A pain slashed at her heart as savagely as a wild animal’s fangs. Through it all, she felt her father’s eyes on her, a little pitying, a little annoyed at being faced with a problem for which he knew no answer. He loved Scarlett, but it made him uncomfortable to have her forcing her childish problems on him for a solution. Ellen knew all the answers. Scarlett should have taken her troubles to her.
她的心頭一陣劇痛,仿佛一只野獸用尖牙在咬著她。就在這當兒,她父親的眼睛死死盯住她,由于面對一個他不知該怎樣回答的問題而覺得有點可憐,又頗為煩惱。他愛思嘉,可是現在她竟把她那些孩子般的問題向他提出來,強求他解決,這就使他很不舒服。愛倫懂得怎樣回答這些問題。思嘉本來應當到她那里去訴苦的。
“Is it a spectacle you’ve been making of yourself—of all of us?” he bawled, his voice rising as always in moments of excitement. “Have you been running after a man who’s not in love with you, when you could have any of the bucks in the County?”
“你這不是在出自己的洋相----出咱們大家的洋相嗎?”他厲聲說,聲音高得像昨日發(fā)嬤嬤時一樣了。"你是在追求一個不愛你的男人了?可這縣里有那么多哥兒公子,你是誰都可以挑選的呀!"
Anger and hurt pride drove out some of the pain.
憤怒和受傷的自尊感反而把思嘉心中的痛苦驅走了一部分。
“I haven’t been running after him. It—it just surprised me.”
“我并沒有追他。只不過感到吃驚而已。”
“It’s lying you are!” said Gerald, and then, peering at her stricken face, he added in a burst of kindliness: “I’m sorry, daughter. But after all, you are nothing but a child and there’s lots of other beaux.”
“你這是在撒謊!"杰拉爾德大聲說,接著,他凝視著她的臉,又突然顯得十分慈祥地補充道:“我很難過,女兒。但畢竟你還是個孩子,而且別的小伙子還多著呢。”
“Mother was only fifteen when she married you, and I’m sixteen,” said Scarlett, her voice muffled.
“媽媽嫁給你時才15歲呀,現在我都16了,"思嘉嘟嘟囔囔地說。
“Your mother was different,” said Gerald. “She was never flighty like you. Now come, daughter, cheer up, and I’ll take you to Charleston next week to visit your Aunt Eulalie and, what with all the hullabaloo they are having over there about Fort Sumter, you’ll be forgetting about Ashley in a week.”
“你媽媽可不一樣,"杰拉爾德說。"她從來不像你這樣胡思亂想。好了,女兒,高興一點,下星期我?guī)愕讲闋査诡D去看尤拉莉姨。看看他們那里怎樣鬧騰薩姆特要塞的事,包你不到一星期就艾希禮忘了。”
“He thinks I’m a child,” thought Scarlett, grief and anger choking utterance, “and he’s only got to dangle a new toy and I’ll forget my bumps.”
“他還把我當孩子看,"思嘉心里想,悲傷和憤怒憋得她說不出話來,"以為只要拿著新玩具在我面前晃兩下,我就會把傷痛全忘了呢。”
“Now, don’t be jerking your chin at me,” warned Gerald. “If you had any sense you’d have married Stuart or Brent Tarleton long ago. Think it over, daughter. Marry one of the twins and then the plantations will run together and Jim Tarleton and I will build you a fine house, right where they join, in that big pine grove and—”
“好,別跟我作對了,"杰拉爾德警告說。"你要是懂點事,早就該同斯圖爾特或者布倫特結婚了。考慮考慮吧,女兒,同這對雙胞胎中無論哪一個結婚,兩家的農場便可以連成一起,吉姆·塔爾頓和我便會給你們蓋一幢漂亮房子,就在兩家農場連接的地方,那一大片松林里,而且----”
“Will you stop treating me like a child!” cried Scarlett. “I don’t want to go to Charleston or have a house or marry the twins. I only want—” She caught herself but not in time.
“別把我當小孩看待了,好嗎?”思嘉嚷道。"我不去查爾斯頓,也不要什么房子,或同雙胞胎結婚。我只要----"說到這里,她停頓了,但已經為時過晚。