【荆棘鸟】第五章 03

 the moment her heels touched the ground he released her, took her mount's reins 1 in his hand and walked on, the lady beside him, matching his stride effortlessly. "Will you win the Hunting, Miss Carmichael?" he asked in tones of utter indifference 2.
She pouted 3; she was young and very beautiful, and that curious impersonal 4 quality of his piqued 5 her. "I hope to win, but I can't be sure. Miss Hopeton and Mrs. Anthony King both compete. However, I shall win the Dressage, so if I don't win the Hunting I shan't repine."
She spoke 6 with beautifully rounded vowels 7, and with the oddly stilted 8 phraseology of a young lady so carefully reared and educated there was not a trace of warmth or idiom left to color her voice. As he spoke to her Father Ralph's own speech became more pear shaped, and quite lost its beguiling 9 hint of Irishness; as if she brought back to him a time when he, too, had been like this. Meggie frowned, puzzled and affected 10 by their light but guarded words, not knowing what the change in Father Ralph was, only knowing there was a change, and not one to her liking 11. She let go Frank's hand, and indeed it had become difficult for them to continue walking abreast 12. By the time they came to a wide puddle 13 Frank had fallen behind them. 
Father Ralph's eyes danced as he surveyed the water, almost a shallow pond; he turned to the child whose hand he had kept in his firmly, and bent 14 down to her with a special tenderness the lady could not mistake, for it had been entirely 15 lacking in his civil exchanges with her. "I wear no cloak, darling Meggie, so I can't be your Sir Walter Raleigh. I'm sure you'll excuse me, my dear Miss Carmichael"-the reins were passed to the lady. I can't permit my favorite girl to muddy her shoes, now can I?" He picked Meggie up and tucked her easily against his hip 16, leaving Miss Carmichael to collect her heavy trailing skirts in one hand, the reins in her other, and splash her way across unaided. The sound of Frank's hoot 17 of laugher just behind them didn't improve her temper; on the far side of the puddle she left them abruptly 18.
"I do believe she'd kill you if she could," Frank said as Father Ralph put Meggie down. He was fascinated by this encounter and by Father Ralph's deliberate cruelty. She had seemed to Frank so beautiful and so haughty 19 that no man could gainsay 20 her, even a priest, yet Father Ralph had wantonly set out to shatter her faith in herself, in that heady femininity she wielded 21 like a weapon. As if the priest hated her and what she stood for, Frank thought, the world of women, an exquisite 22 mystery ,he had never had the opportunity to plumb 23. 
 

她的脚跟刚一沾地，他便撒开了手，把她那匹坐骑的缰绳拿在手中，往前走去。那姑娘和他比肩而行，毫不费力地大步跟着他。
　　"卡迈克尔小姐，赛马你会夺标吗？"他用极其冷淡的声调问道。
　　她一撅嘴：她时当韶年，貌美容沦，他那叫人难以捉摸的、超凡脱俗的脾性使她恼火。我希望能赢，可是我没把握。霍普顿小姐和安东妮·金太太也都参加比赛、不过， 盛装舞步我能赢，所以，要是赢不了赛马，我也不会发牢骚。"
　　她说话时，那圆润的元音非常悦耳，满口是一个经过精心培养教育的年轻小姐的妙语隽言，她的嗓音中没有丝毫兴奋的土语的痕迹。拉尔夫神父和她说话的时候，他自己的声音也变得圆润起来，连那令人悦娱的淡淡的爱尔兰味儿也没有了；仿佛她把引回了他也同样有过的岁月之中去了。听着他们轻松但却谨慎的措词；梅吉感到达惑不解；她皱起了眉头，不知道拉尔夫神父身上起了什么变化，而只知道他有了变化，而且是她不喜欢的变化。她松开了弗兰克的手，确实，这情形使他们继续并肩而行变得别扭起来了。
　　这时，他们来到了一个宽阔的水坑关，弗兰克已经落在了他们的后边。拉尔夫神父望了望水面，他的目光在闪动着。这水坑几乎是个浅塘，他转向了一直紧紧地和他拉着手的孩子，带着一种特别温柔的表情向她弯下腰去，这是那位小姐决不会看错的，因为在他和她的彬彬有礼的交谈中，根本就没有这种柔情。
　　"我没有穿披风来，亲爱的梅吉，因此我不能当你的活尔特·雷利爵士。亲爱的卡迈克尔小姐，我相信你会原谅我的，"--他把缰绳递还给了那位小姐--"我不能让我最喜爱的姑娘弄上满鞋泥浆，对吗？"
　　他抱起了梅吉，毫不费力地把她背在背上，听任卡迈克尔小姐一手捉着她那笨重的、拖到地面的裙子，一手拉着缰绳，在没人帮一把的情况下，溅着泥水走过水坑。弗兰克在他们的后面失声笑出来，这笑声真是火上浇油；到了水坑的对面，她马上便离开了他们，扬长而去。
　　"我打心眼里相信，要是她能够的话，她会宰了你。"在拉尔夫神父把梅吉放下时，弗兰克说道。这次邂逅相逢，以及拉尔夫神父处心积虑的狠心的做法真是使他开心极了。在弗兰克的眼中，她长得如花似玉，一身傲气，似乎没有一个男人会怠慢她的，哪怕是一位神父；可是，拉尔夫神父却肆无忌惮地粉碎了她的自信心，粉碎了她当作武器来使用的迷人美女的法宝。弗兰克觉得，神父似乎讨厌她；并讨厌她所代表的所有女人，这是一个他还没有机会领略过的微妙而又神秘的天地。