01 The road to Paris--1775(2)

　　'Miss Manette, ' he said.'I have a strange story to tell you, about one of the customers of Tellson's Bank. That's where I work.'
　　'Yes, but I don't quite understand, Mr Lorry, ' said the young lady.'I received a message from Tellson's Bank, asking me to come here to meet you. I understood there was some news about my poor father's money. He died so long ago—before I was born. What is this story you want to tell me'
　　'About twenty years ago, Miss Manette, a French doctor married an English lady. They had a daughter, but just before she was born, her father disappeared. Nobody knew what had happened to him. Not long afterwards his unhappy wife died, and their daughter was brought back to England.'
　　'But this is like my father's story, Mr Lorry. And wasn't it you who brought me back to England'
　　'Yes, that's true, Miss Manette. Many years ago I brought you from France to England, and Tellson's Bank has taken care of you since then. You were told that your father had died. But think, Miss Manette. Perhaps your father wasn't dead. Perhaps he was in prison. Not because he had done something wrong！ But just because he had a powerful enemy—an enemy with the power to send him to prison and to keep him there, hidden and forgotten, for eighteen years！'
'Can it be true
 Is it possible that my father is still alive
' Lucie Manette stared at Mr Lorry. Her face was white and her hands trembled.'It will be his ghost—not him！'
　　'No, Miss Manette, ' said Mr Lorry gently.'He is alive, but he has changed very much. Even his name had been forgotten！And we must ask no questions about the past, no questions at all. It would be too dangerous. He has been taken to the house of an old servant in Paris, and we are going there to bring him back to life.'

“马内特小姐，”他说道。“我有个离奇的故事要告诉你，是关于台尔森银行的一位顾客的。台尔森银行是我工作的地方。”
　　“好吧，但是我不太明白，劳里先生，”年轻的女士说。“我从台尔森银行接到口信，要我到这儿来见您。我知道一些有关我可怜的父亲的钱的事。他很早就已死了——还在我出生之前。您要告诉我的是什么故事呢
”
　　“大约20年前，马内特小姐，有位法国医生娶了一位英国女士。他们有了一个女儿，但是还在他们的女儿出生之前，这位父亲却失踪了。没有人知道他出了什么事。不久，他那位伤心的妻子也死了，他们的女儿被带回了英国。”
　　“但这像是我父亲的故事呀，劳里先生。况且不正是您把我带回英国的吗
”
　　“是的，是这样的，马内特小姐。很多年前我把你从法国带到了英国，并且自那以后台尔森银行就开始照料你。人家告诉你说你的父亲已经死了。但是设想一下，马内特小姐，或许你的父亲那时并没有死，或许他在监狱里呢。那并不是因为他犯了什么罪！而只是因为他有一个强大的敌人——这个敌人拥有权势将他投进监狱，而且让他在那里与世隔绝、被人遗忘地关了18年！”
　　“这是真的吗
我父亲可能还活着吗
”路茜•马内特紧盯着劳里先生。她的脸色苍白，双手颤抖着。“那会是他的灵魂，而不是他本人！”
　　“不，马内特小姐，”劳里先生温和地说。“他还活着，只是有了很大的变化，就连他自己的名字也记不得了！我们绝对不可以问起从前的事，一点都不能问。那样的话就太危险了。他已经被带到巴黎的一个旧日的仆人的家里，我们就是要去那里让他回到日常生活中来。”