第11章03. The Thornfi

　　'You see，Mr Rochester clearly prefers her to any of the other ladies．'
　　'Yes，he does seem to admire her，'admitted the housekeeper．
　　'And she admires him．Notice how she looks at him！But I haven't really seen her face yet．I'd like to．”
　　'You'll see her tonight，'answered Mrs Fairfax．'I mentioned to the master that Adèle wanted to be introduced to the ladies，and he asked you to bring her down to meet them this evening．'
　　'Well，I'll go if he wants me to，but I don't like meeting strangers．I'm not used to it．'
　　'I understand how you feel，'said the old lady kindly，'but the guests won't notice you much，and you can easily escape after a short time．'
So Adèle and I，dressed in our best，were waiting as the ladies came into the sitting-room after dinner．I was most impressed by the beauty and elegance of all of them，but was especially fascinated by the Ingram family .Lady Ingram，although between forty and fifty，was still a fine woman．Her hair still looked black，by candle-light at least，and her teeth still seemed perfect．But she had fierce，proud eyes，that reminded me of aunt Reed's，and a hard，powerful voice．Her daughter Mary was rather quiet，but her other daughter Blanche was very different．As soon as the gentlemen came into the room and coffee was served，she became the centre of attention．She played the piano excellently,she sang sweetly，she discussed intelligently，and all the time her flashing eyes，rich black curls and fine figure attracted glances from every gentleman in the room．
“你瞧，罗切斯特先生显然更喜欢她，而不是其他女士。”
　　“是的，他的确似乎很仰慕她。”管家赞同道。
　　“她也仰慕他。你瞧她是怎么看着他的！可我还没看清她的脸。我真想看看。”
　　“你今晚能见到她。”费尔法斯太太说，“我跟主人说阿黛拉想见见那些女士们，他让你今晚带她下楼来见她们。”
　　“好吧，如果他让我去我就去。不过我不喜欢见生人，我不习惯。”
　　“我了解你的感受。”老太太和善地说，“不过客人们不会太注意你，你过一会儿就可以很容易地溜走。”
　　于是我和阿黛拉穿上最好的衣服，静等女士们晚饭后到客厅来。我被她们所有人的美丽和优雅打动，更被英格姆一家打动。英格姆夫人尽管已经四五十岁，仍然保持着风采。她的头发看上去依然是黑的，至少在烛光下如此，她的牙齿似乎仍是那么光洁。但她的目光严厉而傲慢，让我想起里德舅妈的那种目光，说起话来声音又硬又有力。她的女儿玛丽非常文静，但另一个千金布朗蒂就完全不一样了。先生们刚进门，咖啡刚端上，她就成了大家注意的中心。她弹得一手好钢琴，歌喉甜美，谈吐机智，眨动着的大眼睛、浓密的黑色鬈发和纤巧的身躯一直吸引着屋里每个男人的目光。