Chapter 3 Part II 11-15

11 She wrote a note: "Please meet me, it's urgent." With it she walked outside Charlie's office.A Chinese boy told her to wait, and after a while he came out and said that Mr. Tang Sheng would see her in five minutes.She was nervous for a while for no apparent reason, and then was invited into Charlie's office.He came forward to shake her hand, and when the door closed after the boy had gone out, leaving the two of them alone in the room, his amiable countenance vanished. "I said, my dearest, how can you come here during working hours? I'm so busy right now. Besides, we can't leave people talking."

Her beautiful eyes followed him for a moment, and then she tried to smile, but her lips seemed to freeze, unable to do so. "I won't come unless I have to." He smiled and took her arm. "Well, since you're here, come and sit down." The room was undecorated and not spacious, although the ceiling was high.Two terracotta patterns were roughly plastered on the walls.The only furniture in the room is a large desk, a swivel chair dedicated to Tang Sheng, and a leather sofa chair for guests to sit on.Katie felt uncomfortable sitting in the sofa chair.He sits at his desk and wears a pair of glasses.This was the first time Katie had seen him wearing glasses, and she hadn't known he used them before.He noticed her staring at his glasses and took them off.

"I only use glasses when I'm reading," he said. Her tears flowed out involuntarily, and she cried out without knowing why.She didn't mean to show it to Charlie, but she instinctively wanted to arouse his sympathy.He looked at her puzzled. "What's wrong? Uh, honey, don't cry." She took out her handkerchief and covered her face to keep herself from sobbing.He rang the bell, and when the boy was waiting at the door, he went and opened the door. "If anyone finds me, tell me I'm out." "Okay, sir." The boy closed the door.Charlie sat down on the arm of the sofa and put his arm around Katie's shoulders.

"Now, Katie baby, tell me what happened." "Walter wants a divorce," she said. She felt the arms around her loosen.His body froze immediately.There was a silence in the room, and then Townsend got up from the arm of her chair and sat back in his swivel chair. "What exactly do you mean?" he asked. His voice was hoarse, and she looked at him immediately.His face was faintly red. "I had a conversation with him. I came straight from home. He said he had the evidence he wanted." "You didn't admit it, did you? You didn't admit anything, did you?"

Her heart sank. "No," she replied. "You really didn't admit it?" he said, staring at her intently. "Really." She lied again. He leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at a map of China hanging on the opposite wall.She watched him anxiously, and his reaction to the news was beyond her expectations.She had thought at first that he would take her in his arms and tell her that she was thankful that they would finally be fair and never part.But guys are often very funny and purposely keep you in doubt.She wept softly, this time not to win sympathy, which should be taken for granted according to the situation.

"We're in trouble," he said after a long time, "but it's no use being self-conscious. Crying won't do us any good now, you know." She noticed a little irritation in his tone, and immediately wiped away her tears. "It wasn't my fault, Charlie. There's nothing I can do about it." "Of course you can't do anything about it. It's just our bad luck. If it's your fault, then I'm not immune to it either. What we have to do now is to find a way to put this matter to rest. I think you are as absolute as I am. I don't want a divorce."

She took a deep breath and looked at him sharply.But his mind was not on her at all. "I'm wondering what his so-called evidence is. I think it's difficult for him to prove that we were all in that room. After all, we were careful where we should be careful. I can be sure that the old man in the antique shop will not betray us. Even if Walter saw us go into the antique shop, there's no reason why we shouldn't be hunting for antiques together." He was not so much talking to her as he was talking to himself. "It's easy to accuse Zhiluo, but it's hard to prove it. Any lawyer you meet will tell you that. We have only one way, and we deny it. If he threatens to see you in court, then we tell him to go to hell, and we will stay with you until the end." .”

"I can't go to court, Charlie." "Why don't you go? I'm afraid you must. I don't want to make a fuss, for God's sake, but we can't keep it down." "Why do we have to deny it?" "What a strange question. Well, after all, it's not just about you, it's about me as well. But after all, I don't think you need to worry about it. We'll definitely manage to win over your husband. My only concern is How to figure out the best way to go about it." He seemed to realize something, and turned his face towards her, showing a charming smile, and his tone of voice, which was still blunt and cold just now, became kind and amiable.

"I'm afraid you're frightened, poor little woman. It's too bad for you." He held out his arms towards her and put them around her. "We're in a mess, but there's no doubt we'll get out of it. It's not..." He paused, and Katie suspected he was saying that this wasn't the first time he'd gotten away with it. "The most important thing is to keep a cool head. You know I never let you down." "I'm not afraid. I don't care what he does." His smile didn't change, but it seemed forced. "If it got too far, I would go to my lord governor. No doubt he would be very angry with me, but he was a soft-spoken man. He had a lot of experience in the world, and he would help me to calm it down. If something happened Scandal, and he doesn't have a good face."

"What can he do?" Katie asked. "He will put pressure on Walter. If he doesn't understand the governor, the governor will make him understand the meaning of power." Katie was taken aback.She worried that Charlie would never understand the seriousness of the matter.He was still playing smart, which made her anxious.She regretted coming to see him in the office.The environment here makes her timid.If she was curled up in his arms with her arms around his neck, she could say whatever she wanted to say. "You don't know Walter," she said. "I know that every man has his own interests to look out for."

She loved Charlie with all her heart, but his answer overwhelmed her, because it didn't seem like a wise man should say something. "I don't think you realize how angry Walter is. You haven't seen his face, or his eyes." He paused for a moment without answering, just looked at her with a slight smile.She guessed what was going on in his mind.As a bacteriologist, Walter's position in the government agency was not high, and he definitely did not dare to cause trouble for senior colonial officials. "Charlie, you are deluding yourself," she said earnestly. "If Walter decides to go to court, you, I, and everyone else know that it is impossible to have any influence at all." His face darkened again. "Did he deliberately want me to make a fool of myself?" "At first yes. Finally I managed to get him to agree to divorce me." "Uh, well, it doesn't look too bad." His expression relaxed, and she saw the relief in his eyes. "In my opinion, this is an ideal way out. In any case, men will always have this trick. If you want to step down for yourself, you can only do this." "But he has conditions." He cast a questioning look at her, and at the same time seemed to realize something. "Although I'm not a rich man, I will find a way to meet his price." Katie was silent.Everything Charlie said was unexpected and left her speechless.She would have liked to fall into his sweet arms, with her cheeks hot against his chest, and tell him the truth in one breath. "He agreed to divorce me on condition that your wife promises that she will divorce you too." "anything else?" She found it difficult to speak. "And...it's hard to say, Charlie, it sounds incredible...if you promise to marry me within a week of the divorce papers coming into force." 12 He was silent for a moment, then took her hand again and held it tenderly. "You know, dear," he said, "whatever happens we shouldn't involve Dorothy in it." She looked at him blankly. "But I don't understand. How can it not be involved?" "Well, we can't just think of ourselves in this world. You know, some things carry equal weight. I'd love to marry you more than anything else. But it's impossible. I know Dorothy, She won't divorce me anyway." Katie was terrified, and she started crying again.He got up from his chair and sat down beside her, putting an arm around her waist. "Don't let this bother you anymore, dear. We have to stay sane." "I thought you loved me..." "Of course I love you," he said softly. "I don't allow you to have any doubts about that." "If she won't divorce you, Walter will ruin your reputation." After waiting for a long time, he spoke again, his voice hoarse and dry. "Of course, that might ruin my career. But I'm more worried that you'll be hurt by it too. If it got to the point of no return, I'd tell Dorothy exactly. She'd be hurt." , heartbroken, but she will forgive me." He had a plan, "It might be a good idea to cut the mess quickly. If she would go and talk to your husband, I'm sure she would convince him to keep it Tongue." "Does that mean you don't want to divorce her?" "Well, I've got to think about my kids too, don't I? And honestly, I don't want to make her sad. We've always had a pretty good relationship. She's a good wife and mother in my opinion, and you Know." "I remember you telling me she was nothing in your eyes." "I never said that. I just said I didn't love her. We haven't slept together in years, except occasionally, like Christmas, like the day before she came back to England, and the day she just came back. time. She's not a woman for that kind of thing. We're wonderful friends, though. I'm not afraid to tell you that I depend on her more than anyone can imagine." "Don't you think it would have been wiser not to touch me in the first place?" It was strange how she could keep such a calm tone when she was almost suffocated by terror. "You're the cutest little thing I've seen in ages. I'm in love with you without a doubt. You can't blame me for that." "But anyway, you said you would never let me down." "Oh, my God, I don't want to disappoint you. We're in a dire situation, and I'm going to do everything I can to get you out of here." "Except for the obvious way." "Honey, you have to be sensible. We have to be honest. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I have to tell you the truth. I give my all to my career. No one can say that one day I won't be Governor. Governor of the Colonies is such a depressing position. I have no chance unless we get this thing down. While I may not be disgraced by it, I will always be stained with it .If I leave the officialdom, I can only do business and make money in this part of China, which is the only place I know best. But in either case, my choice will be to have Dorothy by my side." "Is it necessary for you to tell me that you don't want anyone else in this world except me?" The corners of his mouth drooped coldly. "Uh, honey, when a man falls in love with you, he can't take every word he says seriously." "You didn't take it seriously at all?" "I meant it at the time." "Then what would happen to me if Walter divorced me?" "If we have tried our best, but things still backfire, we can only resign ourselves to fate. This matter will never be full of storms. Nowadays, the world is open, and few people will make irresponsible remarks." For the first time she missed her mom.She shivered and looked at Tang Sheng again.At this time, she was not only in pain, but also resented him more. "It seems that if you were to experience what I have to suffer, you probably wouldn't even blink your eyes," she said. "If all we're going to do is cynicize each other like this, don't hope it gets any better," he replied. She wept bitterly.It was appalling that she loved him with all her heart, and now she was full of resentment towards him.He had no idea what he meant to her. "Uh, Charlie, don't you know how much I love you?" "Come on, honey, I love you. But we're not living on a deserted island, we're bound by social ties. You need to be sensible." "How can I be rational? For me, love is everything, and you are my everything. But it turns out to be just a small episode for you, how can I bear it?" "Of course it wasn't an episode. But if you want me to marry you at the cost of ruining my career, leaving a wife I've trusted so much, it's beyond my imagination." "If it were me, I would." "Your situation is vastly different from mine." "The only difference is that you don't love me." "Just because a man loves a woman deeply doesn't mean he wants to spend the rest of his life with her." Her eyes flicked to him quickly.She was in total despair, and big tears rolled down her cheeks. "Ugh, that's cruel. How can you be so heartless?" She sobbed hysterically, and he had a quick glance at the door. "My dear, don't do this, you have to control yourself." "You don't know how much I love you," she gasped. "I can't live without you. Don't you have any pity for me?" She couldn't go on any more, and sobbed with all her heart. "I'm by no means heartless and unjust. As God bears witness, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but I must tell you the truth." "My life is ruined. Why can't you stay away from me and stop pursuing me? What did I do to you?" "If it would do you any good to just blame me, then so be it." Katie was furious. "Is it because I fell in love with you back then? Is it because if you don't accept my love, I will let you never have peace?" "I didn't say that. But one thing I know for sure, if you hadn't made it clear to me that you wanted to have sex with me, I wouldn't have dreamed of it." Uh, what a shame!But she knew he was telling the truth.At this time, his face was gloomy and anxious, his hands moved uncomfortably, and he cast irritated glances at her from time to time. "Will your husband forgive you?" he asked after a while. "I didn't ask him." He clenched his fist subconsciously.She saw that he seemed to cry out, but only moved his lips twice, and pressed it down again. "You'd better talk to him again, and see if he will be merciful. If he loves you as much as you say, he will forgive you." "You don't know him too well!" 13 She wiped away her tears and tried to calm herself down. "Charlie, if you leave me alone, I'm going to die." She had hoped to excite his pity.She should have confessed to him long ago.When she had just told him the life-and-death choice she was facing, she should have thrown out this trump card.In this way, his magnanimity, his sense of justice, and his manliness must all be aroused, and he must first consider her dangerous situation with a deep sense of righteousness.Oh, how she longed for his sweet, strong arms now! "Walter wants me to go to Meitan Mansion." "Huh? There's cholera in there, the worst plague in fifty years. It's not a woman's place. You can't go there." "If you leave me alone, then I have no choice but to go there." "What do you mean by that? I didn't understand." "Walter will soon be replacing the dead church doctor. He wants me to go with him." "when?" "Now. Going now." Townsend stood up, pushed back his chair, and looked at her in bewilderment. "Maybe I'm stupid, I can't seem to understand what you just said. If he meant you to accompany him to that place, what about the divorce?" "He asked me to choose one of the two. Either I go to Meitan, or he will go to court." "Uh, I understand." Tang Sheng's tone changed subtly, "I think he is quite courageous now, what do you think?" "remarkably brave?" "Well, to him it's his bloody field exercise to go there. I never dared to think about it. Of course, when he comes back, he'll be a Lord of St. Michael and St. George without fail. .” "But what do I do, Charlie?" she cried in agony. "Well, if he means to ask you to go with him, I see no reason in the present circumstances for you to refuse." "To go is to die. I must die." "Well, nothing, it's just exaggeration. If that's the case, he wouldn't have the heart to take you there. You won't be in any greater danger than he is. Realistically, you'll be fine if you just be careful." It's all right. When I first arrived in Hong Kong, there was a cholera outbreak here too? As a result, I didn't even hurt a hair. The key is not to eat undercooked things, and don't touch unclean fruits and salads , and the same is true for others. Also, be sure to drink boiled water.” The more he talked, the more energetic he became, and he kept talking endlessly.The gloominess dissipated, it became concentrated, and later it became clear and light-hearted. "It's his job, after all, isn't it? Bugs are his hobby. Think for him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him." "But me, Charlie?" she repeated, not pain but surprise. "Well, the best way to understand a man's mind is to put yourself in his shoes. To him, you're like a naughty brat, and he's going to take you back to safety now I always thought he had no intention of getting a divorce, he never gave me that impression. But he made a magnanimous decision and you refused to accept it, which must have disappointed him. I don't mean to blame you, but look at For all of us, you should reconsider this matter." "But don't you see that's going to kill me? Don't you see that he took me because he knew I was going to die?" "Uh, my dear, don't be silly. We are in a very difficult situation now, and it's not the time to make things out of nothing and express emotions indiscriminately." "You didn't intend to think about it like this at all." Her heart ached.The pain combined with the fear of death almost made her scream. "You can't tell me to die. Even if you don't love me, you don't pity me, but you should feel like a normal person, right?" "I think it is harsh of me to make this comment. As far as I understand it, your husband has set an example of heroism and generosity. He has made up his mind to forgive you if you give him the chance. He will take you Go, and the chances are that in a few months, you won't be that mischievous kid left unattended. I don't have to exaggerate to say that Meitan is a health resort like no other Chinese city I've ever been to. nickname. But you can’t be afraid of it because of it. In fact, you’re making the biggest mistake. I believe that in a plague, as many people die from fear as from disease.” "But I do. I almost fainted when Walter mentioned it." "In the beginning I'm sure you'll be taken aback, but once you're able to face it calmly, you'll be fine. It's an experience that not everyone has." "I thought, I thought..." She hesitated painfully.He stopped talking, and his face darkened again, and only now did Katie understand why it was so dark.Katie stopped crying.Her tears had dried up, and her mood became unusually calm.Although her voice was low, her tone was firm and steady. "You want me to go?" "There's no other choice, is there?" "yes?" "I don't think it's fair not to tell you that if your husband ends up going to court to file for a divorce and wins, then I have no intention of marrying you either." He seemed to have waited a century for her answer.She stood up slowly. "I don't think my husband ever really wanted to take this to court." "In God's name, why are you scaring me with this?" he asked. She looked at him coldly. "He knew you would abandon me." She fell silent.She was vaguely aware of something.It's like when you are learning a certain foreign language, you don't know what to say after reading a page of the article; until a word or a sentence inspires you, you seem to understand the meaning of the whole article. mean.She vaguely grasped Walter's plot—like a dark and hazy scene at night, illuminated by a flash of lightning, and then returned to darkness again.She trembled with horror at what she saw in that split second. "He only made that threat because it would drive you to a dead end, Charlie. I'm amazed that he's so right about you. It's really his style to wake me up in the face of the hard truth. " Charlie looked down at a sheet of blotting paper on the table.His brows were slightly wrinkled, his lips were tightly closed, and he didn't say anything. "He understands that you are vain, timid, and self-seeking. He is telling me to see you clearly with my own eyes. He knows that you will jump the wall in a hurry. He knows that I always thought you loved me, but it was me who made a stupid mistake." Wrong. He knew that you would never love anyone but yourself. He knew that you would sacrifice me mercilessly in order to save yourself." "If it would satisfy you to abuse me, I don't think I have a right to complain. Women have always been intolerant, and in their eyes men are always on the wrong side. The other side is not innocent and blameless. .” She paid no heed to what he said. "And now I know everything he knows. I know you're heartless and heartless. You're selfish beyond words. You're a coward, a liar, a vile man. And sadly... ..." Her face contorted suddenly with pain, "The sad thing is that I still love you with all my heart." "Katie." She gave a wry smile.What a nice voice he called her, soft and soft, coming out naturally, but full of bullshit. "You idiot," she said. He took a step back, flushed and annoyed by her words.He wasn't sure what she meant by that.She glanced at him, her eyes seemed to be deliberately teasing him. "You're starting to hate me, aren't you? Well, hate me. It doesn't matter to me now." She put on gloves. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Well, don't worry, it won't hurt a hair on you. You'll be fine." "For God's sake, stop talking in that tone, Katie," he responded, his voice low and anxious. "You have to understand that it's about you and it's about me. I'm very upset about how things are going. What will you tell your husband when you go back?" "I will tell him that I am going to Meitan Mansion with him." "Maybe once you agree, he won't force you to go." As soon as he finished speaking, she looked at him with a strange expression on her face.He couldn't figure it out for a moment. "Are you not afraid?" he asked her. "No," she said. "You gave me the courage. Going into a cholera-infested zone would be an experience like no other, and if I die...well, I'll die." "I've always wanted to be good to you." She looked at him again, tears welled up in her eyes again, and her heart was filled with some emotion.She almost couldn't help but want to pounce on his chest again and kiss his lips frantically.However, this is of no avail. "If you want to know," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "I don't think I'll ever come back alive. I'm terrified. I don't know what's going on in that unfathomable head of Walter's. I'm shaking with fear. But I think maybe death is a relief." .” She felt that any further delay would break her nerves, and she got up and walked quickly towards the door.Before he could get out of the chair, she closed the door and left.Tang Chang let out a long sigh of relief. What he wants most now is brandy and soda water. 14 Walter was still there when she got home.She would have gone straight to her room, but Walter was downstairs in the drawing-room giving orders to a boy.She was already disheartened, and she was not afraid of encountering the humiliation that was bound to come this time.She stopped and faced him. "I'll go there with you," she said. "Uh, good." "When do you want me to be ready?" "Tomorrow evening." His absent-minded tone stabbed her like a spear.She suddenly had the courage not to know where it came from, and said something that surprised even herself. "Presumably I only need to bring some summer clothes and buy a shroud, isn't it?" She watched his expression and knew that this frivolous remark had angered him. "I've already told your servant what you need to bring." She nodded and went upstairs to her room.She is too weak. They were finally reaching their destination.These days, they have been carried by sedan chairs day and night along a narrow causeway lined by rice fields as far as the eye can see.At dawn they packed up and set off, until the scorching heat at noon forced them to stop and get into a small shop by the roadside to rest.After a short while, they have to leave immediately and arrive at a small town before the sun goes down. According to the plan, this small town is where they will spend the night.Katie's sedan chair went first, followed by Walter.Behind them is a row of sweaty hard laborers, who are responsible for carrying bedding, daily household items and Walter's research equipment.Katie was dismissive of the country scene.During the long journey, the heart-wrenching scene in Charlie's office tormented her.Along the way, I seldom heard people talking, that is, a porter occasionally uttered a word or two, or someone opened his throat and sang a ditty.She went over her conversation with Charlie from beginning to end, and thought sadly that they had had a dull and heartless conversation.She didn't say a word that she was going to spit out quickly, and the original lovable words disappeared.If she could convince him how much she loves him, how much she desires him, and how much she needs him, he will definitely cherish him and not abandon him.She was stunned at the time, and when his words made it clear that he didn't want to care about her at all, she wondered if she had heard it wrong.This can also explain why she didn't cry loudly at that time, she seemed to be terrified.From then on, she wept bitterly and secretly, and never stopped. If it was an overnight stay at an inn, where she shared a superior room with Walter, and her husband lay sleepless in a camp bed a few steps away from her, she would bite the pillow with her teeth to keep herself from falling asleep. Cry a little.In the daytime, because of the gauze curtain of the sedan chair, she would shed her tears unscrupulously.The pain she felt was so severe that she wanted to tear out her throat and scream at any moment.She had never imagined that a human being could suffer so horribly, and she asked herself in despair what wrong thing had caused her to suffer.Why Charlie didn't love her puzzled her.According to her guess, she should have made some mistake.However, she has tried her best to please him.They have always been sweet and harmonious when they are together, laughing and laughing.They are not just lovers, but close friends.She doesn't understand.Her heart is broken.She told herself she hated Charlie and despised him.But thinking about how she would live if she never saw Charlie again in this life.If Walter had brought her to Meitan Mansion to punish her, then he had miscalculated.Now that her heart is ashamed, what else is there to be afraid of?She couldn't live for a moment.However, it seems too cruel to die at the young age of twenty-seven. 15 Walter could not stop reading his book as the steamboat sailed up the West River.When it was time to eat, he would try to chat with her.He talked about insignificant trifles, as if she were a lady he had never met on a trip with him.It seemed to Katie that he spoke only as a gentleman's courtesy, or to remind her of the unbridgeable gulf between them. At first she thought that Walter would forgive her in time.However, with her charm, let this matter be over, she is still a little too confident.Big water can't quench the fire of love. If he loves her, he will soften his heart sooner or later, and he will continue to love her irresistibly.She wasn't so sure about that, however.At night when he was sitting on the straight-backed black wooden chair of the inn reading, the light from the horse lantern hit his face, and she was able to observe him carefully.She was lying on a straw mat that had already been called a bed, and the light could not shine on her, so there was no need to worry about being noticed by him.The flat lines of his face gave him a serious expression, and it was impossible to squeeze a sweet smile from this face.He read the book calmly, as if she didn't exist at all.She saw him turn a page, his eyes wandering back and forth across the pages.It seemed he wasn't thinking wildly.When the table was set and supper was brought in, he put away his book and glanced at her (he hadn't realized how striking his expression was in the light).It was a look of disgust that scared her out of her wits.Yes, she was too frightened, had his love disappeared?Is he really planning to kill her?That's ridiculous, that's the behavior of a madman.Walter might have gone mad, and she shuddered at the uncanny thought. The bearers who had been silent for a long time suddenly made a noise, and one of them said a word to her and gestured to get her attention.She could not understand what he said, but following his gestures, she saw an arch rising up the hillside.She had seen many such arches since she had come ashore, and she knew now that they were dedicated to some blessed sage or chaste widow.But this one is a bit different, it forms a beautiful silhouette in front of the gradually setting sun.Yet somehow it gave her a sense of foreboding.It seemed to have some special meaning, but what it was she couldn't say.It stood there, a vague threat, or a mockery of her?They walked into a bamboo forest.Pieces of bamboo grew crookedly for some reason, pressing down obliquely on the causeway, as if trying to block her way.There was no wind in the summer evening, but the green and slender bamboo leaves seemed to be shaking slightly, as if someone was hiding in the bamboo forest, watching her pass by.They finally reached the foot of the mountain, and the rice fields were gone.The bearers circled back and forth, because the mountain was covered with mounds of weeds.They are close together one by one, and at first glance they look like a sandy beach after low tide.She knew what kind of place it was, and every time she came to a densely populated town, she had to pass through such a place before entering the city and after leaving the city.This is a cemetery.Now she understood why the bearers wanted her to see the arch on the top of the mountain. Their destination had been reached. This is a bungalow, she went straight to the living room.When she sat down, the slaves were carrying things into the yard.Walter remained in the yard giving orders to the gang, telling them to put this thing here and that thing there.She was exhausted from exhaustion when she heard a strange voice, which startled her. "May I come inside?" She blushed for a moment, then paled again.Her nerves are too sensitive, and she will be confused for a while when she sees a stranger.Only one shaded lamp was lit in the huge room, so at first the appearance of the visitor was unclear, but when the person came up to him, Katie recognized that it was a man.He held out his hand to her. "My name is Waddington, and I am the Assistant Commissioner here." “呃，是海关的。我知道。此前已经听说你在这里。” 借着昏暗的灯光，她大致看出这是一个身材瘦小的人，和她个头差不多高，头已经秃顶，脸偏小，干干净净没留胡子。 “我就住在山脚下。我看你们这样直接上来，一定没有注意到我的家。我猜你们一定已经累坏了，不便邀请你们勉为其难到舍下做客，所以就在这儿点了晚餐，并斗胆不请自来。” “对此我深感荣幸。” “你会发现这儿的厨子手艺不坏。我叫维森的佣人供你们调遣。” “维森就是供职于此地的传教士吧。” “不错。很好的一个人。如果你愿意的话，我明天带你到他的墓地看看。” “非常感谢。”凯蒂微笑着说道。 正在此时瓦尔特走了进来。韦丁顿进屋之前已经和瓦尔特见过面了，他说： “我刚好征得你太太的同意与你们共进晚餐。维森死了以后，我还没找着人正经谈谈话呢。虽然那几个修女也在这儿，但是我的法语不行，而且跟她们聊天的话，除了那么干巴巴的几个话题外再没什么可说的了。” “我已经叫佣人端些喝的来了。”瓦尔特说。 佣人送来了威士忌和苏打水。凯蒂发觉韦丁顿一点也不见外，自顾喝了起来。从他进门之初的言语和动辄咯咯自笑的举动来看，这不是一个十分郑重其事的人。 “能喝上这东西运气真好。”他说道，然后转向了瓦尔特，“这儿是你大展才华的地方。这里的人们跟苍蝇似的成堆地死掉。本地的官儿已经快急疯了，军队的头头余团长，整天忙着叫他的军队别抢老百姓的东西。我看要不再干点儿什么，过不了多久，我们怕是都要把命丢掉了。我叫那群修女离开这儿，但是当然了，她们死也不会走。她们要做烈士，真见了鬼了。” 他用活泼的语调说着，声音里有种愉快的东西叫你不得不一边微笑一边听他讲话。 “你为什么不走？”瓦尔特问道。 “嗯，我的人有一半都已经死了，剩下的随时有可能倒下，然后送了命。总得有人留下收拾后事吧？” “你们没有接种疫苗吗？” “种了。维森给我种的。他也给自己种了，但是那东西没给他带来什么好处，可怜的家伙。”他转向凯蒂，那张逗乐的小脸儿因为兴致高昂而挤出了皱纹。“要是你好好预防的话，我想危险不是很大。牛奶和水一定要煮熟了再喝。别碰新摘的水果，蔬菜要吃煮过的。请问你带了留声机唱片过来吗？” “没有，我想我们没带。”凯蒂说。 “太遗憾了。我一直盼着你能带。好久没有新的了，那几盘老的都叫我听腻了。” 童仆走了进来，问晚饭是否现在开始。 “今天晚上诸位就不用着晚装啦，对不对？”韦丁顿问道，“我那个童仆上个礼拜死了，现在的这个是个白痴，所以我这几天都不换衣服。” “我先去把我的帽子摘了放下。”凯蒂说道。 她的房间紧挨着他们说话的地方。屋子里空荡荡的，没什么家具。一个女佣正跪在地板上，忙着给凯蒂打理包裹，她的旁边放了一盏灯。