Mrs. Archer, who knew this to be a hint that the seventeen-hand chestnuts which were never kept waiting were at the door, rose with a hurried murmur of thanks. Mrs. van der Luyden beamed on her with the smile of Esther interceding with Ahasuerus; but her husband raised a protesting hand.
阿切爾太太明白這是讓她告辭的暗示，便匆匆低聲道著謝站起身來。范德盧頓太太眉開眼笑地看著她，那笑容仿佛是以斯帖正在向亞哈隨魯說情，不過她丈夫卻抗議似地舉起一只手。

"There is nothing to thank me for, dear Adeline; nothing whatever. This kind of thing must not happen in New York; it shall not, as long as I can help it," he pronounced with sovereign gentleness as he steered his cousins to the door.
“沒什么好謝的，親愛的艾德琳，一點也不用謝。這種事情不能允許在紐約發生；只要我辦得到，就不準再發生。”他帶著王者的風范說，一面領著表親走向門口。

Two hours later, every one knew that the great C-spring barouche in which Mrs. van der Luyden took the air at all seasons had been seen at old Mrs. Mingott's door, where a large square envelope was handed in; and that evening at the Opera Mr. Sillerton Jackson was able to state that the envelope contained a card inviting the Countess Olenska to the dinner which the van der Luydens were giving the following week for their cousin, the Duke of St. Austrey.
兩小時后，人人都已知道有人見到范德盧頓太太社交季節乘坐兜風的C形彈簧大馬車曾在明戈特太太的門前逗留，并遞進去一個方形大信封。而當晚在歌劇院里，西勒頓·杰克遜便會說明，那信封里裝著一份請柬，邀請奧蘭斯卡伯爵夫人參加范德盧頓夫婦下周為表弟圣奧斯特利公爵舉辦的宴會。

Some of the younger men in the club box exchanged a smile at this announcement, and glanced sideways at Lawrence Lefferts, who sat carelessly in the front of the box, pulling his long fair moustache, and who remarked with authority, as the soprano paused: "No one but Patti ought to attempt the Sonnambula."
聽了這一通報，俱樂部包廂里幾個青年人微笑地交換了一下眼色，并斜眼瞅了瞅勞倫斯·萊弗茨。他在包廂前排坐著，正漫不經心地扯弄他那金色的長胡髭。女高音的歌聲一停，他便權威地說：“除了帕蒂，誰都不配演桑那布拉這個角色。”

雙語小說連載:純真年代 The Age of Innocence(6)