27上 | 我送你离开，千里之外

正文阅读

Indeed, one could hardly believe two whole hours had elapsed when Miss Kenton looked up at the clock on the mantelshelf and said she would have to be returning home. On establishing that she would have to walk in the rain to a bus stop a little way out of the village, I insisted on running her there in the Ford, and so it was that after obtaining an umbrella from the reception desk, we stepped outside together.

Miss Kenton, who had been sitting quietly watching the passing view, turned to me at this point, saying:
"What are you smiling to yourself about like that, Mr Stevens?"
"Oh ... You must excuse me, Mrs Benn, but I was just recalling certain things you wrote in your letter. I was a little worried when I read them, but I see now I had little reason to be."

"Oh dear. Well, perhaps there are some days when I feel like that. But they pass quickly enough. Let me assure you, Mr Stevens, my life does not stretch out emptily before me. For one thing, we are looking forward to the grandchild. The first of a few perhaps." 

"Yes, indeed. That will be splendid for you." We drove on quietly for a few further moments.
Then Miss Kenton said:
"And what about you, Mr Stevens? What does the future hold for you back at Darlington Hall?"
"Well, whatever awaits me, Mrs Benn, I know I'm not awaited by emptiness. If only I were. But oh no, there's work, work and more work."
We both laughed at this. Then Miss Kenton pointed out a bus shelter visible further up the road. As we approached it, she said:
"Will you wait with me, Mr Stevens? The bus will only be a few minutes."

After we had been waiting in silence for a few minutes, I finally brought myself to say:
“I simply wished to ask you, Mrs Benn. Please -do not reply if you feel you shouldn't. But the fact is, the letters I have had from you over the years, and in particular the last letter, have tended to suggest that you are - how might one put it? - rather unhappy. I simply wondered if you were being ill-treated in some way. Forgive me, but as I say, it is something that has worried me for some time. I would feel foolish had I come all this way and seen you and not at least asked you." 

"Mr Stevens, there's no need to be so embarrassed. We're old friends, after all, are we not? In fact, I'm very touched you should be so concerned. And I can put your mind at rest on this matter absolutely. My husband does not mistreat me at all in any way. He is not in the least a cruel or ill- tempered man."
"I must say, Mrs Benn, that does take a load from my mind." I leaned forward in to the rain, looking for signs of the bus.

"I can see you are not very satisfied, Mr Stevens," Miss Kenton said. 
I looked out into the drizzle again.She paused a moment, during which time I continued to gaze out towards the fields on the other side of the road. Then she said: "I suppose, Mr Stevens, you're asking whether or not I love my husband."

"Really, Mrs Benn, I would hardly presume ... "

"I feel I should answer you, Mr Stevens. As you say, we may not meet again for many years. Yes, I do love my husband. I didn't at first. I didn't at first for a long time. When I left Darlington Hall all those years ago, I never realized I was really, truly leaving. I believe I thought of it as simply another ruse, Mr Stevens, to annoy you.

It was a shock to come out here and find myself married. For a long time, I was very unhappy, very unhappy indeed. But then year after year went by, there was the war, Catherine grew up, and one day I realized I loved my husband. You spend so much time with someone, you find you get used to him. He's a kind, steady man, and yes, Mr Stevens, I've grown to love him."

▲更多详细内容请参见《长日留痕》精编讲义

▲添加微信cjyykt666 (超级英语课堂首字母+666），回复“长日留痕”，进入学习社群领取精编讲义