評論
打印
Blackmail
訛詐
Arthur Hailey
阿瑟·黑利
The chief house officer, Ogilvie, who had declared he would appear at the Croydons suite an hour after his cryptic telephone call actually took twice that time. As a result the nerves of both the Duke and Duchess were excessively frayed when the muted buzzer of the outer door eventually sounded.
負責飯店保安工作的歐吉維探長打了那個神秘的電話，本來說好一個小時后光臨克羅伊敦夫婦所住的套房的，可實際上卻過了兩個小時才到。結果，當外間門上的電鈴終于發出沉悶的嗡嗡聲時，公爵夫婦的神經都緊張到了極點。
The Duchess went to the door herself. Earlier she had dispatched her maid on an invented errand and, cruelly, instructed the moon-faced male secretary-who was terrified of dogs-to exercise the Bedlington terriersn. . Her own tension was not lessened by the knowledge that both might return at any moment.
公爵夫人親自去開門。此前她早已借故把女仆支開，并且狠心地給那位臉兒圓圓的、見到狗就怕得要死的男秘書派了一個要命的差事，讓他牽著貝德林頓狼犬出去散步。想到這兩個人隨時都會回來，她自己的緊張情緒怎么也松弛不下來。
A wave of cigar smoke accompanied Ogilvie in. When he had followed her to the living room, the Duchess looked pointedly at the half-burned cigar in the fat man's mouth. “My husband and I find strong smoke offensive. Would you kindly put that out."
隨著歐吉維進屋的是一團雪茄煙霧。當他隨著她走進起居室時，公爵夫人目光直射著這個大肥佬嘴里叼著的那燒了半截的雪茄。"我丈夫和我都討厭濃烈的煙味，您行行好把它滅了吧!"
The house detective's piggy eyes surveyed her sardonically from his gross jowled face. His gaze moved on to sweep the spacious, well-appointed room, encompassingthe Duke who faced them uncertainly, his back to a window.
探長那雙夾在面部隆起的肉堆中的豬眼睛輕蔑地將她上下打量了一番。接著，他便移動目光，對這個寬敞豪華、設備齊全的房間掃視了一周，看到了那位正背朝窗戶、神色茫然地望著他們的公爵夫人。
"Pretty neat set-up you folks got.” Taking his time, Ogilvie removed the offending cigar, knocked off the ash and flipped the butt toward an ornamental fireplace on his right. He missed, and the butt fell upon the carpet where he ignored it.
"你們這套房間布置得倒挺講究的呢。"歐吉維慢條斯理地從口中拿下雪茄，敲掉煙灰，然后將煙蒂扔向靠右邊的一個裝飾性壁爐，但他失了準頭，煙蒂掉到地毯上，他也不去管它。
