5. Lucy Steele's secret

The Palmers returned to Somerset the next day. But it Was not long before Sir John had more visitors at Barton park. On a morning's excursion to Exeter, he and his mother-in-law had met two young ladies, the Miss Steeles, whom Mrs Jennings discovered to be distant cousins. Sir John, always eager for society, immediately invited them to stay at the Park as, soon as they were available, and, most fortunately, they were able to accept the invitation almost at once.

The young ladies arrived. Their appearance was by no means unfashionable, their dress was elegant, and their manners were very polite. They were delighted with the house and furniture, and they happened to be so madly fond of children that Lady Middleton had an excellent opinion of them by the time they had been at the Park for an hour. Sir John hurried off to Barton Cottage to tell the Miss Dashwoods.

They are the sweetest girls in the world!' he said. Elinor smiled at this. She knew that, for Sir John, the sweetest girls in the world were in every part of England, with every possible kind of face, figure, and character. Sir John wanted the whole family to walk to the Park immediately and look at his guests. Kind, thoughtful man! It was painful to him even to keep a third cousin to himself. But in spite of his efforts, he could only gain the Dashwoods' promise to visit the Park in a day or two.

When the promised visit took place, they found nothing to admire in the appearance of the elder Miss Steele, who was nearly thirty, with a very plain face. However, the younger, Miss Lucy Steele, who was not more than twenty-three, had a considerable beauty. Her face was pretty, she had a sharp, quick eye, and she held herself with a certain air. Elinor soon noticed the pleasing manners and constant attentions with which they were winning Lady Middleton's approval. They were full of praise for the beauty and intelligence of her children, and full of admiration for Lady Middleton herself. Fortunately for those who use these clever tricks, a fond mother can never hear enough praise of her children, and therefore will swallow anything. Lady Middleton watched proudly as her spoilt children pulled the Miss Steeles' hair, stole their sewing scissors, and tore their books; she felt no doubt that the Miss Steeles were enjoying this quite as much as her children. She was only surprised that Elinor and Marianne should sit so calmly, without taking any part in the enjoyment.

How playful dear little William is!' she said lovingly, as her second boy violently pulled Miss Steele's finger. 'And here is my sweet Annamaria, such a quiet little thing!' She bent to kiss her daughter, but unfortunately a pin in her dress scratched the child's neck. Violent screams rang out, and the Miss Steeles rushed to help the suffering child. The little girl realized that the louder she screamed, the more attention she would receive, and nothing could be done to calm her. Finally her mother was forced to carry her upstairs, in search of her nurse, and the four young ladies were left in a quietness which the room had not known for many hours.

Poor little creature!' said the elder Miss Steele.

I do not think there was any real cause for alarm,' said Marianne firmly.

What a sweet woman Lady Middleton is,' said Lucy Steele.

Marianne was silent, as it was impossible for her to say what she did not feel. It was Elinor who was forced to reply.

She is a very fond mother,' she said, truthfully.

And the children!' cried Lucy. 'I love to see children full of life and fun! I cannot bear them quiet.'

I confess,' replied Elinor, 'that while I am at Barton Park, I never think of quiet children with any displeasure.'

A short silence was broken by the elder Miss Steele, who suddenly changed the subject by saying, 'How do you like Devonshire, Miss Dashwood? I suppose you were very sorry to leave Sussex. Norland is a beautiful place, is it not?'

We have heard Sir John admire it,' said Lucy quickly.

Elinor was surprised that the Miss Steeles seemed to know so much about her family. 'Indeed, it is a lovely place.'

And had you a great many handsome young bachelors there?' asked Anne Steele. 'I am afraid you may find it dull here. I do like a place with a lot of good-looking young men, but they must dress well and behave politely. I suppose your brother was quite an elegant young man before he married?'

Well,' replied Elinor, 'if he was before he married, he still is, because he has not changed at all.'

Oh dear, I never think of married men being handsome young men—they have other things to do.'

Good heavens, Anne!' cried her sister. 'You can talk of nothing but young men—you will make Miss Dashwood believe you think of nothing else!' And she turned to another subject.

This one meeting with the Miss Steeles would have been quite enough for Elinor, who disliked the vulgar freedom and foolishness of the elder, and the clever pretences of the younger. She left the Park without wishing to know them better. The Miss Steeles, however, thought differently, and so did the sociable Sir John. Soon the young ladies of both houses were sitting or walking together for an hour or two almost every day. Anxious that they should get to know each other well, Sir John had helpfully informed the Miss Steeles of all the details of the Dashwoods' lives, and soon Anne Steele congratulated Elinor on her sister's fortunate engagement to a very fine young man.

What a good thing to be married so young,' she added. 'I hear he is extremely handsome. I hope you may have such good luck yourself—but perhaps you have someone already.'

The Miss Steeles also heard from Sir John, with many smiles and jokes, about Elinor's suspected attachment to a young man who had recently visited Devonshire.

His name is Ferrars,' whispered Sir John, so that everyone could hear, 'but it's a great secret.'

Ferrars!' repeated the elder Miss Steele. 'Mr Ferrars? Your sister-in-law's brother, Miss Dashwood? A very pleasant young man. We know him very well.'

How can you say that, Anne?' cried Lucy, who nearly always corrected everything her sister said. 'We have only seen him once or twice at my uncle's.'

Elinor was astonished. Who was this uncle? Where did he live? And how did they come to know Edward? She wished very much to have the subject continued, but nothing more was said about it, and she preferred not to ask questions hereself.

In the next few days, Lucy missed no opportunity of engaging Elinor in conversation. She was naturally clever, and often amusing, and as a companion for half an hour Elinor found her quite pleasant. However, she knew nothing of books, music or painting, in spite of her constant efforts to appear well informed. Elinor pitied her for her lack of education, but disliked her insincerity, her dishonesty, and the narrow self-interest that lay behind all her words and actions.

One day, as they were walking alone together, Lucy said, 'You will think my question strange, no doubt, but do you personally know your sister-in-law's mother, Mrs Ferrars?'

Elinor did think the question strange. 'I have never seen her,' she answered, a little distantly.

Then you cannot tell me what sort of woman she is?'

No,' replied Elinor, cautious of giving her real opinion of Edward's mother. 'I know nothing of her.'

Lucy looked fixedly at Elinor. 'I wish I could tell you—I hope you will believe I am not just being curious or impolite.' She hesitated. 'I do want your good opinion. And I am sure I would not have the smallest fear of trusting you, indeed I would be very glad of your advice. I am in such an uncomfortable situation! I am sorry you do not happen to know Mrs Ferrars.'

I am also sorry,' said Elinor in great astonishment, 'if it could be of any use to you to know my opinion of her. But I never understood you were at all connected with that family.'

I do not wonder at your surprise. Mrs Ferrars is nothing to me at present, but the time may come when we may be very closely connected.' She looked shyly down as she said this, with only a quick look sideways at Elinor.

Good heavens!' cried Elinor. 'What do you mean? Connected—with Mr Robert Ferrars?' And she did not feel much delighted with the idea of such a sister-in-law.

No,' replied Lucy, 'not with Mr Robert Ferrars—I never saw him in my life—but,' fixing her eyes on Elinor, 'with his elder brother, Edward.'

Elinor looked at Lucy in silent astonishment.

You must be surprised,' continued Lucy, 'because of course he never mentioned it to any of your family. It is a great secret, and none of my relations know of it except Anne. I would never have told you, if I had not trusted you completely. And I really thought I ought to explain my behaviour in asking about Mrs Ferrars. I know Mr Ferrars will not be displeased when he hears I have told you, because he has the highest opinion in the world of all your family, and looks on you and the other Miss Dashwoods quite as his own sisters.'

Elinor forced herself to speak calmly. 'May I ask how long you have been engaged?'

We have been engaged for four years now.'

Four years!' Elinor still felt unable to believe it.

My sister and I often stayed at my uncle's house near Plymouth, here in Devonshire. Edward came to study law there for four years, and so we met, and became engaged. I was very unwilling to enter into it, as you may imagine, without his mother's approval, but I was too young and loved him too well to be as cautious as I ought to have been. Dear Edward! Look, I carry his picture everywhere with me.'

She took from her pocket a small painting and showed it to Elinor. Elinor's last doubts of the truth of Lucy's story disappeared as she recognized Edward's face.

You can't think how I am suffering,' continued Lucy. 'Everything is so uncertain, and we see each other so infrequently! I wonder my heart is not broken.' Here she put a hand to her eyes, but Elinor did not feel sympathetic.

Sometimes,' Lucy added, 'I think it would be better for both of us if I broke off the engagement completely.' She looked sharply at her companion. 'But then I cannot bear the thought of making him miserable. And to me, too, he is so very dear. What would you advise me to do, Miss Dashwood?'

I am afraid I cannot advise you in such a situation. You must decide for yourself.'

Poor Edward! His mother must provide for him one day, but he is so depressed about his future! Did you not think him unhappy when he arrived at Barton recently?'

Yes,' said Elinor, aware of yet another fact in support of Lucy's story.

He had been staying with us at my uncle's. It made him so miserable, not being able to stay more than a fortnight, and seeing me so upset. He still feels just the same. I heard from him before I left Exeter.' Taking a letter from her pocket, she waved the envelope in Elinor's direction.

Elinor recognized Edward's writing, and finally had to accept that they must be engaged. Her heart sank within her.

Poor Edward does not even have a picture of me,' Lucy went on, 'although I have his. But I gave him a lock of my hair in a ring recently, and that was some comfort to him, he said. Perhaps you noticed the ring on his finger?'

I did,' said Elinor. Her voice was calm, but her calmness hid an unhappiness greater than she had ever felt before. She was shocked, confused, and miserable.

Here their conversation ended, and Elinor was left alone, to think. She felt sure that Edward's affection was still hers. He certainly loved her, and had never intentionally deceived her. Unfortunately, he was now tied by an early and foolish engagement to a pretty, but insincere, vulgar and selfish girl, whose main interest lay in his future income. Elinor's tears flowed more for Edward than herself. She had lost her chance of happiness with him, but would only be miserable for a time, while he had nothing at all to look forward to in life.

Over the next few days, Elinor took great care to hide her unhappiness. She was glad to spare her family the shocking news of Edward's secret engagement, as she knew that their affection and sorrow would only add to her misery. At convenient moments, she returned to the subject in quiet conversation with Lucy. She learnt that Lucy was determined to hold Edward to the engagement, and that Lucy was jealous of her because Edward, apparently, always spoke of her with great admiration. Indeed, what other reason could Lucy have for telling Elinor her secret, if not to warn her to keep away from Edward?

Elinor realized with great sadness that Edward was not only without affection for his future wife, but that he had not even the chance of being reasonably happy in marriage.

available adj. someone who is available is not busy and has enough time 有暇的

swallow v. to immediately believe a story, explanation etc that is not actually true 轻信

truthfully adv. honestly 如实地

confess v. acknowledge or admit 坦白

suspect v. to think that something is probably true or likely, especially something bad 猜想，怀疑

fixedly adv. looking at only one thing 专注地

astonishment n. great surprise or amazement 惊愕

provide for to give someone the things they need, such as money, food, etc 供养

reasonably adv. to a satisfactory degree, although not completely 相当地

5．露西·斯蒂尔的秘密

帕尔默夫妇于次日返回了索美塞。但是很快约翰爵士就为巴顿庄园带来了新的客人。一天上午，他和他的岳母在去埃克塞特的路上遇见了斯蒂尔家的两位小姐，詹宁斯太太发现她们原来还是远房亲戚。一贯热衷于社交活动的约翰爵士立刻邀请她们在有空的时候去他的庄园小住。她们几乎马上就接受了邀请，这真是再好不过了。

这两位年轻小姐来到了庄园。她们外表时髦，穿着高雅，举止彬彬有礼。她们对房子和家具赞不绝口，她们对孩子狂热的喜爱更使她们在到来仅仅一个小时后就给米德尔顿太太留下了十分良好的印象。约翰爵士匆忙赶往巴顿小屋告诉达什伍德家的小姐们。

“她们是世界上最可爱的女孩！”他说。埃莉诺听了这话笑了。她知道对于约翰爵士来说，英格兰到处都是世上最可爱的女孩，她们有着各种各样的长相、身材和性格。约翰爵士想要达什伍德一家立刻动身前往他的庄园去见见他的客人们。真是个善良体贴的人！对他来说，让她们错过一个认识他的远亲的机会也是痛苦的。但是尽管他费尽口舌，达什伍德一家只答应一两天后再去庄园拜访。

当达什伍德一家按照许诺来到庄园的时候，她们并不觉得年长的斯蒂尔小姐相貌过人，她已年近30，相貌平庸。然而，年纪稍小的露西·斯蒂尔小姐确实是个美人。她不过23岁，有漂亮的脸蛋，明亮而活泼的眼睛，身上带有一种独特的气质。埃莉诺很快注意到她们赖以赢得米德尔顿太太欢心的得体举止和持久的殷勤。她们不停地夸米德尔顿太太的孩子们漂亮聪颖，对米德尔顿太太本人更是充满溢美之词。一个溺爱孩子的母亲永远听不够对她孩子的夸奖，因此她会接受任何赞美，这对那些耍这种花招的人来说真是幸运。米德尔顿太太自豪地看着被她宠坏了的孩子们拉扯斯蒂尔姐妹的头发，偷走她们的缝纫剪刀，撕坏她们的书籍。她毫不怀疑斯蒂尔姐妹和她的孩子们一样乐在其中。她只是奇怪为何埃莉诺和玛丽安娜安静地坐着而不与孩子们同乐。

“亲爱的小威廉玩得多么起劲儿啊！”她钟爱地说。她的小儿子正拼命地拉扯着斯蒂尔小姐的手指。“还有我的宝贝安娜玛丽娅，多么安静的小东西！”她弯腰去亲吻女儿，但不幸的是她裙子上的一枚别针划到了孩子的脖子。孩子放声尖叫，斯蒂尔姐妹赶忙去安慰被弄痛的孩子。小女孩意识到她哭得越响就越受人注意，于是不顾一切地闹，怎么也没法让她安静下来。最后，她母亲不得不抱她上楼去找她的保姆，把四位小姐留下来，房间里已经好几个小时没这么安静了。

“可怜的小家伙！”年长的斯蒂尔小姐说。

“我不认为有什么好紧张的。”玛丽安娜口气坚决地说。

“米德尔顿太太是位多么和蔼亲切的女士啊！”露西·斯蒂尔说。

玛丽安娜闭口不语，因为她做不到口是心非。倒是埃莉诺被迫答话。

“她是个很爱孩子的母亲。”她如实地说。

“还有那些孩子们！”露西大声说，“我喜欢看到孩子们活泼快乐！我无法忍受他们太安静。”

“我承认，”埃莉诺回答，“在巴顿庄园的时候，我从来不觉得安静的孩子有什么令人不快的地方。”

短暂的沉寂后，年长的斯蒂尔小姐突然转换了话题说：“达什伍德小姐，你觉得德文郡怎么样？我猜你离开萨塞克斯郡很难受。诺兰庄园是一个美丽的地方，不是吗？”

“我们听约翰爵士称赞过那里。”露西很快地说。

埃莉诺很吃惊，因为这两位斯蒂尔小姐似乎知道很多她家的事。“那儿确实是个漂亮的地方。”她说。

“那儿有很多年轻英俊的单身汉吗？”安妮·斯蒂尔问道，“我猜你可能觉得这里很沉闷。我喜欢有很多英俊小伙子的地方，但是他们必须穿着得体，举止文雅。我猜你哥哥婚前一定是个很高雅的年轻人吧？”

“这么说吧，”埃莉诺回答，“如果他婚前是那样的话，那么他现在依旧是那样，因为他一点儿也没有变。”

“哦，亲爱的，我从不把已婚男子看作英俊的年轻人——他们有别的事情要做。”

“天哪，安妮！”她妹妹大声说，“你就会一个劲儿地谈论小伙子——你会让达什伍德小姐以为你除此之外就什么都不想了！”接着她转换了话题。

这次与斯蒂尔姐妹的会面让埃莉诺受够了。她既讨厌当姐姐的粗俗的口无遮拦和愚蠢，又无法忍受做妹妹的自作聪明的假惺惺。她离开庄园的时候毫无与她们深交的愿望。然而斯蒂尔姐妹以及好交际的约翰爵士却有不同的想法。不久之后两家的小姐们几乎每天都有一两个小时在一起小坐或外出散步。约翰爵士热切希望她们能很好地相处，于是把关于达什伍德一家的事都详细地告诉了斯蒂尔姐妹。于是不久之后安妮·斯蒂尔就向埃莉诺祝贺，说她妹妹能与一位非常优秀的小伙子订婚真是幸运。

“那么年轻就能结婚是一件多么美好的事啊，”她补充说，“我听说他帅极了。我希望你自己也有这样的好运——但是也许你已经有对象了。”

谈笑中斯蒂尔姐妹从约翰爵士那里听说埃莉诺似乎与一个最近刚来过德文郡的年轻人之间有恋情。

“他姓费拉尔斯，”约翰爵士低声说，却让大家都听到，“这可是个天大的秘密。”

“费拉尔斯！”年长的斯蒂尔小姐把这个名字重复了一遍，“费拉尔斯先生？是你嫂子的哥哥吗，达什伍德小姐？他是个非常讨人喜欢的小伙子，我们跟他很熟。”

“你怎么能这么说呢，安妮？”露西嚷道，她姐姐说什么她都会纠正，“我们只是叔叔家见过他一两次而已。”

埃莉诺十分吃惊。这个叔叔是谁？他住在哪里？他们是如何认识爱德华的？她非常希望沿着这个话题继续谈下去，但是她们没再多说，而她也不想追问。

在接下来的几天里，露西利用一切机会跟埃莉诺交谈。她天资聪颖，说话时常很风趣，作为一起聊上半个小时的伴儿，埃莉诺觉得她还是挺好的。但是她对书籍、音乐和绘画一无所知，尽管她一直努力装出很懂的样子。埃莉诺同情她缺乏教育，但同时又讨厌她的不真诚、不诚实和她言行背后那狭隘的自私自利。

有一天她俩一起散步的时候，露西说：“你肯定会觉得我的问题很奇怪，你认识你嫂子的母亲费拉尔斯夫人吗？”

埃莉诺确实觉得这个问题很奇怪。“我没见过她。”她回答，口气有一点儿冷漠。

“那么你无法告诉我她是什么样的人喽？”

“我不能，”埃莉诺回答，小心翼翼地不把她对费拉尔斯母亲的真实看法透露出来，“我对她一无所知。”

露西两眼紧盯埃莉诺。“我希望我能够告诉你——我希望你相信我既不好奇也不想无礼，”她迟疑了一下，“我真的希望你对我有个好印象。我确信我一点儿也不害怕信任你，事实上我很乐意听你的建议。我的处境实在让人难受！我很遗憾你不认识费拉尔斯夫人。”

“我也很遗憾，”埃莉诺惊讶地说，“如果知道我对她的看法对你有任何帮助的话。但是我从来都不知道你跟那个家族有任何关系。”

“你的惊讶并不让我吃惊。费拉尔斯夫人目前跟我没有任何关系，但是也许有一天我们会成为亲戚。”她一边说一边羞涩地低下头，很快地用余光瞟了埃莉诺一眼。

“天哪！”埃莉诺说，“你是什么意思？结亲——与罗伯特·费拉尔斯先生吗？”想到要有这么一个妯娌她可不觉得高兴。

“不，”露西回答，“不是与罗伯特·费拉尔斯先生——我从来没有见过他——而是，”她双眼盯着埃莉诺说，“与他的哥哥，爱德华。”

埃莉诺吃惊地默默望着露西。

“你一定很吃惊，”露西继续说，“因为他肯定不曾向你的家人提起过这件事。这是个很大的秘密，除了安妮外我家的人都不知道。如果我不是完全信任你的话，我也不会告诉你。我认为应该向你解释一下我为什么问起费拉尔斯夫人。我知道费拉尔斯先生听说我告诉你这件事后不会不高兴的，因为他对你们全家都有很好的印象，并把你和达什伍德家的其他几位小姐看作他自己的姐妹。”

埃莉诺努力使自己用平静的口吻讲话。“能告诉我你们订婚多久了吗？”

“我们已经订婚四年了。”

“四年了！”埃莉诺仍然感到难以置信。

“我姐姐和我经常住叔叔家里，就在德文郡，靠近普利茅斯。爱德华在那里学了四年法律，于是我们相遇并且订了婚。就像你能想象的那样，我非常不情愿在没有得到他母亲同意的情况下与他订婚，但是那时我太年轻，而且实在是太爱他了，以至于我没有保持应有的谨慎。亲爱的爱德华！你看，我无论到哪儿都带着他的画像。”

她从口袋里拿出一幅小小的画像给埃莉诺看。认出爱德华的脸的同时，埃莉诺完全相信了露西的话。

“你无法想象我所受的煎熬，”露西继续说，“一切都是那么不确定，我们见面的次数又那么少！我甚至怀疑我的心已经碎了。”说到这里她抬手挡住了眼睛，但是埃莉诺却没有感到一丝同情。

“有时候，”露西补充说，“我觉得解除婚约或许对我俩都更好。”她双眼紧盯着埃莉诺，“但是一想到这会让他痛苦，我就承受不了。而且我那么喜欢他。你会建议我怎么做呢，达什伍德小姐？”

“在这种情况下恐怕我给不了你任何建议。你必须自己决定。”

“可怜的爱德华！他母亲总有一天得供养他，可他自己对未来是如此悲观。你不认为他最近来巴顿的时候很不开心吗？”

“的确如此。”埃莉诺说，她意识到这又为露西的话找到了证据。

“他此前一直跟我们一起住在我叔叔家里。他只能待不到两周，又看到我那么难过，为此他心里也很不好受。他的情绪现在还是没有好转。我离开埃克塞特之前收到他的一封信。”说着，她从口袋里拿出一封信朝埃莉诺挥了一下。

埃莉诺认出了爱德华的笔迹。由此她不得不最终认定他们一定是已经订婚了。她的心凉了。

“可怜的爱德华甚至连我的画像都没有，”露西继续说，“尽管我有他的画像。但是我最近给了他一束头发，他把它缠在戒指上，他说那对他来说是些许的慰藉。也许你注意到了他的戒指？”

“是的。”埃莉诺说。她的声音很镇定，但是那镇定下隐藏了她平生最大的忧愁。她感到十分震惊、困惑和痛苦。

她们之间的谈话到此结束了，埃莉诺独自一人留在那里陷入了沉思。她确信爱德华的感情仍然属于她。他肯定是爱她的，而且从来不曾有意欺骗她。不幸的是，他现在被早先的愚蠢婚约绑住了，对方漂亮但虚伪、粗俗而自私，只看重他未来的收入。埃莉诺的眼泪更多的是为爱德华而非她自己而流。她已经失去了跟他在一起共享幸福的机会，但是她只会难过一段时间，而他这一生却没有任何指望了。

在接下来的几天中，埃莉诺小心翼翼地隐藏她的苦恼。让她感到欣慰的是，她向家人隐瞒了爱德华令人吃惊的秘密婚约，因为她知道她们的关怀和悲伤只会加重她的痛苦。在方便的时候，她会跟露西悄悄地再回到这个话题上。她得知露西决心坚持与爱德华的婚约，而且露西嫉妒她，因为爱德华总是毫不掩示地带着爱慕的口吻谈论她。的确，露西向埃莉诺吐露她的秘密无非是警告她跟爱德华保持距离，除此之外还能有什么其他的理由呢？

埃莉诺十分难过地意识到爱德华不但对他未来的妻子毫无感情，甚至没有在这份婚姻中获得什么幸福的机会。