It must have been difficult to explain to Robert, I said. “这件事一定很难向罗伯特解释，”我说。

　　Oh, I never said a word to either of them. “啊，他们俩我谁也没告诉，一个字也没有说。

　　You see, we only came up to town the day before they had to go back to school. 你知道，我们回城的第二天他们就回学校了。

　　I had the presence of mind to say that their father had been called away on business. 我没有张皇失措，我对他们说父亲有事到外地去了。”

　　It could not have been very easy to be bright and careless with that sudden secret in her heart, 心里怀着这样大的一个秘密，要使自己举止得体、装作一副坦然无事的样子，实在很不容易。

　　nor to give her attention to all the things that needed doing to get her children comfortably packed off. 再说，为了打发孩子上学，还必须花费精力把样样东西打点齐全，也使她煞费苦心。

　　Mrs. Strickland's voice broke again. 思特里克兰德太太的声音哽住了。

　　And what is to happen to them, poor darlings? How are we going to live? “他们以后可怎么办啊，可怜的宝贝？我这一家人以后怎么活下去啊？”

　　She struggled for self-control, and I saw her hands clench and unclench spasmodically. It was dreadfully painful. 她拼命克制着自己的感情，我注意到她的两手一会儿握紧，一会儿又松开。那种痛苦简直太可怕了。

　　Of course I'll go over to Paris if you think I can do any good, but you must tell me exactly what you want me to do. “如果你认为我到巴黎去有好处，我当然会去的，但是你一定要同我说清楚，你要叫我去做什么。”

　　I want him to come back. “我要叫他回来。”

　　I understood from Colonel MacAndrew that you'd made up your mind to divorce him. “我听麦克安德鲁上校的意思，你已经决心同他离婚了。”

　　I'll never divorce him, she answered with a sudden violence. “我永远也不会同他离婚。”她突然气狠狠地说，

　　"Tell him that from me. He'll never be able to marry that woman. “把我的话告诉他，他永远也别想同那个女人结婚。

　　I'm as obstinate as he is, and I'll never divorce him. I have to think of my children." 我同他一样，是个拗性子，我永远也不同他离婚。我要为我的孩子着想。”

　　I think she added this to explain her attitude to me, 我想她最后加添的话是为了向我解释她为什么要采取这种态度，

　　but I thought it was due to a very natural jealousy rather than to maternal solicitude. 但是我却认为她这样做与其说出于母爱不如说由于极其自然的嫉妒心理。

　　Are you in love with him still? “你还爱他吗？”

　　I don't know. I want him to come back. If he'll do that we'll let bygones be bygones. “我不知道。我要他回来。如果他回来了，我可以既往不咎。

　　After all, we've been married for seventeen years. 不管怎么说，我们已经是十七年的夫妻了。

　　I'm a broadminded woman. I wouldn't have minded what he did as long as I knew nothing about it. 我不是一个心胸狭小的女人。过去我一直蒙在鼓里，只要我不知道，我也就不会介意这件事。

　　He must know that his infatuation won't last. 他应该知道这种迷恋是长不了的。

　　If he'll come back now everything can be smoothed over, and no one will know anything about it. 如果他现在就回来，事情会很容易弥补过去，谁也发现不了。”