I had often wondered why that ill-assorted pair had married, but just that explanation had never occurred to me. That was perhaps the cause of the peculiar quality of Dirk's love for his wife. I had noticed in it something more than passion. I remembered also how I had always fancied that her reserve concealed I knew not what; but now I saw in it more than the desire to hide a shameful secret. Her tranquillity was like the sullen calm that broods over an island which has been swept by a hurricane. Her cheerfulness was the cheerfulness of despair. Strickland interrupted my reflections with an observation the profound cynicism of which startled me.
原先我就一直奇怪，这一对无论从哪一方面讲都不相配的人是怎么凑到一块儿的，但是我从来没有想过竟会是这么一回事。戴尔克对他妻子的爱情与一般夫妻的感情很不相同，原因也许就在这里。我发现他对她的态度有一些超过了热情的东西。我也记得我总是怀疑勃朗什的拘谨沉默可能掩藏着某种我不知道的隐情。现在我明白了，她极力隐藏的远远不止是一个令她感到羞耻的秘密。她的安详沉默就象笼罩着暴风雨侵袭后的岛屿上的凄清宁静。她有时显出了快活的笑脸也是绝望中的强颜欢笑。我的沉思被思特里克兰德的话声打断了，他说了一句非常尖刻的话，使我大吃一惊。
"A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her," he said, "but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account."
“女人可以原谅男人对她的伤害，”他说，“但是永远不能原谅他对她做出的牺牲。”
"It must be reassuring to you to know that you certainly run no risk of incurring the resentment of the women you come in contact with," I retorted.
“你这人是不会引起同你相识的女人恼恨的，这一点你倒可以放心。”我顶了他一句。
A slight smile broke on his lips.
他的嘴角上浮现起一丝笑容。
"You are always prepared to sacrifice your principles for a repartee," he answered.
“你为了反驳别人从来不怕牺牲自己的原则。”他回答说。
"What happened to the child?"
“那个孩子后来怎么样了？”
"Oh, it was still-born, three or four months after they were married."
“流产了，在他们结婚三、四个月之后。”
Then I came to the question which had seemed to me most puzzling.
这时我提出了最使我迷惑不解的那个问题。
"Will you tell me why you bothered about Blanche Stroeve at all?"
“你可以不可以告诉我为什么你要招惹勃朗什·施特略夫？”
He did not answer for so long that I nearly repeated it.
他很久很久没有回答，我几乎想再重复一遍我的问题了。
"How do I know?" he said at last. "She couldn't bear the sight of me. It amused me."
“我怎么知道？”最后他说，“她非常讨厌我，几乎见不得我的面，所以我觉得很有趣。”
"I see."
“我懂了。”
He gave a sudden flash of anger.
他突然一阵怒火上撞。
"Damn it all, I wanted her."
“去他妈的，我需要她。”
But he recovered his temper immediately, and looked at me with a smile.
但是他马上就不生气了，望着我，微微一笑。
"At first she was horrified."
“开始的时候她简直吓坏了。”
"Did you tell her?"
“你对她说明了吗？”
"There wasn't any need. She knew. I never said a word. She was frightened. At last I took her."
“不需要。她知道。我一直没有说一句。她非常害怕。最后我得到了她。”