melly will be so disappointed if you aren’t surprised.”
“哦，我不会告诉任何人。我会成为亚特兰大最惊讶的人，”阿什利笑着说。

“Oh, I won’t let on. I’ll be the most surprised man in Atlanta,” said Ashley, his eyes laughing.
“那么，是谁这样对你透露的？”阿什利的眼睛笑着。

“Now, who was mean enough to tell you?”
“几乎梅莉邀请的每一个男人。戈登将军是第一个。”

“Practically every man Melly invited. General Gordon was the first. —
“谢谢告诉你的人。” —

He said it had been his experience that when women gave surprise parties they usually gave them on the very nights men had decided to polish and clean all the guns in the house. —
他说他的经验是，当女人举办惊喜派对时，通常是在男人决定打磨和清洁家里所有枪支的那天晚上。 —

And then Grandpa Merriwether warned me. He said Mrs. Merriwether gave him a surprise party once and she was the most surprised person there, because Grandpa had been treating his rheumatism, on the sly, with a bottle of whisky and he was too drunk to get out of bed and—oh, every man who’s ever had a surprise party given him told me.”
然后梅里韦瑟爷爷警告了我。他说梅里韦瑟夫人曾经给他一个惊喜派对，可她是派对上最惊讶的人，因为梅里韦瑟爷爷暗中用一瓶威士忌治疗他的风湿病，他喝得太醉了，起不了床。哦，每个男人都告诉我，曾经给过他惊喜派对的。

“The mean things!” cried Scarlett but she had to smile.
“真是坏人！”斯嘉丽喊道，但她不得不微笑。

He looked like the old Ashley she knew at twelve Oaks when he smiled like this. —
他看起来就像她在十二橡树那里认识的老阿什利，当他这样笑的时候。 —

And he smiled so seldom these days. The air was so soft, the sun so gentle, Ashley’s face so gay, his talk so unconstrained that her heart leaped with happiness. —
而他这些天很少笑。空气那么温软，阳光那么温和，阿什利的脸那么快乐，他的言谈那么无拘无束，使她心中快乐地跳跃。 —

It swelled in her bosom until it positively ached with pleasure, ached as with a burden of joyful, hot, unshed tears. —
它在她的怀中膨胀，直到积聚了愉悦的、热烈的、未流出的眼泪的负担，它如此疼痛。 —

Suddenly she felt sixteen again and happy, a little breathless and excited. —
突然间，她感觉自己又回到了十六岁的时候，感到快乐，有些气喘吁吁和兴奋。 —

She had a mad impulse to snatch off her bonnet and toss it into the air and cry “Hurray!” —
她一时冲动地想要摘下帽子，扔向空中，大喊“万岁！” —

Then she thought how startled Ashley would be if she did this, and she suddenly laughed, laughed until tears came to her eyes. —
然后她想到如果她这样做，阿什利会多么吃惊，于是她突然笑了起来，笑得眼泪都流了出来。 —

He laughed, too, throwing back his head as though he enjoyed laughter, thinking her mirth came from the friendly treachery of the men who had given Melly’s secret away.
他也笑了，抬起头来，好像他享受着笑声，认为她的欢笑是男人们友好的背叛。

“Come in, Scarlett. I’m going over the books.”
“进来，斯嘉丽。我要去看账本。”

She passed into the small room, blazing with the afternoon sun, and sat down in the chair before the roll-topped desk. —
她走进了这间小屋，阳光从下午的窗户中洒进来，她坐在卷帘式桌前的椅子上。 —

Ashley, following her, seated himself on the corner of the rough table, his long legs dangling easily.
阿什利跟在她后面，坐在粗糙的桌子边上，他长长的腿轻松地垂在空中。

“Oh, don’t let’s fool with any books this afternoon, Ashley! I just can’t be bothered. —
“哦，我们今天下午别折腾那些账本了，阿什利！我真的懒得管。 —

When I’m wearing a new bonnet, it seems like all the figures I know leave my head.”
当我戴着新帽子的时候，好像我头脑里就没有任何数字了。”

“Figures are well lost when the bonnet’s as pretty as that one,” he said. —
“当帽子这么漂亮的时候，不去管那些数字是对的，”他说。 —

“Scarlett, you get prettier all the time!”
“珊瑚，你变得越来越漂亮了！”

He slipped from the table and, laughing, took her hands, spreading them wide so he could see her dress. —
他从桌子上滑落，笑着握住她的双手，把她的双手展开宽阔，这样他能看见她的裙子。 —

“You are so pretty! I don’t believe you’ll ever get old!”
“你真漂亮！我相信你永远不会老！”

At his touch she realized that, without being conscious of it, she had hoped that just this thing would happen. —
在他的触碰下，她意识到自己在不自觉地希望着这件事情会发生。 —

All this happy afternoon, she had hoped for the warmth of his hands, the tenderness of his eyes, a word that would show he cared. —
整个愉快的下午，她一直希望能感受到他手的温暖，他眼中的温柔，一个能显示他关心的词语。 —

This was the first time they had been utterly alone since the cold day in the orchard at Tara, the first time their hands had met in any but formal gestures, and through the long months she had hungered for closer contact. But now—
自从那个在塔拉庄园里寒冷的一天以来，这是他们第一次完全单独相处，他们的双手第一次以非礼貌的姿势相触，几个月来，她渴望着更亲密的接触。但现在——

How odd that the touch of his hands did not excite her! —
奇怪的是，他的触碰并没有激起她的兴奋！ —

Once his very nearness would have set her a-tremble. —
曾经，他的接近会让她颤抖不已。 —

Now she felt a curious warm friendliness and content. —
现在，她感到一种奇特的温暖友好和满足。 —

No fever leaped from his hands to hers and in his hands her heart hushed to happy quietness. —
他的手没有传来任何炽热，她的心在他的手中安静地停了下来。 —

This puzzled her, made her a little disconcerted. —
这让她感到困惑，有些不安。 —

He was still her Ashley, still her bright, shining darling and she loved him better than life. Then why—
他仍然是她的亚什利，仍然是她闪亮的爱人，她比生命都爱他。那么为什么——

But she pushed the thought from her mind. —
但她把这个念头从脑海中排除了。 —

It was enough that she was with him and he was holding her hands and smiling, completely friendly, without strain or fever. —
只要她和他在一起，他握着她的手微笑着，完全友好，没有紧张或狂热，这已经足够了。 —

It seemed miraculous that this could be when she thought of all the unsaid things that lay between them. —
想到他们之间未说出口的那些事情，这一切似乎是奇迹般的。 —

His eyes looked into hers, clear and shining, smiling in the old way she loved, smiling as though there had never been anything between them but happiness. —
他的眼睛注视着她的眼睛，清澈而闪亮，以她喜爱的旧方式微笑着，微笑着，仿佛他们之间只有幸福。 —

There was no barrier between his eyes and hers now, no baffling remoteness. She laughed.
他们之间再没有隔阂，再没有令人困惑的疏离感。她笑了。

“Oh, Ashley, I’m getting old and decrepit.”
“哦，亚什利，我变老了，身体衰弱。”

“Ah, that’s very apparent! No, Scarlett, when you are sixty, you’ll look the same to me. —
“嗯，这显而易见！不，斯嘉丽，当你六十岁的时候，你在我眼里看起来还是一样的。” —

I’ll always remember you as you were that day of our last barbecue, sitting under an oak with a dozen boys around you. —
我会永远记住你，就像我们最后一次烧烤的那一天一样，你坐在一棵橡树下，周围围着一打男孩。 —

I can even tell you just how you were dressed, in a white dress covered with tiny green flowers and a white lace shawl about your shoulders. —
我甚至可以告诉你你穿着什么，一件盖满了小绿花的白色连衣裙，还有一条白色蕾丝披肩围在你的肩上。 —

You had on little green slippers with black lacings and an enormous leghorn hat with long green streamers. —
你脚上穿着一双绿色小拖鞋，用黑色系带扎着，头上戴着一顶巨大的羊毛帽子，上面有长长的绿色流苏。 —

I know that dress by heart because when I was in prison and things got too bad, I’d take out my memories and thumb them over like pictures, recalling every little detail—”
我对那件连衣裙了如指掌，因为当我在监狱里度过困难时，我会取出我的记忆，像翻看照片一样回忆每个细节。

He stopped abruptly and the eager light faded from his face. —
他突然停下来，脸上的渴望之光消失了。 —

He dropped her hands gently and she sat waiting, waiting for his next words.
他轻轻地放开她的手，她坐在那里等待着，等待着他接下来的话语。

“We’ve come a long way, both of us, since that day, haven’t we, Scarlett? —
“我们走了很长一段路，我们俩都是，是吧，斯嘉丽？ —

We’ve traveled roads we never expected to travel. —
我们走过了我们从未预料过的道路。 —

You’ve come swiftly, directly, and I, slowly and reluctantly.”
你走得迅速，直接，而我走得缓慢，不情愿。

He sat down on the table again and looked at her and a small smile crept back into his face. —
他再次坐回桌子上，看着她，脸上又浮现出一丝微笑。 —

But it was not the smile that had made her so happy so short a while before. —
但这不是之前让她如此开心的笑容。 —

It was a bleak smile.
这是一个凄凉的笑容。

“Yes, you came swiftly, dragging me at your chariot wheels. —
“是的，你迅速地来了，把我拖在你的战车轮下。 —

Scarlett, sometimes I have an impersonal curiosity as to what would have happened to me without you.”
斯嘉丽，有时我对没有你会发生什么对我个人感到好奇。

Scarlett went quickly to defend him from himself, more quickly because treacherously there rose to her mind Rhett’s words on this same subject.
斯嘉丽迅速站出来保护他，更是因为背叛地她脑海中浮现出了瑞德关于同样话题的言论。

“But I’ve never done anything for you, Ashley. Without me, you’d have been just the same. —
“但是我从未为你做过什么，阿什利。没有我，你还会是同样的人。 —

Some day, you’d have been a rich man, a great man like you are going to be.”
有一天，你会成为一个富有的人，一个像你即将成为的伟人。

“No, Scarlett, the seeds of greatness were never in me. —
“不，斯嘉丽，伟大的种子从未存在于我身上。 —

I think that if it hadn’t been for you, I’d have gone down into oblivion— like poor Cathleen Calvert and so many other people who once had great names, old names.”
我认为如果没有你，我会沉入深渊——像可怜的凯瑟琳·卡尔弗特和许多曾经有过显赫世家姓氏的人一样。

“Oh, Ashley, don’t talk like that. You sound so sad.”
“哦，阿什利，不要这样说。你听起来很悲伤。

“No, I’m not sad. Not any longer. Once—once I was sad. Now, I’m only—”
“不，我不悲伤了。曾经——曾经我很悲伤。现在，我只是——”

He stopped and suddenly she knew what he was thinking. —
他停下来，突然她知道他在想什么。 —

It was the first time she had ever known what Ashley was thinking when his eyes went past her, crystal clear, absent. —
这是她第一次知道当阿什利的目光从她身边流过去时，他在想什么，清晰明了，虚无缥缈。 —

When the fury of love had beaten in her heart, his mind had been closed to her. —
当爱的愤怒在她心中咆哮时，他的思想对她关闭了。 —

Now, in the quiet friendliness that lay between them, she could walk a little way into his mind, understand a little. —
现在，在她们之间安静友好的氛围中，她能稍微走进他的思想，稍微理解一些。 —

He was not sad any longer. He had been sad after the surrender, sad when she begged him to come to Atlanta. —
他不再悲伤了。他在投降之后很悲伤，当她恳求他去亚特兰大时也很悲伤。 —

Now, he was only resigned.
现在，他只是顺从。

“I hate to hear you talk like that, Ashley,” she said vehemently. —
“我讨厌听你这样说，阿什利，”她激动地说道。 —

“You sound just like Rhett. He’s always harping on things like that and something he calls the survival of the fitting till I’m so bored I could scream.”
“你听起来就像雷特。他总是喋喋不休地说这种事情，还有他所说的适者生存，搞得我快要无聊死了。”

Ashley smiled.
阿什利微笑了。

“Did you ever stop to think, Scarlett, that Rhett and I are fundamentally alike?”
“你有没有想过，斯嘉丽，雷特和我本质上是相似的呢？”

“Oh, no! You are so fine, so honorable and he—” She broke off, confused.
“哦，不！你是如此优秀，如此诚实，而他——”她停了下来，困惑不解。

“But we are. We came of the same kind of people, we were raised in the same pattern, brought up to think the same things. —
“但是我们是相似的。我们出自同样的家庭，我们在相同的模式下成长，受到相同的教育，思考相同的事物。” —

And somewhere along the road we took different turnings. —
而在路上的某个地方，我们走上了不同的转弯。 —

We still think alike but we react differently. —
我们仍然思想相似，但反应方式不同。 —

As, for instance, neither of us believed in the war but I enlisted and fought and he stayed out till nearly the end. —
比如，我们都不相信这场战争，但是我入伍参战，而他一直待在外面，直到快结束才参加。 —

We both knew the war was all wrong. We both knew it was a losing fight. —
我们都知道这场战争是错的，我们都知道这是一场必输的战斗。 —

I was willing to fight a losing fight. He wasn’t. —
我愿意为一场注定失败的战斗而战，他却不愿意。 —

Sometimes I think he was right and then, again—”
有时候我想他是对的，但是又一次——”

“Oh, Ashley, when will you stop seeing both sides of questions?” she asked. —
“噢，艾希礼，你什么时候才能停止从两个角度看问题？”她问道。 —

But she did not speak impatiently as she once would have done. —
但她说话并不像她以前那样不耐烦了。 —

“No one ever gets anywhere seeing both sides.”
“没有人从两面看问题，能有所收获。”

“That’s true but—Scarlett, just where do you want to get? I’ve often wondered. —
“那是对的，但是，斯嘉丽，你到底想达到什么目标？我一直很好奇。” —

You see, I never wanted to get anywhere at all. —
你看，我从未想过要达到任何目标。 —

I’ve only wanted to be myself.”
我只想做我自己。

Where did she want to get? That was a silly question. Money and security, of course. —
她到底想达到什么目标？这个问题真是愚蠢。当然是金钱和安全。 —

And yet— Her mind fumbled. She had money and as much security as one could hope for in an insecure world. —
然而——她的思维一时糊涂。她有钱，而且在这个不安全的世界里拥有尽可能多的安全措施。 —

But, now that she thought about it, they weren’t quite enough. —
但是，现在她想起来，这些并不够。 —

Now that she thought about it, they hadn’t made her particularly happy, though they made her less harried, less fearful of the morrow. —
现在她想起来，尽管这些让她少了些忙乱，少了些对明天的恐惧，但并没有使她特别快乐。 —

If I’d had money and security and you, that would have been where I wanted to get, she thought, looking at him yearningly. —
如果我有了金钱和安全以及你，那就是我想要达到的地方，她渴望地看着他。 —

But she did not speak the words, fearful of breaking the spell that lay between them, fearful that his mind would close against her.
但她没有说出这些话，害怕打破他们之间的魔力，害怕他的心会对她关闭。

“You only want to be yourself?” she laughed, a little ruefully. —
“你只是想做你自己？”她有点苦笑。 —

“Not being myself has always been my hardest trouble! —
“不做自己一直是我最大的困扰！ —

As to where I want to get, well, I guess I’ve gotten there. —
至于我想去哪里，嗯，我想我已经到达了那里。 —

I wanted to be rich and safe and—”
我想要变得富有和安全——”

“But, Scarlett, did it ever occur to you that I don’t care whether I’m rich or not?”
“但是，斯嘉丽，你有没有想到我并不在乎自己是否富有？”

No, it had never occurred to her that anyone would not want to be rich.
不，她从来没有想过会有人不想变得富有。

“Then, what do you want?”
“那么，你想要什么？”

“I don’t know, now. I knew once but I’ve half forgotten. —
“我不知道了，现在我忘记了一半。” —

Mostly to be left alone, not to be harried by people I don’t like, driven to do things I don’t want to do. —
大多数情况下，我希望被单独留下来，不受到我讨厌的人的骚扰，不被迫做我不想做的事情。 —

Perhaps—I want the old days back again and they’ll never come back, and I am haunted by the memory of them and of the world falling about my ears.”
或许——我希望过去的日子可以回来，但它们永远不会回来，我被它们的记忆所困扰，以及这个世界正在崩塌。

Scarlett set her mouth obstinately. It was not that she did not know what he meant. —
斯嘉丽执意紧闭嘴巴。这不是因为她不明白他的意思。 —

The very tones of his voice called up other days as nothing else could, made her heart hurt suddenly, as she too remembered. —
他的声音勾起了她心中的往昔，没有其他能做到的，突然让她心痛起来。 —

But since the day she had lain sick and desolate in the garden at Twelve Oaks and said: —
但自从她在十二橡树庄园病得孤苦无依，曾说道： —

“I won’t look back,” she had set her face against the past.
“我不会回头看”，她立下了不回顾过去的决心。

“I like these days better,” she said. But she did not meet his eyes as she spoke. —
“我更喜欢现在的日子，”她说。但说话时她没有正视他的眼睛。 —

“There’s always something exciting happening now, parties and so on. —
“现在总是有令人兴奋的事情发生，比如派对之类的。 —

Everything’s got a glitter to it. The old days were so dull.” —
每件事都散发着光彩。过去的日子太乏味了。” —

(Oh, lazy days and warm still country twilights! The high soft laughter from the quarters! —
(哦，慵懒的日子，温暖的乡村暮色！来自居民区的欢笑！ —

The golden warmth life had then and the comforting knowledge of what all tomorrows would bring! —
那时生活充满了金黄的温暖，还有对未来的安心知晓！ —

How can I deny you?)
我怎能否认你呢？)

“I like these days better,” she said but her voice was tremulous.
“我更喜欢这些日子。”她说，但她的声音颤抖着。

He slipped from the table, laughing softly in unbelief. —
他从桌子上滑落下来，笑得不可置信。 —

Putting his hand under her chin, he turned her face up to his.
他把手放在她的下巴下面，把她的脸转向他。

“Ah, Scarlett, what a poor liar you are! Yes, life has a glitter now—of a sort. —
“啊，斯嘉丽，你是个糟糕的骗子！是的，现在生活有了一种闪光的感觉—某种程度上。 —

That’s what’s wrong with it. The old days had no glitter but they had a charm, a beauty, a slow-paced glamour.”
这就是问题所在。旧日子没有光彩，但它们有一种魅力，一种美丽，一种缓慢而迷人的魅力。”

Her mind pulled two ways, she dropped her eyes. —
她的思绪分成两个方向，她垂下了眼睛。 —

The sound of his voice, the touch of his hand were softly unlocking doors that she had locked forever. —
他声音的声音，他手的触摸轻轻地打开了她永远锁住的门。 —

Behind those doors lay the beauty of the old days, and a sad hunger for them welled up within her. —
那些门后面有旧日子的美丽，和一种对它们的渴望在她心中涌起。 —

But she knew that no matter what beauty lay behind, it must remain there. —
但她知道，无论身后有多少美丽，它必须保留在那里。 —

No one could go forward with a load of aching memories.
没有人能带着痛苦的回忆继续向前走。

His hand dropped from her chin and he took one of her hands between his two and held it gently.
他的手从她的下巴上滑落下来，他用两个手抓住她的一只手，轻轻地握住。

“Do you remember,” he said—and a warning bell in her mind rang: Don’t look back! Don’t look back!
“你记得吗，”他说道，她脑海中响起了一个警钟：不要回头！不要回头！

But she swiftly disregarded it, swept forward on a tide of happiness. —
但她很快将其抛在脑后，快乐的浪潮席卷而来。 —

At last she was understanding him, at last their minds had met. —
终于她明白了他，终于他们的思想相通了。 —

This moment was too precious to be lost, no matter what pain came after.
这一刻太宝贵了，无论之后会有怎样的痛苦，都不能浪费。

“Do you remember,” he said and under the spell of his voice the bare walls of the little office faded and the years rolled aside and they were riding country bridle paths together in a long-gone spring. —
“你记得吗？”他说着，他的声音令人陶醉，这个小办公室的光秃秃的墙壁渐渐退去，岁月消逝，他们一起骑马穿过乡间的马道，穿越过一个遥远的春天。 —

As he spoke, his light grip tightened on her hand and in his voice was the sad magic of old half-forgotten songs. —
他说话时，微薄的握在她手中的手指稍稍用力，声音中充满了那些早已半忘却的、悲伤而有魔力的曲调。 —

She could hear the gay jingle of bridle bits as they rode under the dogwood trees to the Tarletons’ picnic, hear her own careless laughter, see the sun glinting on his silver-gilt hair and note the proud easy grace with which he sat his horse. —
她听见了缰绳清脆的声音，当他们骑着马穿过杜鹃树下前往塔尔顿家的野餐时，她可以听见自己欢快而随意的笑声，看见阳光在他银镀金般的头发上闪烁，注意到他骑马时的优雅和自信。 —

There was music in his voice, the music of fiddles and banjos to which they had danced in the white house that was no more. —
他的声音中有音乐，有小提琴和班卓琴的音乐，在那座早已不复存在的白色房子里，他们伴着音乐跳舞。 —

There was the far-off yelping of possum dogs in the dark swamp under cool autumn moons and the smell of eggnog bowls, wreathed with holly at Christmas time and smiles on black and white faces. —
在凉爽的秋天月亮下，深沼泽地传来远处的负鼠狗的嗥叫声，圣诞节时环绕着冬青花圈的蛋酒碗散发出香气，黑白面孔上洋溢着笑容。 —

And old friends came trooping back, laughing as though they had not been dead these many years: —
而老朋友们一一回来，笑声如同多年前他们还没有死去一样欢快： —

Stuart and Brent with their long legs and their red hair and their practical jokes, Tom and Boyd as wild as young horses, Joe Fontaine with his hot black eyes, and Cade and Raiford Calvert who moved with such languid grace. —
长腿红发的斯图尔特和布伦特，爱开玩笑的汤姆和博伊德，像小野马一样狂野的乔·方丹，优雅舒缓的凯德和雷福德·卡尔弗特。 —

There was John Wilkes, too; and Gerald, red with brandy; —
还有约翰·威尔克斯，还有红酒醉红了脸的杰拉德。 —

and a whisper and a fragrance that was Ellen. Over it all rested a sense of security, a knowledge that tomorrow could only bring the same happiness today had brought.
夹杂其中的是一阵耳语和芬芳，那是埃伦。这一切都静静地迎接着他们，充满了安全感，明天只会带来今天所带来的幸福。

His voice stopped and they looked for a long quiet moment into each other’s eyes and between them lay the sunny lost youth that they had so unthinkingly shared.
他声音停了下来，他们默默地相互凝视，两人间流淌着失去的青春的阳光。

“Now I know why you can’t be happy,” she thought sadly. “I never understood before. —
“现在我知道你为什么不能快乐了。”她心中悲伤地思考着。“我以前从未理解过。” —

I never understood before why I wasn’t altogether happy either. —
以前我从来都不明白为什么我也不完全快乐。 —

But—why, we are talking like old people talk!” she thought with dreary surprise. —
但是-为什么我们说话像老年人一样！她惊讶地想道。 —

“Old people looking back fifty years. And we’re not old! —
“老年人回顾五十年前的样子。而我们还不老！ —

It’s just that so much has happened in between. —
只是发生了太多事情。 —

Everything’s changed so much that it seems like fifty years ago. —
一切都变得如此不同，以至于好像是五十年前的事了。 —

But we’re not old!”
但是我们还不老！

But when she looked at Ashley he was no longer young and shining. —
但是当她看着艾什利时，他已不再年轻而闪耀。 —

His head was bowed as he looked down absently at her hand which he still held and she saw that his once bright hair was very gray, silver gray as moonlight on still water. —
他低头看着她仍然握着的手，她看到他曾经亮丽的头发已经变得苍白，如银色的月光在静止的水面上一样。 —

Somehow the bright beauty had gone from the April afternoon and from her heart as well and the sad sweetness of remembering was as bitter as gall.
不知何故，四月下午的明亮之美从此消失了，从她的心中也消失了，记忆的悲伤甜美变得苦似胆汁。

“I shouldn’t have let him make me look back,” she thought despairingly. —
“我不应该让他让我回头看，”她绝望地想道。 —

“I was right when I said I’d never look back. —
“当我说我永远不会回头看时，我是对的。 —

It hurts too much, it drags at your heart till you can’t ever do anything else except look back. —
它伤害得太重，它将你的心牵引着，以至于你除了回头看什么都不能做。” —

That’s what’s wrong with Ashley. He can’t look forward any more. —
这就是阿什利的问题所在。他无法展望未来。 —

He can’t see the present, he fears the future, and so he looks back. I never understood it before. —
他看不到现在，害怕未来，所以回头看。我以前从未理解过。 —

I never understood Ashley before. Oh, Ashley, my darling, you shouldn’t look back! —
我以前从未理解过阿什利。哦，阿什利，我亲爱的，你不应该回头看！ —

What good will it do? I shouldn’t have let you tempt me into talking of the old days. —
这样做有什么好处呢？我不应该让你引诱我谈论过去的日子。 —

This is what happens when you look back to happiness, this pain, this heartbreak, this discontent.”
当你回顾幸福时，就会有这种痛苦、心碎和不满。

She rose to her feet, her hand still in his. She must go. —
她站了起来，还握着他的手。她必须离开。 —

She could not stay and think of the old days and see his face, tired and sad and bleak as it now was.
她不能停留，回想过去的日子，看着他的脸，疲倦、悲伤和凄凉。

“We’ve come a long way since those days, Ashley,” she said, trying to steady her voice, trying to fight the constriction in her throat. —
“我们自那些日子以来走了很长的路，阿什利”，她试图稳住声音，试图战胜她喉咙的紧缩感。 —

“We had fine notions then, didn’t we?” And then, with a rush, “Oh, Ashley, nothing has turned out as we expected!”
“我们那时有很好的想法，对吧？”然后，一股急流，“哦，阿什利，没有一件事符合我们的预期！”

“It never does,” he said. “Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. —
“它从来没有，”他说。“生活未必有义务给我们我们所期望的。” —

We take what we get and are thankful it’s no worse than it is.”
我们接受我们得到的一切，并感激它没有变得更糟。

Her heart was suddenly dull with pain, with weariness, as she thought of the long road she had come since those days. —
当她想起自己的漫长道路，心中突然涌起了一阵痛苦和疲倦。 —

There rose up in her mind the memory of Scarlett O’Hara who loved beaux and pretty dresses and who intended, some day, when she had the time, to be a great lady like Ellen.
她脑海中浮现出了那个喜欢礼服和美丽的斯嘉丽·奥哈拉，她有一天打算成为一个伟大的女士，就像艾伦一样，只是她现在还没有时间。

Without warning, tears started in her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks and she stood looking at him dumbly, like a hurt bewildered child. —
没有任何警告，泪水涌上她的眼眶，缓缓从脸颊滑落下来，她呆呆地站着，像一个受伤的困惑的孩子。 —

He said no word but took her gently in his arms, pressed her head against his shoulder and, leaning down, laid his cheek against hers. —
他没有说话，只是温柔地将她拥入怀中，将她的头压在肩膀上，并低下身来，将自己的脸颊贴在她的脸颊上。 —

She relaxed against him and her arms went round his body. —
她放松在他怀里，双臂紧紧地环绕着他的身体。 —

The comfort of his arms helped dry her sudden tears. —
他温暖的怀抱抚慰着她突然的眼泪。 —

Ah, it was good to be in his arms, without passion, without tenseness, to be there as a loved friend. —
啊，能够在他的怀抱中，没有激情，没有紧张，只是作为一个深爱的朋友在那里，真是太美好了。 —

Only Ashley who shared her memories and her youth, who knew her beginnings and her present could understand.
只有阿什利，他分享着她的记忆和她的青春，他知道她的起点和现在，才能理解她。

She heard the sound of feet outside but paid little heed, thinking it was the teamsters going home. —
她听到外面传来脚步声，但没太在意，以为是车夫们回家了。 —

She stood for a moment, listening to the slow beat of Ashley’s heart. —
她站了一会儿，倾听着阿什利的心脏缓慢跳动的声音。 —

Then suddenly he wrenched himself from her, confusing her by his violence. —
突然，他用力地从她身上挣脱开，他的暴力行为让她感到困惑。 —

She looked up into his face in surprise but he was not looking at her. He was looking over her shoulder at the door.
她惊讶地抬起头看着他的脸，但他并没有看着她，他正盯着她肩膀后面的门。

She turned and there stood India, white faced, her pale eyes blazing, and Archie, malevolent as a one-eyed parrot. —
她转过身去，站在那里的是印地亚，脸色苍白，眼神炯炯有神，和一个邪恶的像独眼鹦鹉一样的阿奇。 —

Behind them stood Mrs. Elsing.
在他们后面站着埃尔辛夫人。

How she got out of the office she never remembered. —
她不记得自己是怎样走出办公室的。 —

But she went instantly, swiftly, by Ashley’s order, leaving Ashley and Archie in grim converse in the little room and India and Mrs. Elsing outside with their backs to her. —
但她立刻按照阿什利的指示快速离去，留下了阿什利和阿奇在小房间里进行着严肃的对话，还有印地亚和埃尔辛夫人在外面背对着她。 —

Shame and fear sped her homeward and, in her mind, Archie with his patriarch’s beard assumed the proportions of an avenging angel straight from the pages of the Old Testament.
羞愧和恐惧驱使着她回家，她脑中的阿奇带着他做长者般的胡须变成了一位来自旧约圣经页面的复仇天使。

The house was empty and still in the April sunset. —
在四月的日落中，房子变得空荡而寂静。 —

All the servants had gone to a funeral and the children were playing in Melanie’s back yard. Melanie—
所有的仆人都去参加了一个葬礼，孩子们正在梅兰妮的后院玩耍。梅兰妮——

Melanie! Scarlett went cold at the thought of her as she climbed the stairs to her room. —
梅兰妮！思嘉一想到她就感到冷飕飕的，在爬楼梯去她房间的时候。 —

Melanie would hear of this. India had said she would tell her. —
梅兰妮会听到的。印第亚说她会告诉她的。 —

Oh, India would glory in telling her, not caring if she blackened Ashley’s name, not caring if she hurt Melanie, if by so doing she could injure Scarlett! —
哦，印第亚会洋洋得意地告诉她，不管她会不会诋毁阿什利的名声，不管她会不会伤害梅兰妮，只要她可以伤害到思嘉就行！ —

And Mrs. Elsing would talk too, even though she had really seen nothing, because she was behind India and Archie in the door of the lumber office. —
而且埃尔辛夫人也会讲话，尽管她真的什么也没看见，因为她站在印第亚和阿奇的后面，站在木材办公室的门口。 —

But she would talk, just the same. The news would be all over town by supper time. —
但是她一样也会说，消息到晚餐时已经传遍了整个小镇。 —

Everyone, even the negroes, would know by tomorrow’s breakfast. —
明天早餐时，每个人，甚至是黑人，都会知道这件事。 —

At the party tonight, women would gather in corners and whisper discreetly and with malicious pleasure. —
今晚的聚会上，妇女们会聚集在角落里，偷偷地窃窃私语，并带着恶意的愉快。 —

Scarlett Butler tumbled from her high and mighty place! And the story would grow and grow. —
斯嘉丽·巴特勒从她高高在上的位置跌落下来！这个故事会越来越大。 —

There was no way of stopping it. It wouldn’t stop at the bare facts, that Ashley was holding her in his arms while she cried. —
没有办法阻止这个。它不会仅仅停留在基本事实上，即亚什莉抱着她哭泣。 —

Before nightfall people would be saying she had been taken in adultery. —
在天黑之前，人们会说她被指控通奸。 —

And it had been so innocent, so sweet! Scarlett thought wildly: —
而这一切是那么天真，那么甜蜜！斯嘉丽疯狂地想： —

If we had been caught that Christmas of his furlough when I kissed him good-by—if we had been caught in the orchard at Tara when I begged him to run away with me—oh, if we’d been caught any of the times when we were really guilty, it wouldn’t be so bad! —
如果我们在他休假的那个圣诞节被抓到，当我吻别他的时候 - 如果我们在塔拉的果园里被抓到，当我请求他与我私奔的时候 - 哦，如果我们在任何一次我们真的有罪的时候被抓到，那就不会这么糟糕了！ —

But now! Now! When I went to his arms as a friend—
但是现在！现在！当我以朋友的身份走向他的怀抱 -

But no one would believe that. She wouldn’t have a single friend to take her part, not a single voice would be raised to say: —
但没有人会相信那个。她将没有任何一个朋友为她辩护，没有一个声音会说： —

“I don’t believe she was doing anything wrong.” —
“我不相信她做了任何错误的事情。” —

She had outraged old friends too long to find a champion among them now. —
她已经冒犯了老朋友太久以至于现在无法找到一个支持者。 —

Her new friends, suffering in silence under her insolences, would welcome a chance to blackguard her. —
她的新朋友们默默地忍受着她的傲慢，会欢迎一次诋毁她的机会。 —

No, everybody would believe anything about her, though they might regret that so fine a man as Ashley Wilkes was mixed up in so dirty an affair. —
不，尽管他们可能会为阿什利·威尔克斯如此名誉不堪的事件感到后悔，但每个人都会相信关于她的一切。 —

As usual they would cast the blame upon the woman and shrug at the man’s guilt. —
像往常一样，他们会把责任归咎于这个女人，对男人的罪行表示不屑一顾。 —

And in this case they would be right. She had gone into his arms.
在这种情况下，他们是对的。她曾投入他的怀抱。

Oh, she could stand the cuts, the slights, the covert smiles, anything the town might say, if she had to stand them—but not Melanie! —
哦，如果她不得不忍受这些刀割、轻蔑和暗中嘲笑，甚至整个镇子都在议论她，她也可以忍受——但不是梅兰妮！ —

Oh, not Melanie! She did not know why she should mind Melanie knowing, more than anyone else. —
哦，不是梅兰妮！她不知道为什么她对梅兰妮知道这件事比其他人知道更加在意。 —

She was too frightened and weighed down by a sense of past guilt to try to understand it. —
她太害怕了，被过去的罪恶感压得喘不过气来，无法理解这一切。 —

But she burst into tears at the thought of what would be in Melanie’s eyes when India told her that she had caught Ashley fondling Scarlett. —
但想到印第亚告诉梅兰妮她当场抓住阿什利抚摸斯嘉丽时，她忍不住流下了眼泪。 —

And what would Melanie do when she knew? Leave Ashley? What else could she do, with any dignity? —
当她知道时，梅兰妮会怎么做？离开阿什利？做其他什么，以保持尊严？ —

And what will Ashley and I do then? she thought frenziedly, the tears streaming down her face. —
那样的话，阿什利和我该怎么办？她疯狂地想着，泪水流过她的脸颊。 —

Oh, Ashley will die of shame and hate me for bringing this on him. —
哦，阿什利会感到羞耻，并且恨我为他带来这一切。 —

Suddenly her tears stopped short as a deadly fear went through her heart. —
突然间，她的眼泪停止了流淌，一种致命的恐惧袭击了她的心。 —

What of Rhett? What would he do?
而瑞特呢？他会怎么办？

Perhaps he’d never know. What was that old saying, that cynical saying? —
也许他永远不会知道。那句老话怎么说来着，那句愤世嫉俗的话？ —

“The husband is always the last to find out.” Perhaps no one would tell him. —
“丈夫总是最后一个知道。”也许没有人会告诉他。 —

It would take a brave man to break such news to Rhett, for Rhett had the reputation for shooting first and asking questions afterwards. —
要有个勇敢的男人才敢告诉瑞特，因为瑞特有一种先开枪再问问题的名声。 —

Please, God, don’t let anybody be brave enough to tell him! —
求你了，上帝，不要让有人足够勇敢告诉他！ —

But she remembered the face of Archie in the lumber office, the cold, pale eye, remorseless, full of hate for her and all women. —
但她记得伐木场里阿奇的脸，冷漠而苍白的眼睛，无情地对她和所有女人满怀仇恨。 —

Archie feared neither God nor man and he hated loose women. He had hated them enough to kill one. —
阿奇既不畏惧上帝也不畏惧人，他憎恨放荡的女人。他曾因此杀了一个女人。 —

And he had said he would tell Rhett. And he’d tell him in spite of all Ashley could do to dissuade him. —
他说他会告诉瑞特。即使阿什利竭尽所能劝阻，他也会告诉他。 —

Unless Ashley killed him, Archie would tell Rhett, feeling it his Christian duty.
除非阿什利杀了他，否则阿奇会告诉瑞特，他觉得那是他的基督教责任。

She pulled off her clothes and lay down on the bed, her mind whirling round and round. —
她脱下衣服躺在床上，头脑里旋转着无数念头。 —

If she could only lock her door and stay in this safe place forever and ever and never see anyone again. —
如果她能锁上门，永远待在这个安全的地方，再也不见任何人。 —

Perhaps Rhett wouldn’t find out tonight. —
也许瑞德今晚不会发现。 —

She’d say she had a headache and didn’t feel like going to the reception. —
她会说自己头疼，不想去参加招待会。 —

By morning she would have thought up some excuse to offer, some defense that might hold water.
到早上她会想出一些借口，一些堪以自辩的理由。

“I won’t think of it now,” she said desperately, burying her face in the pillow. —
“我现在不想去想它，”她绝望地说着，把脸埋在枕头里。 —

“I won’t think of it now. I’ll think of it later when I can stand it.”
“我现在不想去想它，直到我能承受得住。”

She heard the servants come back as night fell and it seemed to her that they were very silent as they moved about preparing supper. —
她听到晚上渐暗时仆人们回来了，她觉得他们走动时非常安静。 —

Or was it her guilty conscience? Mammy came to the door and knocked but Scarlett sent her away, saying she did not want any supper. —
或许是她内疚的良心？Mammy来敲门，但斯嘉丽打发她走，说自己不想吃饭。 —

Time passed and finally she heard Rhett coming up the steps. —
时间过去了，终于她听到瑞德上台阶的声音。 —

She held herself tensely as he reached the upper hall, gathered all her strength for a meeting but he passed into his room. —
当他走进上层大厅时，她紧张地保持着自己的姿势，集中所有力量准备见面，但他径直走进了自己的房间。 —

She breathed easier. He hadn’t heard. Thank God, he still respected her icy request that he never put foot in her bedroom again, for if he saw her now, her face would give her away. —
她松了口气。他没有听见。谢天谢地，他仍然尊重她冰冷的请求，不再踏足她的卧室，因为如果他现在看到她，她的脸将会出卖她。 —

She must gather herself together enough to tell him that she felt too ill to go to the reception. —
她必须使自己足够集中，告诉他她感觉太不舒服了，无法去参加招待会。 —

Well, there was time enough for her to calm herself. Or was there time? —
好吧，她还有足够的时间让自己冷静下来。还是说没有时间了？ —

Since the awful moment that afternoon, life had seemed timeless. —
自那个可怕的下午开始，生活似乎变得没有时间的概念。 —

She heard Rhett moving about in his room for a long time, speaking occasionally to Pork. Still she could not find courage to call to him. —
她听到瑞特在他的房间里走动了很长时间，偶尔和波克说话。但她还是没有勇气喊他。 —

She lay still on the bed in the darkness, shaking.
她躺在床上一动不动，颤抖着。

After a long time, he knocked on her door and she said, trying to control her voice: “Come in.”
很久之后，他敲了敲她的门，她试图控制声音说道：“进来吧。”

“Am I actually being invited into the sanctuary?” he questioned, opening the door. —
“我真的被邀请进这个圣地了吗？”他问道，打开门。 —

It was dark and she could not see his face. —
黑暗中，她看不见他的脸。 —

Nor could she make anything of his voice. —
她也无法理解他的声音。 —

He entered and closed the door.
他走进来，关上了门。

“Are you ready for the reception?”
“你准备好参加宴会了吗？”

“I’m so sorry but I have a headache.” How odd that her voice sounded natural! —
“非常抱歉，我头痛。”多么奇怪，她的声音听起来自然得很！ —

Thank God for the dark! “I don’t believe I’ll go. —
谢天谢地有黑暗！“我不打算去了。 —

You go, Rhett, and give Melanie my regrets.”
你去吧，瑞德，替我向梅兰妮致以问候。”

There was a long pause and he spoke drawlingly, bitingly in the dark.
他在黑暗中停顿了很久，语调缓慢、尖刻地说话。

“What a white livered, cowardly little bitch you are.”
“你真是个懦弱的小婊子。”

He knew! She lay shaking, unable to speak. —
他知道！她颤抖着躺在那里，无法说话。 —

She heard him fumble in the dark, strike a match and the room sprang into light. —
她听见他在黑暗中摸索着，划了一根火柴，房间亮了起来。 —

He walked over to the bed and looked down at her. —
他走到床边，低头看着她。 —

She saw that he was in evening clothes.
她看到他穿着晚礼服。

“Get up,” he said and there was nothing in his voice. —
“起来吧，”他说，语气中没有任何情感。 —

“We are going to the reception. You will have to hurry.”
“我们要去参加宴会。你得快点。”

“Oh, Rhett, I can’t. You see—”
“哦，瑞德，我不能去。你看…”

“I can see. Get up.”
“我能看到。起来。”

“Rhett, did Archie dare—”
“雷特，阿奇敢不敢——”

“Archie dared. A very brave man, Archie.”
“阿奇敢。阿奇是个非常勇敢的人。”

“You should have killed him for telling lies—”
“你应该杀了他，因为他说谎——”

“I have a strange way of not killing people who tell the truth. —
“我有一种奇怪的方式，不杀那些说实话的人。” —

There’s no time to argue now. Get up.”
“现在没时间争论了。起来。”

She sat up, hugging her wrapper close to her, her eyes searching his face. —
她坐起来，紧紧抱着她的外衣，目光搜索他的脸庞。 —

It was dark and impassive.
他的脸暗淡而冷漠。

“I won’t go, Rhett. I can’t until this—misunderstanding is cleared up.”
“雷特，我不能去。在这个误会解决之前，我不能去。”

“If you don’t show your face tonight, you’ll never be able to show it in this town as long as you live. —
“如果你今晚不露面，你将永远不能在这个城镇上露面。” —

And while I may endure a trollop for a wife, I won’t endure a coward. —
“虽然我可以忍受妓女做我的妻子，但我不能忍受懦夫。” —

You are going tonight, even if everyone, from Alex Stephens down, cuts you and Mrs. Wilkes asks us to leave the house.”
“你今晚必须去，即使每个人，从亚历克斯·斯蒂芬斯到威克斯夫人都对你冷嘲热讽。”

“Rhett, let me explain.”
“雷特，让我解释一下。”

“I don’t want to hear. There isn’t time. Get on your clothes.”
“我不想听。现在没时间了。赶紧穿上衣服。”

“They misunderstood—India and Mrs. Elsing and Archie. And they hate me so. —
“他们误解了——印第亚和埃尔辛夫人还有阿奇。而且他们非常讨厌我。” —

India hates me so much that she’d even tell lies about her own brother to make me appear in a bad light. —
印度十分憎恨我，以至于她甚至会说谎话来败坏自己兄弟的形象。 —

If you’ll only let me explain—”
如果你只肯让我解释一下——

Oh, Mother of God, she thought in agony, suppose he says: —
哦，天主的母亲啊，她痛苦地想，万一他说： —

“Pray do explain!” What can I say? How can I explain?
“请解释一下！”我能说什么？我该如何解释？

“They’ll have told everybody lies. I can’t go tonight.”
“他们一定会编造谎言告诉每个人。我今晚不能去。”

“You will go,” he said, “if I have to drag you by the neck and plant my boot on your ever so charming bottom every step of the way.”
“你会去的，”他说道，”如果我不得不拖着你的脖子，每一步都用我的靴子踏在你那迷人的屁股上。”

There was a cold glitter in his eyes as he jerked her to her feet. —
他的眼睛中闪烁着冷酷的光芒，他把她拉了起来。 —

He picked up her stays and threw them at her.
他捡起她的紧身衣，扔向了她。

“Put them on. I’ll lace you. Oh yes, I know all about lacing. —
“穿上它们。我会给你系好。哦，是的，我知道如何系。 —

No, I won’t call Mammy to help you and have you lock the door and skulk here like the coward you are.”
不，我不会叫大娘来帮你，让你锁上门像个懦夫一样躲在这里。”

“I’m not a coward,” she cried, stung out of her fear. “I—”
“我不是懦夫，”她尖声说道，被激怒了自己的恐惧。”我——”

“Oh, spare me your saga about shooting Yankees and facing Sherman’s army. —
“哦，饶了我吧，别给我讲你打击南北战争时的故事。” —

You’re a coward—among other things. If not for your own sake, you are going tonight for Bonnie’s sake. —
你是个懦夫—还有其他的毛病。即使不是为了你自己，你也要为了Bonnie的缘故去今晚的宴会。 —

How could you further ruin her chances? Put on your stays, quick.”
你怎样才能进一步破坏她的机会？赶快穿上束腹衣。

Hastily she slipped off her wrapper and stood clad only in her chemise. —
她匆忙地脱掉外衣，只穿着衬衣。 —

If only he would look at her and see how nice she looked in her chemise, perhaps that frightening look would leave his face. —
如果他能看看她穿着衬衣时有多漂亮，也许他脸上那可怕的表情会消失。 —

After all, he hadn’t seen her in her chemise for ever and ever so long. But he did not look. —
毕竟，他已经很久没有看见她穿着衬衣了。但他没有看过去。 —

He was in her closet, going through her dresses swiftly. —
他正在她的衣橱里迅速翻找衣服。 —

He fumbled and drew out her new jade-green watered-silk dress. —
他翻来覆去地抽出她的新款翡翠绿水纹丝绸连衣裙。 —

It was cut low over the bosom and the skirt was draped back over an enormous bustle and on the bustle was a huge bunch of pink velvet roses.
连衣裙的领口很低，裙摆从后面垂挂到一个巨大的臀垫上，臀垫上还缀着一大束粉红天鹅绒玫瑰花。

“Wear that,” he said, tossing it on the bed and coming toward her. —
“穿上这个，” 他把连衣裙扔在床上，朝她走来。 —

“No modest, matronly dove grays and lilacs tonight. —
“今晚不要穿那种守规矩的鸽子灰和紫色。 —

Your flag must be nailed to the mast, for obviously you’d run it down if it wasn’t. —
你的旗帜必须扎在桅杆上，因为如果不扎，显然你会放弃它。 —

And plenty of rouge. I’m sure the woman the Pharisees took in adultery didn’t look half so pale. Turn around.”
还要擦上足够的胭脂。我敢肯定那个被法利赛人诬告的女人看起来绝对没有你这么苍白。转个身吧。

He took the strings of the stays in his hands and jerked them so hard that she cried out, frightened, humiliated, embarrassed at such an untoward performance.
他紧紧抓住束带的细绳，用力一扯，她吓得尖叫起来，既害怕又尴尬，为这样的出乎意料的表演感到羞辱。

“Hurts, does it?” He laughed shortly and she could not see his face. —
“疼吗？”他冷笑着，她看不见他的脸。 —

“Pity it isn’t around your neck.”
“要是挂在你的脖子上反而好了。”

Melanie’s house blazed lights from every room and they could hear the music far up the street. —
梅兰妮的房子灯火通明，每个房间都亮着灯，他们可以听到音乐声传到街上很远的地方。 —

As they drew up in front, the pleasant exciting sounds of many people enjoying themselves floated out. —
当他们停在门前时，愉快而令人兴奋的欢笑声飘了出来，许多人都在享受。 —

The house was packed with guests. They overflowed on verandas and many were sitting on benches in the dim lantern-hung yard.
屋子里挤满了客人，人们甚至在照明的庭院里的长凳上坐着。

I can’t go in—I can’t, thought Scarlett, sitting in the carriage, gripping her balled-up handkerchief. —
我不能进去 —— 我不能，思绪纷乱的斯嘉丽坐在马车里，紧紧握着揉成了一团的手帕。 —

I can’t. I won’t. I will jump out and run away, somewhere, back home to Tara. Why did Rhett force me to come here? —
我不能。我不会。我要跳下来逃走，去什么地方，回家去塔拉。为什么雷特要逼我来这里呢？ —

What will people do? What will Melanie do? —
人们会怎么想？梅兰妮会怎么办？ —

What will she look like? Oh, I can’t face her. I will run away.
她会是什么样子？噢，我不能面对她。我会逃走。

As though he read her mind, Rhett’s hand closed upon her arm in a grip that would leave a bruise, the rough grip of a careless stranger.
仿佛他能读懂她的心思一样，雷特的手紧紧抓住她的胳膊，那种粗暴的握持会留下淤血，就像一个粗鲁的陌生人一样。

“I’ve never known an Irishman to be a coward. Where’s your much- vaunted courage?”
“我从没见过一个爱尔兰人是懦夫。你那些被吹捧的勇气到底去哪了？”

“Rhett, do please, let me go home and explain.”
“雷特，请让我回家去解释一下。”

“You have eternity in which to explain and only one night to be a martyr in the amphitheater. —
“你有永恒的时间来解释，只有一晚可以在圆形剧场里当个烈士。” —

Get out, darling, and let me see the lions eat you. Get out.”
“滚出去，亲爱的，让我看着狮子把你吃掉。滚出去。”

She went up the walk somehow, the arm she was holding as hard and steady as granite, communicating to her some courage. —
她不知怎么爬上了小道，握着的胳膊坚硬而稳定，传递给她一些勇气。 —

By God, she could face them and she would. —
他娘的，她能面对他们，她也会面对他们。 —

What were they but a bunch of howling, clawing cats who were jealous of her? —
他们只不过是一群嚎叫、挠抓的猫，他们嫉妒她罢了。 —

She’d show them. She didn’t care what they thought. —
她要向他们展示，她不在乎他们怎么看。 —

Only Melanie—only Melanie.
只有梅兰妮——只有梅兰妮。

They were on the porch and Rhett was bowing right and left, his hat in his hand, his voice cool and soft. —
他们站在门廊上，雷特左右鞠躬，手里拿着帽子，他的声音冷酷而柔和。 —

The music stopped as they entered and the crowd of people seemed to her confused mind to surge up to her like the roar of the sea and then ebb away, with lessening, ever-lessening sound. —
当他们进入时，音乐停了下来，人群对她困惑的思绪像海浪一样涌上她的身上，然后逐渐远去，声音越来越弱。 —

Was everyone going to cut her? Well, God’s nightgown, let them do it! —
每个人都想要伤害她吗？哼，让他们去吧！ —

Her chin went up and she smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
她的下巴抬起，微笑起来，眼角皱起。

Before she could turn to speak to those nearest the door, someone came through the press of people. —
还没来得及转身对站在门口附近的人说话，就有人挤进人群中。 —

There was an odd hush that caught Scarlett’s heart. —
奇怪的安静让斯嘉丽的心扣了一下。 —

Then through the lane came Melanie on small feet that hurried, hurried to meet Scarlett at the door, to speak to her before anyone else could speak. —
接着，梅兰妮走向她，小脚急忙忙地走近门口，想在其他人之前与斯嘉丽交谈。 —

Her narrow shoulders were squared and her small jaw set indignantly and, for all her notice, she might have had no other guest but Scarlett. —
她狭窄的肩膀挺直，小下巴义愤填膺，对此，她似乎只注意到了斯嘉丽一个人。 —

She went to her side and slipped an arm about her waist.
她走到斯嘉丽身边，搂住她的腰。

“What a lovely dress, darling,” she said in her small, clear voice. “Will you be an angel? —
“多漂亮的裙子啊，亲爱的”，她用小小的、清脆的声音说道，“你能不能做个天使呢？ —

India was unable to come tonight and assist me. —
因为印第亚今晚无法前来帮忙。 —

Will you receive with me?”
你愿意和我一起接收吗？