15.1 咱中間袂使有秘密

Tē 15 Chiong

15.1 Lán tiong-kan bē-sái ū pì-bit

Góa hām Joseph khai-sí khoán hêng-lí bô-kàu chi̍t tiám-cheng, hiông-hiông ū-lâng tōa-la̍t khiú mn̂g-lêng.

"Góa ài khì khui-mn̂g bô?" Joseph mn̄g góa.

"Khì ah," góa kóng, sim-lāi ná siūⁿ chit ê sî-chūn ē sī siáng, m̄-káⁿ siong-sìn he ē-sī Marguerite.

"Sian-siⁿ," Joseph tńg-lâi kă kóng, "sī nn̄g ê thài-thài."

"Sī goán lah, Armand," he siaⁿ góa chi̍t thiaⁿ tō chai sī Prudence.

Góa kiâⁿ-chhut góa ê pâng-keng. Prudence khiā tī hia, chia khòaⁿ, hia khòaⁿ; Marguerite chē tī phòng-í ká-ná teh siūⁿ siáⁿ. Góa kiâⁿ kàu Marguerite bīn-chêng, kūi lo̍h khan i ê siang-chhiú, sim-chêng kek-tōng, kā kóng: "Chhiáⁿ goân-liōng góa."

I chim góa ê hia̍h-thâu, kóng:

"Che sī góa tē-saⁿ kái goân-liōng lí."

"Góa bîn-á-chài tio̍h lī-khui."

"Góa ê pài-hóng ná ū khó-lêng kái-piàn lí ê kè-ōe? Góa m̄-sī boeh lâi chó͘-tòng lí lī-khui Paris. Góa lâi, sī in-ūi ji̍t-sî bô-êng thang siá hôe-phe, koh bô-ài hō͘ lí siūⁿ-kóng góa teh kap lí siūⁿ-khì. Prudence kiò góa m̄-mó͘ lâi, i kóng góa lâi ē kiáu-jiáu tio̍h lí."

"Lí ē kiáu-jiáu góa, Marguerite! Ná ē ah?"

"Sī ah, hoān-sè lí chhù-nih ū chi̍t ê cha-bó͘," Prudence kóng, "i nā khòaⁿ tio̍h koh lâi nn̄g ê, he tō chin hó-chhiò."

I án-ne kóng ê sî, Marguerite lia̍h góa kim-kim khòaⁿ.

"Chhin-ài ê Prudence," góa ìn i, "lí teh o͘-pe̍h kóng siáⁿ?"

"Lí ê kheh-thiaⁿ chiâⁿ súi!" Prudence koh kóng. "Goán ē-sái chham-koan khùn-pâng bô?"

"Tong-jiân ē-sái."

Prudence ji̍p-khì khùn-pâng, m̄-sī boeh khòaⁿ siáⁿ, jî-sī boeh pó͘-kiù i tú-chiah kóng ê gōng-ōe, hō͘ góa kap Marguerite tan-to̍k chò-hóe.

"Lí ná hō͘ Prudence tòe lâi?" góa mn̄g i.

"In-ūi goán pún-lâi tō tâng-chê tī kio̍k-tiûⁿ, mā in-ūi lī-khui chia tńg-chhù ê sî, góa ài ū lâng pôe góa."

"Góa kám bē-tàng pôe lí?"

"Ē ah, tî-liáu bô siūⁿ-boeh mâ-hoân lí, góa mā chai, lí nā hām góa kàu goán mn̂g-kha-kháu, lí ē siūⁿ-boeh chiūⁿ-lâu ji̍p-lâi, góa khiok m̄-khéng, góa bô-ài in-ūi kī-choa̍t lí, hō͘ lí tī lī-khui ê sî teh bâi-oàn góa."

"Sī án-chóaⁿ lí bē-sái hō͘ góa ji̍p-khì?"

"In-ūi góa hông kàm-sī, sió-khóa hiâm-gî tō ē chō-sêng tōa siong-hāi."

"Kan-ta chit ê lí-iû?"

"Nā ū pa̍t ê, góa ē kā lí kóng; lán tiong-kan bē-sái ū siáⁿ pì-bi̍t."

"Ai ah, Marguerite, góa mài lin-long se̍h, kap lí ti̍t ōe ti̍t kóng. Láu-si̍t kóng, lí kám ū teh ài góa?"

"Ài-kah chiâⁿ chhim."

"Nā án-ne, sī án-chóaⁿ lí phiàn góa?"

"Góa ê pêng-iú, góa nā sī bó͘-bó͘ kong-chiok hu-jîn, góa nā chi̍t nî ū jī-cha̍p bān franc siu-ji̍p, án-ne góa nā chò lí ê chêng-hū liáu koh ū pa̍t ê chêng-jîn, lí tō ū khoân-lī án-ne mn̄g góa; m̄-koh, góa sī Marguerite Gautier Sc, góa khiàm siàu sì-bān franc, góa ka-tī liân chi̍t sén to bô, chi̍t nî koh tio̍h khai cha̍p-bān franc. Án-ne, lí mn̄g chit ê būn-tê ū siáⁿ ì-gī, góa ê hôe-tap mā ke liáu-kang."

"Bô m̄-tio̍h," góa kóng, thâu lê-lê khòe tī i ê kha-thâu-u; "m̄-koh góa ài lí kah boeh khí-siáu."

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第 15 章

15.1 咱中間袂使有秘密

我和 Joseph 開始款行李無到一點鐘, 雄雄有人大力搝門鈴.

"我愛去開門無?" Joseph 問我.

"去 ah," 我講, 心內 ná 想這个時陣會是 siáng, 毋敢相信彼會是 Marguerite.

"先生," Joseph 轉來 kă 講, "是兩个太太."

"是阮 lah, Armand," 彼聲我一聽 tō 知是 Prudence.

我行出我 ê 房間. Prudence 徛 tī 遐, 遮看, 遐看; Marguerite 坐 tī 膨椅敢若 teh 想啥. 我行到 Marguerite 面前, 跪落牽伊 ê 雙手, 心情激動, kā 講: "請原諒我."

伊唚我 ê 額頭, 講:

"這是我第三改原諒你."

"我明仔載著離開."

"我 ê 拜訪那有可能改變你 ê 計畫? 我毋是欲來阻擋你離開 Paris. 我來, 是因為日時無閒通寫回批, koh 無愛予你想講我 teh kap 你受氣. Prudence 叫我毋 mó͘ 來, 伊講我來會攪擾著你."

"你會攪擾我, Marguerite! 那會 ah?"

"是 ah, 凡勢你厝 nih 有一个查某," Prudence 講, "伊 nā 看著 koh 來兩个, 彼 tō 真好笑."

伊 án-ne 講 ê 時, Marguerite 掠我金金看.

"親愛 ê Prudence," 我應伊, "你 teh 烏白講啥?"

"你 ê 客廳誠媠!" Prudence koh 講. "阮會使參觀睏房無?"

"當然會使."

Prudence 入去睏房, 毋是欲看啥, 而是欲補救伊拄才講 ê 戇話, 予我 kap Marguerite 單獨做伙.

"你那予 Prudence 綴來?" 我問伊.

"因為阮本來 tō 同齊 tī 劇場, mā 因為離開遮轉厝 ê 時, 我愛有人陪我."

"我敢袂當陪你?"

"會 ah, 除了無想欲麻煩你, 我 mā 知, 你 nā 和我到阮門跤口, 你會想欲上樓入來, 我卻毋肯, 我無愛因為拒絕你, 予你 tī 離開 ê 時 teh 埋怨我."

"是按怎你袂使予我入去?"

"因為我 hông 監視, 小可嫌疑 tō 會造成大傷害."

"干焦這个理由?"

"Nā 有別个, 我會 kā 你講; 咱中間袂使有啥秘密."

"Ai ah, Marguerite, 我莫 lin-long se̍h, kap 你直話直講. 老實講, 你敢有 teh 愛我?"

"愛甲誠深."

"Nā án-ne, 是按怎你騙我?"

"我 ê 朋友, 我 nā 是某某公爵夫人, 我 nā 一年有二十萬 franc 收入, án-ne 我 nā 做你 ê 情婦了 koh 有別个情人, 你 tō 有權利 án-ne 問我; 毋過, 我是 Marguerite Gautier Sc, 我欠數四萬 franc, 我家己連一 sén to 無, 一年 koh 著開十萬 franc. Án-ne, 你問這个問題有啥意義, 我 ê 回答 mā 加了工."

"無毋著," 我講, 頭 lê-lê khòe tī 伊 ê 跤頭趺; "毋過我愛你甲欲起痟."

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Chapter 15 

15.1

It was hardly an hour after Joseph and I had begun preparing for my departure, when there was a violent ring at the door. 

"Shall I go to the door?" said Joseph. 

"Go," I said, asking myself who it could be at such an hour, and not daring to believe that it was Marguerite. 

"Sir," said Joseph coming back to me, "it is two ladies."

"It is we, Armand," cried a voice that I recognised as that of Prudence. 

I came out of my room. Prudence was standing looking around the place; Marguerite, seated on the sofa, was meditating. I went to her, knelt down, took her two hands, and, deeply moved, said to her, "Pardon." 

She kissed me on the forehead, and said:

"This is the third time that I have forgiven you." 

"I should have gone away to-morrow." 

"How can my visit change your plans? I have not come to hinder you from leaving Paris. I have come because I had no time to answer you during the day, and I did not wish to let you think that I was angry with you. Prudence didn't want me to come; she said that I might be in the way." 

"You in the way, Marguerite! But how?" 

"Well, you might have had a woman here," said Prudence, "and it would hardly have been amusing for her to see two more arrive." 

During this remark Marguerite looked at me attentively. 

"My dear Prudence," I answered, "you do not know what you are saying." 

"What a nice place you've got!" Prudence went on. "May we see the bedroom?" 

"Yes." 

Prudence went into the bedroom, not so much to see it as to make up for the foolish thing which she had just said, and to leave Marguerite and me alone. 

"Why did you bring Prudence?" I asked her. 

"Because she was at the theatre with me, and because when I leave here I want to have some one to see me home." 

"Could not I do?" 

"Yes, but, besides not wishing to put you out, I was sure that if you came as far as my door you would want to come up, and as I could not let you, I did not wish to let you go away blaming me for saying 'No.'" 

"And why could you not let me come up?" 

"Because I am watched, and the least suspicion might do me the greatest harm." 

"Is that really the only reason?" 

"If there were any other, I would tell you; for we are not to have any secrets from one another now." 

"Come, Marguerite, I am not going to take a roundabout way of saying what I really want to say. Honestly, do you care for me a little?" 

"A great deal."

"Then why did you deceive me?" 

"My friend, if I were the Duchess So and So, if I had two hundred thousand francs a year, and if I were your mistress and had another lover, you would have the right to ask me; but I am Mlle. Marguerite Gautier, I am forty thousand francs in debt, I have not a penny of my own, and I spend a hundred thousand francs a year. Your question becomes unnecessary and my answer useless." 

"You are right," I said, letting my head sink on her knees; "but I love you madly." 

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