That night at supper, Scarlett went through the motions of presiding over the table in her mother’s absence, but her mind was in a ferment over the dreadful news she had heard about Ashley and Melanie. —
那天晚饭时，斯嘉丽虽然在母亲不在的情况下装模作样地主持着餐桌，但她的心乱成一团，因为她听到了关于阿什利和梅拉妮的可怕消息。 —

Desperately she longed for her mother’s return from the Slatterys’, for, without her, she felt lost and alone. —
她迫切希望母亲从斯拉特里家回来，因为没有她，她感到迷失和孤独。 —

What right had the Slatterys and their everlasting sickness to take Ellen away from home just at this time when she, Scarlett, needed her so much?
斯拉特里一家和他们那无休止的疾病有什么权利在她最需要母亲的时候将她带走？

Throughout the dismal meal, Gerald’s booming voice battered against her ears until she thought she could endure it no longer. —
在这令人沮丧的餐食中，杰拉尔德的声音一直声嘶力竭地在她耳边轰击，以至于她觉得无法再忍受下去。 —

He had forgotten completely about his conversation with her that afternoon and was carrying on a monologue about the latest news from Fort Sumter, which he punctuated by hammering his fist on the table and waving his arms in the air. —
他完全忘记了下午与她的对话，正在讲述从福特·萨姆特那里获得的最新消息，他用拳头砸着桌子，挥舞着双臂。 —

Gerald made a habit of dominating the conversation at mealtimes, and usually Scarlett, occupied with her own thoughts, scarcely heard him; —
杰拉尔习惯于在餐桌上主导谈话，而斯嘉丽通常在忙着自己的想法，几乎听不到他的声音。 —

but tonight she could not shut out his voice, no matter how much she strained to listen for the sound of carriage wheels that would herald Ellen’s return.
但是今晚她无论怎样努力听着传来的马车声，都无法将他的声音排除在外，这声音已经深深地根植在她的心中，再也无法摆脱。

Of course, she did not intend to tell her mother what was so heavy on her heart, for Ellen would be shocked and grieved to know that a daughter of hers wanted a man who was engaged to another girl. —
当然，她并不打算告诉妈妈她心里沉重的事情，因为如果艾伦知道她为一个已经有了未婚妻的男人而动心，她肯定会感到震惊和伤心。 —

But, in the depths of the first tragedy she had ever known, she wanted the very comfort of her mother’s presence. —
然而，在她经历的第一次重大悲剧的深渊里，她渴望母亲的陪伴，她希望能够感受到母亲在她身边带来的温暖和安慰。 —

She always felt secure when Ellen was by her, for there was nothing so bad that Ellen could not better it, simply by being there.
只要艾伦在身边，她总是感觉安全，因为没有什么事情是艾伦不能帮助她度过的，艾伦的存在本身就能让一切变得更好。

She rose suddenly from her chair at the sound of creaking wheels in the driveway and then sank down again as they went on around the house to the back yard. —
她听到了车道上车轮的嘎吱声，突然从椅子上站了起来，但当车轮声绕过房子转到后院时，她又沉默坐下。 —

It could not be Ellen, for she would alight at the front steps. —
这不可能是艾伦，因为她应该会在前门下车。 —

Then there was an excited babble of negro voices in the darkness of the yard and high-pitched negro laughter. —
然后，黑暗的后院里传来了兴奋的黑人声音和高亢的黑人笑声。 —

Looking out the window, Scarlett saw Pork, who had left the room a moment before, holding high a flaring pine knot, while indistinguishable figures descended from a wagon. —
望着窗外，斯嘉丽看到刚刚离开房间的波克高举着一根燃烧的松木块，而看不清楚的人影从一辆马车上走了下来。 —

The laughter and talking rose and fell in the dark night air, pleasant, homely, carefree sounds, gutturally soft, musically shrill. —
笑声和谈话在黑夜的空气中起伏，愉快、家常、无忧无虑的声音，既柔和地喉音又尖锐地音乐。 —

Then feet shuffled up the back-porch stairs and into the passageway leading to the main house, stopping in the hall just outside the dining room. —
然后脚步踉踉跄跄地走上后门的楼梯，进入通往主楼的走廊，在餐厅外停下来。 —

There was a brief interval of whispering, and Pork entered, his usual dignity gone, his eyes rolling and his teeth a-gleam.
随后是一阵窃窃私语，波克走了进来，他平时的庄严举止不见了，眼睛转动着，牙齿闪亮。

“Mist’ Gerald,” he announced, breathing hard, the pride of a bridegroom all over his shining face, “you’ new ‘oman done come.”
“杰拉尔德先生”，他气喘吁吁地宣布道，兴高采烈的神情在他发亮的脸上， “你的新女人来了。”

“New woman? I didn’t buy any new woman,” declared Gerald, pretending to glare.
“新女人？我没有买新女人，”杰拉尔德假装严厉地说。

“Yassah, you did, Mist’ Gerald! Yassah! An’ she out hyah now wanting ter speak wid you,” answered Pork, giggling and twisting his hands in excitement.
“是的，杰拉尔德先生！是的！她就在外面，想要和你说话”，波克回答道，兴奋地咯咯笑着，手指紧张地扭动着。

“Well, bring in the bride,” said Gerald, and Pork, turning, beckoned into the hall to his wife, newly arrived from the Wilkes plantation to become part of the household of Tara. She entered, and behind her, almost hidden by her voluminous calico skirts, came her twelve-year-old daughter, squirming against her mother’s legs.
“好了，把新娘领进来吧，” 杰拉尔德说道，猪肉转身招手让他的妻子进入大厅，她刚从威尔克斯庄园来到塔拉家族。

Dilcey was tall and bore herself erectly. —
迪尔西身材高大，举止端庄。 —

She might have been any age from thirty to sixty, so unlined was her immobile bronze face. —
她的脸上没有纹路，看起来年龄可能从30岁到60岁都有，如此没有岁月的痕迹。 —

Indian blood was plain in her features, overbalancing the negroid characteristics. —
她的面部特征中可以看出印第安血统，超过了黑人的特征。 —

The red color of her skin, narrow high forehead, prominent cheek bones and the hawk-bridged nose which flattened at the end above thick negro lips, all showed the mixture of two races. —
她皮肤的红色，窄窄的高额头，突出的颧骨和鹰钩鼻，顶部扁平，上面厚厚的黑人嘴唇，这一切都显示了两种种族的混合。 —

She was self-possessed and walked with a dignity that surpassed even Mammy’s, for Mammy had acquired her dignity and Dilcey’s was in her blood.
她很有气质，走路的时候比曼妮的气质还要高贵，因为曼妮是通过修养获得的，而迪尔西的气质是天生的。

When she spoke, her voice was not so slurred as most negroes’ and she chose her words more carefully.
她说话的声音没有大多数黑人那样含糊不清，挑选着自己的字眼。

“Good evenin’, young Misses. Mist’ Gerald, I is sorry to ‘sturb you, but I wanted to come here and thank you agin fo’ buyin’ me and my chile. —
“晚上好，小姐。杰拉德先生，我很抱歉打扰您，但我想来这里再次感谢您为我和我的孩子买单。 —

Lots of gentlemens might a’ bought me but they wouldn’t a’ bought my Prissy, too, jes’ to keep me frum grievin’ and I thanks you. —
很多绅士们可能会买下我，但他们不会也买下我可怜的普里西，只是为了让我不再悲伤，我很感激您。 —

I’m gwine do my bes’ fo’ you and show you I ain’t forgettin’.”
我会尽力为您效劳，向您展示我不会忘记。”

“Hum—hurrump,” said Gerald, clearing his throat in embarrassment at being caught openly in an act of kindness.
“嗯——呵咳，”杰拉德尴尬地清了清嗓子，因为他的善举被人看到了。

Dilcey turned to Scarlett and something like a smile wrinkled the corners of her eyes. —
迪尔西转向斯嘉丽，她的眼角泛起一丝微笑。 —

“Miss Scarlett, Poke done tole me how you ast Mist Gerald to buy me. —
“斯嘉丽小姐，波克告诉我你是怎么要求杰拉德先生买下我的。 —

And so I’m gwine give you my Prissy fo’ yo’ own maid.”
所以，我将给你我的普里西做你的女仆。”

She reached behind her and jerked the little girl forward. —
她伸手从身后拉出一个小女孩。 —

She was a brown little creature, with skinny legs like a bird and a myriad of pigtails carefully wrapped with twine sticking stiffly out from her head. —
她是一个棕色的小家伙，细瘦的腿像鸟一样，头上缠着一束束仔细用麻绳系住的小辫子，从头上硬邦邦地竖了起来。 —

She had sharp, knowing eyes that missed nothing and a studiedly stupid look on her face.
她有着敏锐、不错过任何东西的眼睛，脸上带着一种故意装傻的表情。

“Thank you, Dilcey,” Scarlett replied, “but I’m afraid Mammy will have something to say about that. —
“谢谢你，迪尔西，”斯嘉丽回答道，“但我担心曼妮会有意见。 —

She’s been my maid ever since I was born.”
她自从我出生就一直是我的女佣。”

“Mammy getting ole,” said Dilcey, with a calmness that would have enraged Mammy. “She a good mammy, but you a young lady now and needs a good maid, and my Prissy been maidin’ fo’ Miss India fo’ a year now. —
“曼妮变老了，”迪尔西平静地说道，这番话如果落到曼妮听到会怒火中烧。“她是个好女佣，但你现在是个年轻的小姐，需要个好的女佣，而我的普里茜已经为印度小姐服务了一年。 —

She kin sew and fix hair good as a grown pusson.”
她会缝纫，梳头技术也和大人一样好。”

Prodded by her mother, Prissy bobbed a sudden curtsy and grinned at Scarlett, who could not help grinning back.
在母亲的催促下，普里茜突然躬身行了一个谦恭的屈膝礼，对着斯嘉丽咧嘴一笑，斯嘉丽不禁也咧嘴一笑。

“A sharp little wench,” she thought, and said aloud: —
“一个机灵的小丫头，”她心想，然后大声说道： —

“Thank you, Dilcey, we’ll see about it when Mother comes home.”
“谢谢你，迪尔西，等我妈妈回家后我们再商量吧。”

“Thankee, Ma’m. I gives you a good night,” said Dilcey and, turning, left the room with her child, Pork dancing attendance. —
“谢谢，夫人。晚安，”迪尔西说着转身离开房间，带着她的孩子，猪肉紧随其后。 —

The supper things cleared away, Gerald resumed his oration, but with little satisfaction to himself and none at all to his audience. —
晚餐收拾好后，杰拉尔德继续他的演讲，但对他自己来说没有什么满意的地方，对听众则根本没有意义。 —

His thunderous predictions of immediate war and his rhetorical questions as to whether the South would stand for further insults from the Yankees only produced faintly bored, “Yes, Papas” and “No, Pas.” Carreen, sitting on a hassock under the big lamp, was deep in the romance of a girl who had taken the veil after her lover’s death and, with silent tears of enjoyment oozing from her eyes, was pleasurably picturing herself in a white coif. —
他对即将爆发战争的轰鸣预言以及关于南方是否会继续忍受北方的侮辱的反问只引来了淡淡的无聊回答：“是的，爸爸”和“不行，爸爸”。坐在大灯下一个小脚凳上的卡琳深陷一个女孩在情人去世后戴上面纱的浪漫故事中，享受着默默流淌的快乐眼泪，愉快地幻想着自己戴着白帽的样子。 —

Suellen, embroidering on what she gigglingly called her “hope chest,” was wondering if she could possibly detach Stuart Tarleton from her sister’s side at the barbecue tomorrow and fascinate him with the sweet womanly qualities which she possessed and Scarlett did not. —
苏伦一边绣着她傻笑着称之为“婚嫁箱”的东西，一边想着明天的烧烤会上能否把斯图尔特·塔尔顿从她姐姐身边抢过来，用她拥有而斯嘉丽没有的甜蜜女人的特质吸引他。 —

And Scarlett was in a tumult about Ashley.
而斯嘉丽则为阿什利感到内心的动荡不安。

How could Pa talk on and on about Fort Sumter and the Yankees when he knew her heart was breaking? —
她的心碎的时候她父亲怎么能继续辗转不休地谈论萨姆特堡和北方人呢？ —

As usual in the very young, she marveled that people could be so selfishly oblivious to her pain and the world rock along just the same, in spite of her heartbreak.
像所有年轻人一样，她惊讶地发现人们可以如此自私地无视她的痛苦，而这个世界却依然在运转，尽管她的心碎了。

Her mind was as if a cyclone had gone through it, and it seemed strange that the dining room where they sat should be so placid, so unchanged from what it had always been. —
她的思绪就像一场旋风一样，而他们坐着的餐厅却如此宁静，如此不受影响，一切都和以前一样。 —

The heavy mahogany table and sideboards, the massive silver, the bright rag rugs on the shining floor were all in their accustomed places, just as if nothing had happened. —
沉重的红木桌子和橱柜，庞大的银器，闪亮的地板上明亮的地毯，都在照常的位置上，就好像什么都没有发生过。 —

It was a friendly and comfortable room and, ordinarily, Scarlett loved the quiet hours which the family spent there after supper; —
这是一个温馨舒适的房间，通常情况下，斯嘉丽喜欢晚饭后全家人在那里度过的宁静时光； —

but tonight she hated the sight of it and, if she had not feared her father’s loudly bawled questions, she would have slipped away, down the dark hall to Ellen’s little office and cried out her sorrow on the old sofa.
但今晚她讨厌这个房间的样子，如果不是害怕父亲大声提问，她会悄悄溜走，沿着黑暗的走廊来到埃伦的小办公室，在旧沙发上倾诉她的悲伤。

That was the room that Scarlett liked the best in all the house. —
那是斯嘉丽最喜欢的房间，整个房子中最喜欢的。 —

There, Ellen sat before her tall secretary each morning, keeping the accounts of the plantation and listening to the reports of Jonas Wilkerson, the overseer. —
每天早晨，埃伦坐在她高大的秘书前，进行种植园的账务记录，并听取约纳斯·威尔克森的报告。 —

There also the family idled while Ellen’s quill scratched across her ledgers. —
在那里，家人们闲逛着，而埃伦在纸上划着她的账簿。 —

Gerald in the old rocker, the girls on the sagging cushions of the sofa that was too battered and worn for the front of the house. —
杰拉尔德坐在老摇椅上，女孩们则在沙发上的凹陷垫子上，那是一张太破旧的沙发，无法用在房子的正面。 —

Scarlett longed to be there now, alone with Ellen, so she could put her head in her mother’s lap and cry in peace. —
斯嘉丽渴望现在就可以独自与埃伦在一起，这样她就可以把头放在母亲的腿上，安静地哭泣。 —

Wouldn’t Mother ever come home?
妈妈什么时候才能回家呢？

Then, wheels ground sharply on the graveled driveway, and the soft murmur of Ellen’s voice dismissing the coachman floated into the room. —
然后，车轮刺耳地在碎石子的车道上发出声响，埃伦迅速地进入房间，她的蓬裙摇曳着，脸上带着疲惫和悲伤。随着她进去，弥漫着淡淡的柠檬马鞭草香袋的香气，似乎总是从她的衣裙褶子中悄然蔓延出来，这种香气在斯嘉丽的脑海中总是与她母亲联系在一起。 —

The whole group looked up eagerly as she entered rapidly, her hoops swaying, her face tired and sad. There entered with her the faint fragrance of lemon verbena sachet, which seemed always to creep from the folds of her dresses, a fragrance that was always linked in Scarlett’s mind with her mother. —
整个群体都急切地抬起头，当她快速地进来时，她的蓬裙摇摆，她的脸疲惫而悲伤。她与她一起进来的还有淡淡的柠檬马鞭草香袋的香气，这种香气似乎总是从她的衣裙褶子中悄然蔓延出来，这种香气在斯嘉丽的脑海中总是与她母亲联系在一起。 —

Mammy followed at a few paces, the leather bag in her hand, her underlip pushed out and her brow lowering. —
妈咪跟在几步之后，手里提着皮包，嘴唇凸出，皱眉低头。 —

Mammy muttered darkly to herself as she waddled, taking care that her remarks were pitched too low to be understood but loud enough to register her unqualified disapproval.
妈咪嘟囔着自言自语，蹒跚着走，小心地让她的话声不至于被听到，但又足够清晰以表达她毫无保留的不赞成。

“I am sorry I am so late,” said Ellen, slipping her plaid shawl from drooping shoulders and handing it to Scarlett, whose cheek she patted in passing.
“真对不起我来晚了。”艾伦说着，从垂垂的肩膀上脱下她的方格羊绒披肩，递给斯佳丽，一边走过去还拍了拍她的脸颊。

Gerald’s face had brightened as if by magic at her entrance.
吉拉德的脸一下子明亮起来，仿佛有了魔力。

“Is the brat baptized?” he questioned.
“那个小家伙受洗了吗？”他问道。

“Yes, and dead, poor thing,” said Ellen. “I feared Emmie would die too, but I think she will live.”
“是的，并且死了，可怜的孩子，”艾伦说道。“我害怕艾米也会死，但我认为她会活下来。”

The girls’ faces turned to her, startled and questioning, and Gerald wagged his head philosophically.
姑娘们的脸都转向了她，吃惊地发问，吉拉德漂亮地摇了摇头。

“Well, ‘tis better so that the brat is dead, no doubt, poor fatherle—”
“哦，小孩死了，毫无疑问，这样更好，可怜那个失去父亲的—”

“It is late. We had better have prayers now,” interrupted Ellen so smoothly that, if Scarlett had not known her mother well, the interruption would have passed unnoticed.
“已经很晚了。我们最好现在开始祷告，”艾伦打断道，声音平和地说着，如果斯佳丽不熟悉她的母亲，这个打断可能会被忽略过去。

It would be interesting to know who was the father of Emmie Slattery’s baby, but Scarlett knew she would never learn the truth of the matter if she waited to hear it from her mother. —
很有趣的是想知道艾米·斯拉特利的孩子是谁的父亲，但斯嘉丽知道如果她等着从她母亲那里听到这个事情的真相，她永远不会知道真相。 —

Scarlett suspected Jonas Wilkerson, for she had frequently seen him walking down the road with Emmie at nightfall. —
斯嘉丽怀疑是乔纳斯·威尔克森，因为她经常在黄昏时分看到他和艾米一起走在路上。 —

Jonas was a Yankee and a bachelor, and the fact that he was an overseer forever barred him from any contact with the County social life. —
乔纳斯是一个北方佬，是个单身汉，作为一个监工他永远不会有与郡里社交生活接触的机会。 —

There was no family of any standing into which he could marry, no people with whom he could associate except the Slatterys and riffraff like them. —
他没有任何有地位的家庭可以嫁入，没有人可以与之交往，除了斯拉特利一家和像他们一样的无赖。 —

As he was several cuts above the Slatterys in education, it was only natural that he should not want to marry Emmie, no matter how often he might walk with her in the twilight.
由于他的教育程度高于斯拉特利一家，他自然不会想要娶艾米，无论他多么经常在黄昏时分和她在一起。

Scarlett sighed, for her curiosity was sharp. —
斯嘉丽叹了口气，她的好奇心非常强烈。 —

Things were always happening under her mother’s eyes which she noticed no more than if they had not happened at all. —
总有事情在她妈妈的眼皮底下发生，她却没有注意到，就好像那些事情根本没有发生过一样。 —

Ellen ignored all things contrary to her ideas of propriety and tried to teach Scarlett to do the same, but with poor success.
艾伦忽略了一切与她的礼仪观念相悖的事物，并试图教会斯嘉丽做同样的事情，但结果很差。

Ellen had stepped to the mantel to take her rosary beads from the small inlaid casket in which they always reposed when Mammy spoke up with firmness.
艾伦走到壁炉边拿起她的念珠，这些珠子通常放在一个小的镶嵌箱子里，此时曼妮坚定地开口了。

“Miss Ellen, you gwine eat some supper befo’ you does any prayin’.”
“艾伦小姐，在你祈祷之前你得吃点晚饭。”

“Thank you. Mammy, but I am not hungry.”
“谢谢，曼妮，但我不饿。

“Ah gwine fix yo’ supper mahseff an’ you eats it,” said Mammy, her brow furrowed with indignation as she started down the hall for the kitchen. —
“阿姨亲自给你准备晚饭，你吃好了，”曼妮说道，她的眉头因愤怒而皱起，然后她朝厨房走去。 —

“Poke!” she called, “tell Cookie stir up de fiah. Miss Ellen home.”
“Poke！”她喊道，”告诉Cookie把火烧旺。艾伦小姐回来了。

As the boards shuddered under her weight, the soliloquy she had been muttering in the front hall grew louder and louder, coming clearly to the ears of the family in the dining room.
当她的脚步声传到餐厅的时候，她在前厅里喃喃自语的独白越来越大声，清晰地传到了家人的耳中。

“Ah has said time an’ again, it doan do no good doin’ nuthin’ fer w’ite trash. —
“我已经说过多次了，为白种垃圾做任何事情都没有用。 —

Dey is de shiflesses, mos’ ungrateful passel of no- counts livin’. —
他们是最懒散、最不知恩图报的一群人。 —

An’ Miss Ellen got no bizness weahin’ herseff out waitin’ on folks dat did dey be wuth shootin’ dey’d have niggers ter wait on dem. —
艾伦小姐没有任何理由在外面等着那些不值得尊敬的人，如果他们配得上被射击，他们就会有黑人帮他们等着。 —

An’ Ah has said—”
而我说过——”

Her voice trailed off as she went down the long open passageway, covered only by a roof, that led into the kitchen. —
她的声音逐渐低下，随着通向厨房的长长走廊，只有一层屋顶覆盖着。 —

Mammy had her own method of letting her owners know exactly where she stood on all matters. —
妈妈有她自己的方法，让她的主人们明确地知道她在所有事情上的立场。 —

She knew it was beneath the dignity of quality white folks to pay the slightest attention to what a darky said when she was just grumbling to herself. —
她知道对于高贵的白人来说，即使她在自言自语，他们也不会理会一个黑人说的话。 —

She knew that to uphold this dignity, they must ignore what she said, even if she stood in the next room and almost shouted. —
她知道为了维护这种尊严，即使她站在隔壁房间几乎大声喊叫，他们也必须忽视她说的话。 —

It protected her from reproof, and it left no doubt in anyone’s mind as to her exact views on any subject.
这保护了她不受斥责，也让任何人对她的确切观点毫无疑问。

Pork entered the room, bearing a plate, silver and a napkin. —
猪肉进了房间，拿着一个盘子、银器和餐巾。 —

He was followed closely by Jack, a black little boy of ten, hastily buttoning a white linen jacket with one hand and bearing in the other a fly-swisher, made of thin strips of newspaper tied to a reed longer than he was. —
他身后紧跟着杰克，一个十岁的黑皮肤小男孩，他用一只手匆忙地扣好一件白色亚麻夹克，另一只手拿着一把苍蝇拍，由一根比他高的芦苇上系着由薄纸条构成的。 —

Ellen had a beautiful peacock-feather fly-brusher, but it was used only on very special occasions and then only after domestic struggle, due to the obstinate conviction of Pork, Cookie and Mammy that peacock feathers were bad luck.
艾伦有一个漂亮的孔雀羽毛苍蝇擦子，但只有在非常特殊的场合才使用，而且仅在与波克、库基和玛米的顽固信念产生冲突后才使用，他们认为孔雀羽毛带来了厄运。

Ellen sat down in the chair which Gerald pulled out for her and four voices attacked her.
艾伦坐在杰拉尔德为她拉出的椅子上，四个声音纷纷向她提问。

“Mother, the lace is loose on my new ball dress and I want to wear it tomorrow night at Twelve Oaks. Won’t you please fix it?”
“妈妈，我的新舞会裙上的花边松了，我想明天晚上去十二橡树园穿它。你能帮我修一下吗？”

“Mother, Scarlett’s new dress is prettier than mine and I look like a fright in pink. —
“妈妈，斯嘉丽的新衣服比我的漂亮，我穿粉色看起来很丑。” —

Why can’t she wear my pink and let me wear her green? —
“为什么她不能穿我的粉色，让我穿她的绿色？她穿粉色看起来不错。” —

She looks all right in pink.”
“妈妈，明天晚上的舞会我能熬夜参加吗？我已经十三岁了。”

“Mother, can I stay up for the ball tomorrow night? I’m thirteen now—”
（原文未给出具体内容）

“Mrs. O’Hara, would you believe it— Hush, you girls, before I take me crop to you! —
“奥哈拉太太，你能相信吗——嘘，你们几个别说话，否则我就要教训你们了！” —

Cade Calvert was in Atlanta this morning and he says—will you be quiet and let me be hearing me own voice? —
“卡德·卡尔弗特今天在亚特兰大，他说——你们能不能安静点，让我听自己说话？” —

— and he says it’s all upset they are there and talking nothing but war, militia drilling, troops forming. —
“——他说那里一切都乱了，只谈战争，军队演练，部队编组。” —

And he says the news from Charleston is that they will be putting up with no more Yankee insults.”
“他还说，从查尔斯顿传来的消息是，他们再也不会容忍洋佬的侮辱了。”

Ellen’s tired mouth smiled into the tumult as she addressed herself first to her husband, as a wife should.
艾伦疲倦的嘴角在这喧嚣中微笑，她首先对丈夫说话，真是一位好妻子。

“If the nice people of Charleston feel that way, I’m sure we will all feel the same way soon,” she said, for she had a deeply rooted belief that, excepting only Savannah, most of the gentle blood of the whole continent could be found in that small seaport city, a belief shared largely by Charlestonians.
“如果查尔斯顿的好人们都这么想，我相信我们很快也会有同样的感受，除了萨凡纳，整个大陆上大多数优雅的血统都汇集在这个小港口城市，这种信念在查尔斯顿人中广泛共享。”

“No, Carreen, next year, dear. Then you can stay up for balls and wear grown-up dresses, and what a good time my little pink cheeks will have! —
“不，卡琳，等到明年，亲爱的。到时候你就可以参加舞会，穿上成人礼服，你的小脸上会有多么快乐！ —

Don’t pout, dear. You can go to the barbecue, remember that, and stay up through supper, but no balls until you are fourteen.
不要生气，亲爱的。你可以去参加烧烤活动，记住，吃完晚餐后可以留起来，但要等到你十四岁才能玩球。

“Give me your gown, Scarlett, I will whip the lace for you after prayers.
“给我你的礼服，斯嘉丽，祷告后我会帮你把蕾丝修一修。”

“Suellen, I do not like your tone, dear. Your pink gown is lovely and suitable to your complexion, Scarlett’s is to hers. —
“苏林，亲爱的，我不喜欢你的语气。你的粉红色礼服很漂亮，适合你的肤色，而斯嘉丽的适合她的。” —

But you may wear my garnet necklace tomorrow night.”
“但你明晚可以戴我的石榴石项链。”

Suellen, behind her mother’s hack, wrinkled her nose triumphantly at Scarlett, who had been planning to beg the necklace for herself. —
苏林在她妈妈马车的后面得意地皱了皱鼻子，对斯嘉丽来说，她原本计划要向她乞求那条项链。 —

Scarlett put out her tongue at her. Suellen was an annoying sister with her whining and selfishness, and had it not been for Ellen’s restraining hand, Scarlett would frequently have boxed her ears.
斯嘉丽伸出舌头对她做鬼脸。苏林是个烦人的姐妹，总是唠唠叨叨，自私自利。如果不是因为艾伦克制着她，斯嘉丽经常会给她当头棒喝。

“Now, Mr. O’Hara, tell me more about what Mr. Calvert said about Charleston,” said Ellen.
“现在，奥哈拉先生，告诉我更多关于卡尔伯特先生在查尔斯顿说的事情。”艾伦说。

Scarlett knew her mother cared nothing at all about war and politics and thought them masculine matters about which no lady could intelligently concern herself. —
斯嘉丽知道她妈妈根本不关心战争和政治，认为它们是男性所关心的事情，一个女士不能理解。 —

But it gave Gerald pleasure to air his views, and Ellen was unfailingly thoughtful of her husband’s pleasure.
但对于杰拉尔德来说，发表自己的观点带来了愉悦，而艾伦则始终非常体贴地考虑着丈夫的愉悦感。

While Gerald launched forth on his news, Mammy set the plates before her mistress, golden-topped biscuits, breast of fried chicken and a yellow yam open and steaming, with melted butter dripping from it. —
当杰拉尔德滔滔不绝地叙述着他的消息时，老妈妈将盘子放在她的女主人面前，金黄色的面包，炸鸡胸肉和一块敞开冒烟的黄色山药，上面融化的黄油还在滴落。 —

Mammy pinched small Jack, and he hastened to his business of slowly swishing the paper ribbons back and forth behind Ellen. Mammy stood beside the table, watching every forkful that traveled from plate to mouth, as though she intended to force the food down Ellen’s throat should she see signs of flagging. —
老妈妈掐了小杰克一下，他便匆忙去慢慢地在艾伦背后甩动那些纸带子。老妈妈站在桌子旁边，盯着每一口从盘子到嘴巴的食物，似乎她有意于在艾伦出现疲惫迹象时，硬塞食物进她喉咙里。 —

Ellen ate diligently, but Scarlett could see that she was too tired to know what she was eating. —
艾伦吃得很努力，但斯嘉丽可以看出她已经太累了，不知道自己在吃什么。 —

Only Mammy’s implacable face forced her to it.
只有老妈妈那冷酷无情的表情才迫使她坚持下去。

When the dish was empty and Gerald only midway in his remarks on the thievishness of Yankees who wanted to free darkies and yet offered no penny to pay for their freedom, Ellen rose.
当盘子空了，而杰拉尔德还在对那些想要解放黑奴但又没有一分钱来为他们的自由买单的洋鬼子的小偷行径发表言论时，艾伦站了起来。

“We’ll be having prayers?” he questioned, reluctantly.
“我们要做祷告？”他犹豫地问道。

“Yes. It is so late—why, it is actually ten o’clock,” as the clock with coughing and tinny thumps marked the hour. —
“是的。这么晚了，实际上已经十点了，”钟在咳嗽和金属般的轰鸣声中报时。 —

“Carreen should have been asleep long ago. —
“卡林应该早就睡了。 —

The lamp, please, Pork, and my prayer book, Mammy.”
Pork，请把灯和我的祷告书给我，妈咪。”

Prompted by Mammy’s hoarse whisper, Jack set his fly-brush in the corner and removed the dishes, while Mammy fumbled in the sideboard drawer for Ellen’s worn prayer book. —
听到妈咪嘶哑的低语，Jack把苍蝇拂帚放在角落，取下盘子，而妈咪在橱柜抽屉里翻找着Ellen用过的祷告书。 —

Pork, tiptoeing, reached the ring in the chain and drew the lamp slowly down until the table top was brightly bathed in light and the ceiling receded into shadows. —
Pork蹑手蹑脚地取下灯链上的吊环，慢慢地把灯放下，使桌面明亮起来，天花板则隐入了阴影。 —

Ellen arranged her skirts and sank to the floor on her knees, laying the open prayer book on the table before her and clasping her hands upon it. —
Ellen整理了一下裙子，跪在地板上，把打开的祷告书放在她面前的桌子上，双手合十放在上面。 —

Gerald knelt beside her, and Scarlett and Suellen took their accustomed places on the opposite side of the table, folding their voluminous petticoats in pads under their knees, so they would ache less from contact with the hard floor. —
Gerald在她旁边跪下，Scarlett和Suellen则在对面的桌子边坐下，把自己庞大的裙子折叠着当作垫子放在膝盖下，这样就不会因为和硬地板接触而疼痛。 —

Carreen, who was small for her age, could not kneel comfortably at the table and so knelt facing a chair, her elbows on the seat. —
卡琳因为个子比同龄人矮小，无法舒服地跪在桌子旁，所以她面对着一把椅子跪下，双肘撑在椅子上。 —

She liked this position, for she seldom failed to go to sleep during prayers and, in this postures it escaped her mother’s notice.
她喜欢这个姿势，因为她很少在祈祷时不睡觉，这样她就能逃过母亲的注意。

The house servants shuffled and rustled in the hall to kneel by the doorway, Mammy groaning aloud as she sank down, Pork straight as a ramrod, Rosa and Teena, the maids, graceful in their spreading bright calicoes, Cookie gaunt and yellow beneath her snowy head rag, and Jack, stupid with sleep, as far away from Mammy’s pinching fingers as possible. —
家里的仆人在走廊上踉踉跄跄地走动，挨着门口跪下来，大妈一声声地呻吟，猪肉笔直地站着，罗莎和蒂娜，两个女仆，穿着鲜艳的花布裙子，优雅地站着，瘦骨如柴的糕点头巾下面的库基，还有鲁莽的杰克，尽可能远离大妈的捏人手指。 —

Their dark eyes gleamed expectantly, for praying with their white folks was one of the events of the day. —
他们的黑眼睛充满期待，与白人一起祈祷是一天中的重要时刻之一。 —

The old and colorful phrases of the litany with its Oriental imagery meant little to them but it satisfied something in their hearts, and they always swayed when they chanted the responses: —
古老而富有色彩的经文中充满了东方意象，他们对此并不了解，但这满足了他们内心的某种需求，他们总是在吟唱回应时颤动： —

“Lord, have mercy on us,” “Christ, have mercy on us.”
“主啊，怜悯我们”，”基督啊，怜悯我们”。

Ellen closed her eyes and began praying, her voice rising and falling, lulling and soothing. —
艾伦闭上眼睛开始祈祷，她的声音时而高亢，时而低沉，旋律抚慰人心。 —

Heads bowed in the circle of yellow light as Ellen thanked God for the health and happiness of her home, her family and her negroes.
头低垂在黄光环绕的圈内，艾伦感谢上帝赐予她家庭、家人和黑奴的健康与幸福。

When she had finished her prayers for those beneath the roof of Tara, her father, mother, sisters, three dead babies and “all the poor souls in Purgatory,” she clasped her white beads between long fingers and began the Rosary. —
在为塔拉的人们祈祷完毕，包括她的父亲、母亲、姐妹、三个已故的婴儿以及“处在炼狱中的可怜灵魂们”之后，她紧握着白色的念珠，开始念玫瑰经。 —

Like the rushing of a soft wind, the responses from black throats and white throats rolled back:
黑人和白人喉中腾起的回应如柔风般荡漾开来。

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death.”
“圣母玛利亚，天主之母，请您现在和在我们临终时为我们这些罪人祈祷。”

Despite her heartache and the pain of unshed tears, a deep sense of quiet and peace fell upon Scarlett as it always did at this hour. —
尽管心痛难耐、泪水未泄，但在这个时间，一种深深的宁静与平和感笼罩着斯嘉丽，如同往常。 —

Some of the disappointment of the day and the dread of the morrow departed from her, leaving a feeling of hope. —
这一刻，疲惫和对明天的惧怕渐渐消散，留下了一丝希望。 —

It was not the lifting up of her heart to God that brought this balm, for religion went no more than lip deep with her. —
这并不是她内心向上帝的升华带来的安抚，因为她对宗教的信仰只是口头上的。 —

It was the sight of her mother’s serene face upturned to the throne of God and His saints and angels, praying for blessings on those whom she loved. —
她母亲安详的面庞仰望上帝和圣人天使的宝座，为她所爱的人祈祷福祉，这才给她带来了安慰。 —

When Ellen intervened with Heaven, Scarlett felt certain that Heaven heard.
当艾伦向天国祈祷时，斯嘉丽确信天国能听到。

Ellen finished and Gerald, who could never find his beads at prayer time, began furtively counting his decade on his fingers. —
艾伦结束了祈祷，而杰拉尔德则偷偷用手指头数起自己的珠数。 —

As his voice droned on, Scarlett’s thoughts strayed, in spite of herself. —
当他的声音嘈杂地继续传来时，斯嘉丽的思绪不由自主地飘散开来。 —

She knew she should be examining her conscience. —
她知道自己应该反省一下。 —

Ellen had taught her that at the end of each day it was her duty to examine her conscience thoroughly, to admit her numerous faults and pray to God for forgiveness and strength never to repeat them. —
艾伦教她，每天结束时应该彻底反省自己的良心，承认自己的众多过错，并向上帝祈求宽恕和力量不再重蹈覆辙。 —

But Scarlett was examining her heart.
但斯嘉丽却在反省自己的内心。

She dropped her head upon her folded hands so that her mother could not see her face, and her thoughts went sadly back to Ashley. —
她将头低垂在折叠的双手上，这样她母亲就看不见她的脸，她的思绪悲伤地回到了对艾希礼的回忆中。 —

How could he be planning to marry Melanie when he really loved her, Scarlett? —
他怎么可能计划娶梅兰妮，当他真的爱着斯嘉丽呢？ —

And when he knew how much she loved him? —
当他知道她有多爱他的时候，他怎么能心狠手辣地伤害她呢？ —

How could he deliberately break her heart?
他怎么可能故意伤害她的心呢？

Then, suddenly, an idea, shining and new, flashed like a comet through her brain.
然后，突然，一个想法，闪耀而新颖，像一颗彗星一样闪现在她的脑海中。

“Why, Ashley hasn’t an idea that I’m in love with him!”
“为什么，阿什利根本不知道我爱他！”

She almost gasped aloud in the shock of its unexpectedness. —
她几乎惊呼出声，因为这个想法出乎意料。 —

Her mind stood still as if paralyzed for a long, breathless instant, and then raced forward.
她的思维像麻痹了一样静止了一会儿，然后飞速地继续。

“How could he know? I’ve always acted so prissy and ladylike and touch-me-not around him he probably thinks I don’t care a thing about him except as a friend. —
“他怎么可能知道呢？我总是在他面前表现得如此拘谨、淑女般，让他觉得我对他除了友谊之外一无所求。” —

Yes, that’s why he’s never spoken! He thinks his love is hopeless. —
是的，这是为什么他从来没有开口说过！他认为他的爱情是没有希望的。 —

And that’s why he’s looked so—”
这也是为什么他看起来那样——”

Her mind went swiftly back to those times when she had caught him looking at her in that strange manner, when the gray eyes that were such perfect curtains for his thoughts had been wide and naked and had in them a look of torment and despair.
她的思维迅速回到那些她曾经看到他以那种奇怪的方式看着她的时候，当那双灰色的眼睛作为他思绪完美的幕布时，变得宽阔和裸露，其中充满了痛苦和绝望的眼神。

“He’s been broken hearted because he thinks I’m in love with Brent or Stuart or Cade. And probably he thinks that if he can’t have me, he might as well please his family and marry Melanie. —
“他因为以为我爱上了Brent或Stuart或Cade而心碎了。也许他认为如果不能拥有我，那么他就应该取悦他的家人并与Melanie结婚。 —

But if he knew I did love him—”
“但是如果他知道我确实爱他–”

Her volatile spirits shot up from deepest depression to excited happiness. —
她情绪最低谷的忧愁瞬间转为兴奋的喜悦。 —

This was the answer to Ashley’s reticence, to his strange conduct. He didn’t know! —
这是对于Ashley的沉默和他奇怪的行为的答案。他不知道！ —

Her vanity leaped to the aid of her desire to believe, making belief a certainty. —
她的虚荣心支持着她想要相信的欲望，使得相信变成了确定的事实。 —

If he knew she loved him, he would hasten to her side. She had only to—
如果他知道她爱他，他会急忙赶到她身边。她只需要–

“Oh!” she thought rapturously, digging her fingers into her lowered brow. —
“哦！”她兴奋地想到，用手指揉着自己沉下的额头。 —

“What a fool I’ve been not to think of this till now! —
“我真是个傻瓜，直到现在才想到这个！ —

I must think of some way to let him know. —
我必须想办法让他知道。 —

He wouldn’t marry her if he knew I loved him! How could he?”
如果他知道我爱他，他就不会娶她！他怎么可能呢？”

With a start, she realized that Gerald had finished and her mother’s eyes were on her. —
她惊讶地意识到格拉德尔已经结束演讲了，她母亲的目光也投向了她。 —

Hastily she began her decade, telling off the beads automatically but with a depth of emotion in her voice that caused Mammy to open her eyes and shoot a searching glance at her. —
匆忙之间，她开始默默数念着念珠，但她的声音中透露出一种深情，让曼米睁开了眼睛，并以探究的目光看着她。 —

As she finished her prayers and Suellen, then Carreen, began their decades, her mind was still speeding onward with her entrancing new thought.
当她结束祈祷后，苏伦接着卡琳开始默念她们的念珠时，她的思绪仍然在迅速地前进着，陶醉在全新的思想中。

Even now, it wasn’t too late! Too often the County had been scandalized by elopements when one or the other of the participating parties was practically at the altar with a third. —
即使现在，还不算太晚！该郡曾太多次因为有一方或双方几乎在婚礼上时私奔而引起轩然大波。 —

And Ashley’s engagement had not even been announced yet! Yes, there was plenty of time!
而且艾希莉的订婚还没有宣布呢！是的，时间还很充裕！

If no love lay between Ashley and Melanie but only a promise given long ago, then why wasn’t it possible for him to break that promise and marry her? —
如果阿什利和梅兰妮之间没有爱情，只是很久以前的承诺，那为什么他不能打破那个承诺和她结婚呢？ —

Surely he would do it, if he knew that she, Scarlett, loved him. —
如果他知道她，斯嘉丽，爱他的话，他肯定会这么做的。 —

She must find some way to let him know. She would find some way! And then—
她必须找到某种方式让他知道。她会找到办法！然后…

Scarlett came abruptly out of her dream of delight, for she had neglected to make the responses and her mother was looking at her reprovingly. —
突然，莎莉特从她愉快的梦境中惊醒了过来，因为她忘记了回应，她的母亲正责备地看着她。 —

As she resumed the ritual, she opened her eyes briefly and cast a quick glance around the room. —
当她恢复仪式时，她短暂地睁开眼睛，环视了一下房间。 —

The kneeling figures, the soft glow of the lamp, the dim shadows where the negroes swayed, even the familiar objects that had been so hateful to her sight an hour ago, in an instant took on the color of her own emotions, and the room seemed once more a lovely place. —
跪着的人影，灯的柔和光芒，黑人摇摆的昏暗阴影，甚至是那些在一个小时前她多么厌恶的熟悉物品，瞬间变得与她自己的情感融为一体，房间再次变成了一个可爱的地方。 —

She would never forget this moment or this scene!
她将永远不会忘记这一刻或者这个场景！

“Virgin most faithful,” her mother intoned. —
“最忠诚的圣母”，她的母亲低沉地吟唱。 —

The Litany of the Virgin was beginning, and obediently Scarlett responded: —
圣母经开始了，莎莉特顺从地回应道： —

“Pray for us,” as Ellen praised in soft contralto the attributes of the Mother of God.
“为我们祈祷”，当埃伦赞美天主之母的美德时。

As always since childhood, this was, for Scarlett, a moment for adoration of Ellen, rather than the Virgin. —
对于莎莉特来说，自童年以来，这个时刻更多是对埃伦的崇敬，而不是对圣母的崇敬。 —

Sacrilegious though it might be, Scarlett always saw, through her closed eyes, the upturned face of Ellen and not the Blessed Virgin, as the ancient phrases were repeated. —
虽然这可能是亵渎的，但斯嘉丽总是闭着眼睛看到埃伦仰望的脸，而不是圣母的脸，当古老的语言被重复时。 —

“Health of the Sick,” “Seat of Wisdom,” “Refuge of Sinners,” “Mystical Rose”—they were beautiful because they were the attributes of Ellen. But tonight, because of the exaltation of her own spirit, Scarlett found in the whole ceremonial, the softly spoken words, the murmur of the responses, a surpassing beauty beyond any that she had ever experienced before. —
“病者的庇佑”，“智慧之座”，“罪人的避难所”，“神秘的玫瑰”——它们之所以美丽，是因为它们是埃伦的特质。但今晚，由于她自己精神的升华，斯嘉丽在整个仪式中，在轻声细语的语言中，在回应的低语中，都体验到了一种无与伦比的美丽。 —

And her heart went up to God in sincere thankfulness that a pathway for her feet had been opened—out of her misery and straight to the arms of Ashley.
她的心由衷地感谢上帝，为她的脚踏上了一条通往阿什利怀抱的路径，摆脱了她的痛苦。

When the last “Amen” sounded, they all rose, somewhat stiffly, Mammy being hauled to her feet by the combined efforts of Teena and Rosa. Pork took a long spiller from the mantelpiece, lit it from the lamp flame and went into the hall. —
在最后一个“阿门”的声音响起时，他们都站了起来，有些僵硬。玛米是被蒂娜和罗莎共同努力拉起脚来的。波克从壁炉架上拿过一根长烟草，从灯光中点燃它，走进了大厅。 —

Opposite the winding stair stood a walnut sideboard, too large for use in the dining room, bearing on its wide top several lamps and a long row of candles in candlesticks. —
蜿蜒的楼梯对面摆放着一张核桃木的边柜，太大了无法放在餐厅使用，上面放着几盏灯和一排长长的烛台上的蜡烛。 —

Pork lit one lamp and three candles and, with the pompous dignity of a first chamberlain of the royal bedchamber lighting a king and queen to their rooms, he led the procession up the stairs, holding the light high above his head. —
佩克点亮了一盏灯和三根蜡烛，以皇家卧室的首席侍臣的傲慢身份为国王和王后照明，高举着灯光引导队伍上楼。 —

Ellen, on Gerald’s arm, followed him, and the girls, each taking her own candlestick, mounted after them.
埃伦挽着杰拉尔德的手臂跟在后面，女孩们各自拿起自己的烛台紧随其后上楼。

Scarlett entered her room, set the candle on the tall chest of drawers and fumbled in the dark closet for the dancing dress that needed stitching. —
斯嘉丽走进自己的房间，把蜡烛放在高高的抽屉柜上，然后在黑暗的壁橱里翻找起需要缝补的舞裙。 —

Throwing it across her arm, she crossed the hall quietly. —
她把舞裙挂在胳膊上，轻轻穿过大厅。 —

The door of her parents’ bedroom was slightly ajar and, before she could knock, Ellen’s voice, low but stern, came to her ears.
她父母卧室的门微微开着，在她敲门之前，埃伦的声音，低沉但严厉，传入了她耳中。

“Mr. O’Hara, you must dismiss Jonas Wilkerson.”
“奥哈拉先生，你必须解雇乔纳斯·威尔科森。”

Gerald exploded. “And where will I be getting another overseer who wouldn’t be cheating me out of my eyeteeth?”
杰拉尔德勃然大怒。“我哪里能找到一个不会骗我吃力的监工？”

“He must be dismissed, immediately, tomorrow morning. —
“他必须立即解雇，在明天早上。 —

Big Sam is a good foreman and he can take over the duties until you can hire another overseer.”
大山姆是个很好的领班，他可以暂时接替职责，直到你能雇到另一个监工。”

“Ah, ha!” came Gerald’s voice. “So, I understand! Then the worthy Jonas sired the—”
“啊，哈！”杰拉尔德的声音传来。“那么，我明白了！那么这个可敬的乔纳斯是—”

“He must be dismissed.”
“他必须被解雇。”

“So, he is the father of Emmie Slattery’s baby,” thought Scarlett. —
“所以，他就是艾米·斯拉特里的孩子的父亲，”思考着斯嘉丽。 —

“Oh, well, what else can you expect from a Yankee man and a white- trash girl?”
“哦，好吧，你还能期望从一个北方人和一个下等白人女孩那里得到什么呢？”

Then, after a discreet pause which gave Gerald’s splutterings time to die away, she knocked on the door and handed the dress to her mother.
然后，在一个恰到好处的停顿后，让杰拉尔德的呜咽有足够的时间消失，她敲了敲门，把裙子递给了她妈妈。

By the time Scarlett had undressed and blown out the candle, her plan for tomorrow had worked itself out in every detail. —
等斯嘉丽脱衣服并吹灭蜡烛时，她对明天的计划已经在脑海中完全成形。 —

It was a simple plan, for, with Gerald’s single-mindedness of purpose, her eyes were centered on the goal and she thought only of the most direct steps by which to reach it.
这是一个简单的计划，因为有着杰拉尔德的一门心思，她的目光一直集中在目标上，只考虑着最直接的步骤来实现它。

First, she would be “prideful,” as Gerald had commanded. —
首先，她将会“骄傲”，因为杰拉尔德曾这么吩咐过。 —

From the moment she arrived at Twelve Oaks, she would be her gayest, most spirited self. —
自从她到达“十二橡树”那一刻起，她将展现出最快乐、最充满活力的一面。 —

No one would suspect that she had ever been downhearted because of Ashley and Melanie. —
没有人会怀疑她曾因为阿什利和梅拉妮而心情低落过。 —

And she would flirt with every man there. —
她会和在场的每一个男人调情。 —

That would be cruel to Ashley, but it would make him yearn for her all the more. —
这对阿什利来说很残忍，但也会让他更加渴望她。 —

She wouldn’t overlook a man of marriageable age, from ginger-whiskered old Frank Kennedy, who was Suellen’s beau, on down to shy, quiet, blushing Charles Hamilton, Melanie’s brother. —
她不会错过任何一个适婚年龄的男人，从金毛胡子的老弗兰克·肯尼迪，谁是苏伦的意中人，到害羞、安静、容易脸红的查尔斯·汉密尔顿，梅拉妮的弟弟。 —

They would swarm around her like bees around a hive, and certainly Ashley would be drawn from Melanie to join the circle of her admirers. —
他们会像蜜蜂围绕着蜂巢一样围绕着她，肯定会有人引开阿什利，加入她的仰慕者圈子。 —

Then somehow she would maneuver to get a few minutes alone with him, away from the crowd. —
然后，她会设法和他独处几分钟，远离人群。 —

She hoped everything would work out that way, because it would be more difficult otherwise. —
她希望一切都能按照计划进行，因为要不然将会很困难。 —

But if Ashley didn’t make the first move, she would simply have to do it herself.
但是如果阿什利不主动行动，她只能自己出手了。

When they were finally alone, he would have fresh in his mind the picture of the other men thronging about her, he would be newly impressed with the fact that every one of them wanted her, and that look of sadness and despair would be in his eyes. —
当他们终于独处时，他脑海里会清晰地浮现出其他男人围着她涌动的画面，他会重新意识到每个人都想要她，他的眼睛中会流露出悲伤和绝望的神情。 —

Then she would make him happy again by letting him discover that, popular though she was, she preferred him above any other man in all the world. —
然后，她会让他再次快乐地发现，虽然她很受欢迎，但她更喜欢他胜过全世界的任何其他男人。 —

And when she admitted it, modestly and sweetly, she would look a thousand things more. —
当她谦虚而甜美地承认时，她会更加令人心动。 —

Of course, she would do it all in a ladylike way. —
当然，她会用一种淑女的方式做到这一切。 —

She wouldn’t even dream of saying to him boldly that she loved him—that would never do. —
她甚至不会梦想大胆地对他说她爱他，那是绝对不行的。 —

But the manner of telling him was a detail that troubled her not at all. —
但告诉他的方式对她来说根本不是问题。 —

She had managed such situations before and she could do it again.
她以前已经处理过这种情况，她可以再次做到。

Lying in the bed with the moonlight streaming dimly over her, she pictured the whole scene in her mind. —
躺在床上，月光微弱地洒在她身上，她在脑海中描绘着整个场景。 —

She saw the look of surprise and happiness that would come over his face when he realized that she really loved him, and she heard the words he would say asking her to be his wife.
她看到他脸上会出现的惊讶和幸福表情，当他意识到她真的爱他的时候，她听到他会说的那句话，邀请她成为他的妻子。

Naturally, she would have to say then that she simply couldn’t think of marrying a man when he was engaged to another girl, but he would insist and finally she would let herself be persuaded. —
当然，那时她得说她根本不可能嫁给一个已经和另一个女孩订婚的男人，但他会坚持不懈，最后她会被说服。 —

Then they would decide to run off to Jonesboro that very afternoon and—
然后他们决定立即逃到琼斯伯勒去——

Why, by this time tomorrow night, she might be Mrs. Ashley Wilkes!
天啊，明天这个时候，她也许就成了艾什利·威尔克斯夫人了！

She sat up in bed, hugging her knees, and for a long happy moment she WAS Mrs. Ashley Wilkes—Ashley’s bride! —
她坐在床上，抱着膝盖，幸福地想着，她是艾什利·威尔克斯的新娘了！ —

Then a slight chill entered her heart. Suppose it didn’t work out this way? —
然后，一丝寒意涌入她的心头。要是事情不像她想的那样进展会怎么样？ —

Suppose Ashley didn’t beg her to run away with him? —
要是艾什利不恳求她和他私奔怎么办？ —

Resolutely she pushed the thought from her mind.
她坚决地将这个想法从脑海中抛出。

“I won’t think of that now,” she said firmly. “If I think of it now, it will upset me. —
“我现在不想那个，”她坚定地说道，“如果我现在想那个，我就会心烦意乱。 —

There’s no reason why things won’t come out the way I want them—if he loves me. —
事情不如我愿的理由实在没有——如果他爱我的话。 —

And I know he does!”
我知道他确实喜欢上她了！

She raised her chin and her pale, black-fringed eyes sparkled in the moonlight. —
她昂起下巴，脸上黑色的长睫毛在月光下闪闪发光。 —

Ellen had never told her that desire and attainment were two different matters; —
艾伦从未告诉她，渴望和实现是两码事； —

life had not taught her that the race was not to the swift. —
生活从未告诉她，胜利并不是属于快跑的人。 —

She lay in the silvery shadows with courage rising and made the plans that a sixteen- year-old makes when life has been so pleasant that defeat is an impossibility and a pretty dress and a clear complexion are weapons to vanquish fate.
她躺在银白色的阴影中，勇气在涌动，制定了一个十六岁少女在生活一直美好以至于失败不可能的情况下的计划，娇艳的礼服和明亮的肤色成为她征服命运的武器。