Villefort had, as we have said, hastened back to Madame de Saint-Méran’s in the Place du Grand Cours, and on entering the house found that the guests whom he had left at table were taking coffee in the salon. —
如我们所说，维尔福特匆匆返回到圣梅兰夫人在大街大场的家中，进门后发现他在餐桌旁离开的客人们正在客厅里喝咖啡。 —

Renée was, with all the rest of the company, anxiously awaiting him, and his entrance was followed by a general exclamation.
众人都焦急地等待着维尔福特，他一进门大家都惊呼起来。

“Well, Decapitator, Guardian of the State, Royalist, Brutus, what is the matter? —
“好了，斩首者、国家守卫者、皇党人、布鲁图斯，出了什么事？”一个人问道。“说出来吧。” —

” said one. “Speak out.”
“我们会遭受新的恐怖统治吗？”另一个人问道。

“Are we threatened with a fresh Reign of Terror?” asked another.
“那个科西嘉飞魔又出来了吗？”第三个人喊道。

“Has the Corsican ogre broken loose?” cried a third.
“侯爵夫人”，维尔福特走近他未来的岳母说道，“我请求您原谅我这样离开您。”

“Marquise,” said Villefort, approaching his future mother-in-law, “I request your pardon for thus leaving you. —
等等 —

Will the marquis honor me by a few moments’ private conversation?”
“大人是否能够给我一点私人谈话的时间？”

“Ah, it is really a serious matter, then? —
“啊，那么这是一个严重的事情吗？”马基斯问道，注意到维尔福脸上的阴云。 —

” asked the marquis, remarking the cloud on Villefort’s brow.
“是非常严重的，以至于我必须离开您几天，”他回答道。

“So serious that I must take leave of you for a few days; —
“因此，”他补充道，转向娜娜，”你自己判断一下是否重要。” —

so,” added he, turning to Renée, “judge for yourself if it be not important.”
“你要离开我们吗？”娜娜哭了起来，无法掩饰自己对这个意外宣布的情绪。

“You are going to leave us?” cried Renée, unable to hide her emotion at this unexpected announcement.
“唉，”维尔福回答道，” 我必须去！”

“Alas,” returned Villefort, “I must!”
“那么，你要去哪里？”马基斯夫人问道。

“Where, then, are you going?” asked the marquise.
“这是一个官方的秘密；但如果你有任何巴黎的委托，我的一个朋友今晚要去那里，会很乐意帮忙。”

“That, madame, is an official secret; but if you have any commissions for Paris, a friend of mine is going there tonight, and will with pleasure undertake them. —
客人们彼此对视着。 —

” The guests looked at each other.
“你希望与我单独谈话？”马基斯问道。

“You wish to speak to me alone?” said the marquis.
“是的，请让我们去图书馆。”马基斯牵起他的胳膊，他们离开了客厅。

“Yes, let us go to the library, please.” The marquis took his arm, and they left the salon.
“那么，”他们一人独处时他问道，”告诉我是什么事情？”

“Well,” asked he, as soon as they were by themselves, “tell me what it is?”
“嗯，”维尔福说道，一旦他们独处， “告诉我是什么事情？”

“An affair of the greatest importance, that demands my immediate presence in Paris. Now, excuse the indiscretion, marquis, but have you any landed property?”
“一项极为重要的事情，需要我立即去巴黎。现在，请原谅我的冒昧，侯爵，你是否有土地财产？”

“All my fortune is in the funds; seven or eight hundred thousand francs.”
“我的全部财产都在基金里，大约七八十万法郎。”

“Then sell out—sell out, marquis, or you will lose it all.”
“那就把它卖出来—卖出来，侯爵，否则你会全部损失。”

“But how can I sell out here?”
“但是我在这里怎么卖出来呢？”

“You have a broker, have you not?”
“你有个股票经纪人，对吧？”

“Yes.”
“是的。”

“Then give me a letter to him, and tell him to sell out without an instant’s delay, perhaps even now I shall arrive too late.”
“那就给我一封信，告诉他立刻卖出来，也许我到的时候都已经晚了。”

“The deuce you say!” replied the marquis, “let us lose no time, then!”
“你怎么这么说！”侯爵回答道，“那我们就别浪费时间了！”

And, sitting down, he wrote a letter to his broker, ordering him to sell out at the market price.
说着，他坐下来，写了封信给他的经纪人，命令他以市价卖出。

“Now, then,” said Villefort, placing the letter in his pocketbook, “I must have another!”
“现在，”维尔福放进口袋本里那封信说，“我还需要另外一封！”

“To whom?”
“给谁？”

“To the king.”
“给国王。”

“To the king?”
“给国王？”

“Yes.”
“是的。”

“I dare not write to his majesty.”
“我不敢给陛下写信。”

“I do not ask you to write to his majesty, but ask M. de Salvieux to do so. —
“我不要求你写信给国王陛下，只要求萨尔维厄先生这样做。 —

I want a letter that will enable me to reach the king’s presence without all the formalities of demanding an audience; —
我想要一封信，能够让我毋庸索取面见国王所需的繁文缛节； —

that would occasion a loss of precious time.”
那样将浪费宝贵的时间。”

“But address yourself to the keeper of the seals; —
“但请找内阁大臣来写信； —

he has the right of entry at the Tuileries, and can procure you audience at any hour of the day or night.”
他有权进入图伊勒里花园，并能为你争取任何时间的面见。”

“Doubtless; but there is no occasion to divide the honors of my discovery with him. —
“无疑的；但我不想与他分享我的发现所带来的荣耀。 —

The keeper would leave me in the background, and take all the glory to himself. —
内阁大臣会把我置于次要位置，独自享受所有的荣誉。 —

I tell you, marquis, my fortune is made if I only reach the Tuileries the first, for the king will not forget the service I do him.”
告诉你，侯爵，如果我能第一个进入图伊勒里花园，我的财富就能成就，因为国王不会忘记我为他所做的贡献。”

“In that case go and get ready. I will call Salvieux and make him write the letter.”
“那就去准备吧。我会叫萨尔维厄先生写信。”

“Be as quick as possible, I must be on the road in a quarter of an hour.”
“尽快吧，我必须在15分钟内上路。”

“Tell your coachman to stop at the door.”
“告诉你的车夫停在门口。”

“You will present my excuses to the marquise and Mademoiselle Renée, whom I leave on such a day with great regret.”
“你将向女侯爵和雷妮小姐转达我的歉意，我很遗憾地离开了她们。”

“You will find them both here, and can make your farewells in person.”
“你们两个都可以在这里找到他们，并亲自告别。”

“A thousand thanks—and now for the letter.”
“非常感谢，现在该写信了。”

The marquis rang, a servant entered.
侯爵按铃，一个仆人进来。

“Say to the Comte de Salvieux that I would like to see him.”
“告诉萨尔维厄伯爵，我想见他一下。”

“Now, then, go,” said the marquis.
“好了，你去吧。”侯爵说道。

“I shall be gone only a few moments.”
“我只会离开几分钟。”

Villefort hastily quitted the apartment, but reflecting that the sight of the deputy procureur running through the streets would be enough to throw the whole city into confusion, he resumed his ordinary pace. —
维尔福匆忙离开房间，但是想到代理检察官在街上跑来跑去会让整个城市陷入混乱，他又恢复了平常的步伐。 —

At his door he perceived a figure in the shadow that seemed to wait for him. —
在他的门口，他看见一个在阴影中等候他的人。 —

It was Mercédès, who, hearing no news of her lover, had come unobserved to inquire after him.
那是梅尔赛德斯，她没有听到她的情人的消息，悄悄地来打听他的情况。

As Villefort drew near, she advanced and stood before him. —
当维尔福走近时，她上前站在他面前。 —

Dantès had spoken of Mercédès, and Villefort instantly recognized her. —
丹泰已经提过梅尔赛德斯，维尔福立刻认出了她。 —

Her beauty and high bearing surprised him, and when she inquired what had become of her lover, it seemed to him that she was the judge, and he the accused.
她的美貌和高贵的仪态让他惊讶不已，当她询问她的爱人下落时，他感觉自己像是被审判的被告人。

“The young man you speak of,” said Villefort abruptly, “is a great criminal, and I can do nothing for him, mademoiselle. —
“你所说的那个年轻人是个大罪犯，我无法为他做任何事情，小姐。” —

” Mercédès burst into tears, and, as Villefort strove to pass her, again addressed him.
梅赛德斯突然哭了起来，当维勒福试图从她身边走过时，她再次向他发问。

“But, at least, tell me where he is, that I may know whether he is alive or dead,” said she.
“但是，请告诉我他在哪里，我想知道他是活着还是死了。”她说。

“I do not know; he is no longer in my hands,” replied Villefort.
“我不知道，他不再我掌握之中了。”维勒福回答道。

And desirous of putting an end to the interview, he pushed by her, and closed the door, as if to exclude the pain he felt. —
为了结束这次会面，他推过她，关闭了门，仿佛要排除掉自己的痛苦。 —

But remorse is not thus banished; like Virgil’s wounded hero, he carried the arrow in his wound, and, arrived at the salon, Villefort uttered a sigh that was almost a sob, and sank into a chair.
但是，悔恨并没有被这样放逐；就像维吉尔所描写的受伤英雄一样，他将箭头留在伤口里，走进客厅，维勒福发出了几乎是呜咽的叹息，沉入了椅子里。

Then the first pangs of an unending torture seized upon his heart. —
然后，无尽的痛苦的第一阵痛苦笼罩了他的心。 —

The man he sacrificed to his ambition, that innocent victim immolated on the altar of his father’s faults, appeared to him pale and threatening, leading his affianced bride by the hand, and bringing with him remorse, not such as the ancients figured, furious and terrible, but that slow and consuming agony whose pangs are intensified from hour to hour up to the very moment of death. —
那个男人为了自己的野心，将那个无辜的牺牲品奉献在他父亲错误的祭坛上，他以苍白而威胁的面孔出现在他面前，拉着他已订婚的新娘的手，带来的不是古人所描述的狂暴可怕的悔恨，而是那种缓慢而消磨人心的痛苦，从小时候开始愈发加剧，直到临终之刻。 —

Then he had a moment’s hesitation. He had frequently called for capital punishment on criminals, and owing to his irresistible eloquence they had been condemned, and yet the slightest shadow of remorse had never clouded Villefort’s brow, because they were guilty; —
然后他犹豫了一下。他经常呼吁对罪犯进行极刑，由于他难以抵挡的口才，他们被判有罪，然而最轻微的悔恨阴影从未出现在维尔福的额头上，因为他们是有罪的； —

at least, he believed so; but here was an innocent man whose happiness he had destroyed. —
至少，他这样认为；但是在这里，他毁掉了一个无辜人的幸福。 —

In this case he was not the judge, but the executioner.
在这种情况下，他不是裁判，而是执行者。

As he thus reflected, he felt the sensation we have described, and which had hitherto been unknown to him, arise in his bosom, and fill him with vague apprehensions. —
当他这样思考的时候，他感到了我们所描述的那种感觉，它以前从未在他胸中出现过，它充满了他模糊的忧虑。 —

It is thus that a wounded man trembles instinctively at the approach of the finger to his wound until it be healed, but Villefort’s was one of those that never close, or if they do, only close to reopen more agonizing than ever. —
一个受伤的人在创伤受到触摸时本能地颤抖，直到伤口愈合，但是维尔福的伤口永远不会闭合，或者说，即使闭合了，也只是为了更痛苦地重新打开。 —

If at this moment the sweet voice of Renée had sounded in his ears pleading for mercy, or the fair Mercédès had entered and said, “In the name of God, I conjure you to restore me my affianced husband, ” his cold and trembling hands would have signed his release; —
如果此刻伦妮甜美的声音在他耳边响起，乞求宽恕，或者美丽的梅赛德斯进来说：“以上帝的名义，我恳求你归还我的未婚夫”，他冰冷而颤抖的双手定会签署他的释放。 —

but no voice broke the stillness of the chamber, and the door was opened only by Villefort’s valet, who came to tell him that the travelling carriage was in readiness.
但没有声音打破了房间的寂静，开门的只是维尔福的贴身仆人，他来告诉他马车已经准备好了。

Villefort rose, or rather sprang, from his chair, hastily opened one of the drawers of his desk, emptied all the gold it contained into his pocket, stood motionless an instant, his hand pressed to his head, muttered a few inarticulate sounds, and then, perceiving that his servant had placed his cloak on his shoulders, he sprang into the carriage, ordering the postilions to drive to M. de Saint-Méran’s. —
维尔福突然从椅子上跳起，匆忙地打开办公桌的一个抽屉，把里面的所有金子都倒进了口袋，站在那里一动不动，手按在头上，嘴里嘟囔着几个不清不楚的声音。然后他注意到仆人已经把披风披在了他的肩上，他跳上了马车，命令车夫去圣梅兰先生那里。 —

The hapless Dantès was doomed.
不幸的丹蒂斯注定要倒霉了。

As the marquis had promised, Villefort found the marquise and Renée in waiting. —
正如侯爵答应的那样，维尔福在那里见到了侯爵夫人和雷内。 —

He started when he saw Renée, for he fancied she was again about to plead for Dantès. —
当他看到雷内时，他吃了一惊，因为他以为她又要为丹蒂斯求情了。 —

Alas, her emotions were wholly personal: —
唉，她的情感全都是个人的：她只在意维尔福的离开。 —

she was thinking only of Villefort’s departure.
她爱着维尔福，而他却在她即将成为他妻子的时刻离开了她。

She loved Villefort, and he left her at the moment he was about to become her husband. —
维尔福不知道他什么时候会回来，而雷内远非为丹蒂斯辩护，她痛恨那个因为犯罪而将她与恋人分开的人。 —

Villefort knew not when he should return, and Renée, far from pleading for Dantès, hated the man whose crime separated her from her lover.
Villefort rose from his chair, hasty to open one of the drawers in the desk, dumped all the gold it contained into his pocket, stood motionless for a moment, with his hand pressed to his head, muttered a few inarticulate sounds, suddenly finding his servant dressed him in a coat and let him spring into the carriage, where he ordered the postilions to drive to M. de Saint-Méran’s residence.

Meanwhile what of Mercédès? She had met Fernand at the corner of the Rue de la Loge; —
与此同时，梅赛德斯已经在洛日街角遇见了费尔南德； —

she had returned to the Catalans, and had despairingly cast herself on her couch. —
她回到了加泰罗尼亚人，绝望地扑倒在她的沙发上。 —

Fernand, kneeling by her side, took her hand, and covered it with kisses that Mercédès did not even feel. —
费尔南德跪在她身边，抓住她的手，亲吻着她，但梅赛德斯却感受不到任何东西。 —

She passed the night thus. The lamp went out for want of oil, but she paid no heed to the darkness, and dawn came, but she knew not that it was day. —
她就这样过了一个晚上。灯熄灭了因为没油了，但她对黑暗毫不在意，黎明来临了，但她不知道已经是白天了。 —

Grief had made her blind to all but one object—that was Edmond.
悲伤使她对除了一个目标之外的一切都视而不见，那目标就是爱德蒙。

“Ah, you are there,” said she, at length, turning towards Fernand.
“啊，你在这里”，她终于转向费尔南德说道。

“I have not quitted you since yesterday,” returned Fernand sorrowfully.
“我从昨天起就没离开过你”，费尔南德伤心地回答道。

M. Morrel had not readily given up the fight. —
莫雷尔先生并没有轻易放弃。 —

He had learned that Dantès had been taken to prison, and he had gone to all his friends, and the influential persons of the city; —
他得知唐泰斯被送进了监狱，他去见了他的所有朋友和城市的有影响力的人士； —

but the report was already in circulation that Dantès was arrested as a Bonapartist agent; —
但是已经传开了唐泰斯被拘捕为波拿巴派特工的消息。 —

and as the most sanguine looked upon any attempt of Napoleon to remount the throne as impossible, he met with nothing but refusal, and had returned home in despair, declaring that the matter was serious and that nothing more could be done.
而最乐观的人认为拿破仑再度登上王位的企图是不可能的，所以他一直遭到拒绝。他失望地回到家中，宣称情况十分严峻，已无可作为。

Caderousse was equally restless and uneasy, but instead of seeking, like M. Morrel, to aid Dantès, he had shut himself up with two bottles of black currant brandy, in the hope of drowning reflection. —
卡德鲁斯同样心神不宁不安，但与莫雷尔先生不同，他闭门不出，只希望通过两瓶黑加仑子白兰地来麻痹自己，以忘却种种困扰。 —

But he did not succeed, and became too intoxicated to fetch any more drink, and yet not so intoxicated as to forget what had happened. —
然而他并未成功，反而喝得太醉，无法再取更多的酒，但又没有醉得忘记发生的事情。 —

With his elbows on the table he sat between the two empty bottles, while spectres danced in the light of the unsnuffed candle—spectres such as Hoffmann strews over his punch-drenched pages, like black, fantastic dust.
他双肘撑在桌子上，坐在两个空瓶子之间，灯未熄灭时，幻象在他的面前跳舞。这些幻象如同霍夫曼撒在喝过朗姆酒的书页上的黑色奇异尘埃。

Danglars alone was content and joyous—he had got rid of an enemy and made his own situation on the Pharaon secure. —
唯有当格拉尔一个人感到满足和欢乐，他已经摆脱了一个敌人，并使自己在“法老号”上的位置牢固无比。 —

Danglars was one of those men born with a pen behind the ear, and an inkstand in place of a heart. —
当格拉尔是那种生来就戴着钢笔的人，心脏的位置是墨水瓶。 —

Everything with him was multiplication or subtraction. —
在他看来，万事都是乘法或减法。 —

The life of a man was to him of far less value than a numeral, especially when, by taking it away, he could increase the sum total of his own desires. —
对他来说，一个人的生命价值远不如一个数字，尤其是当通过剥夺这个生命可以增加自己欲望的总和时。 —

He went to bed at his usual hour, and slept in peace.
他按照平常的时间上床睡觉，安心入睡。

Villefort, after having received M. de Salvieux’s letter, embraced Renée, kissed the marquise’s hand, and shaken that of the marquis, started for Paris along the Aix road.
维尔福在收到萨尔维厄先生的信后，拥抱了蕾妮，吻了侯爵夫人的手，握了握侯爵的手，沿着埃克斯的道路前往巴黎。

Old Dantès was dying with anxiety to know what had become of Edmond. —
老丹特非常焦虑地想知道埃德蒙发生了什么事情。 —

But we know very well what had become of Edmond.
但我们非常清楚埃德蒙发生了什么事情。