“You have come almost as quickly as we,” said Prudence.
“你来得跟我们差不多快，”普鲁登斯说道。

“Yes,” I answered mechanically. “Where is Marguerite?”
“是的，”我机械地回答。“玛格丽特在哪里？”

“At home.”
“在家。”

“Alone?”
“一个人吗？”

“With M. de G.”
“和 G 先生在一起。”

I walked to and fro in the room.
我在房间里来回踱步。

“Well, what is the matter?”
“怎么了？”

“Do you think it amuses me to wait here till M. de G. leaves Marguerite’s?”
“你以为我喜欢在这里等到 G 先生离开玛格丽特那里吗？”

“How unreasonable you are! Don’t you see that Marguerite can’t turn the count out of doors? —
“你真是太不理智了！你看不出来玛格丽特不能把伯爵赶出去吗？ —

M. de G. has been with her for a long time; —
G 先生已经和她在一起很久了； —

he has always given her a lot of money; he still does. —
他一直给她很多钱；现在还在给。 —

Marguerite spends more than a hundred thousand francs a year; she has heaps of debts. —
玛格丽特一年花费超过十万法郎；她有一大堆债务。 —

The duke gives her all that she asks for, but she does not always venture to ask him for all that she is in want of. —
公爵给她所有她要的东西，但她并不总敢向他要她需要的一切。 —

It would never do for her to quarrel with the count, who is worth to her at least ten thousand francs a year. —
她不应该和伯爵闹翻，伯爵每年对她的价值至少有一万法郎。 —

Marguerite is very fond of you, my dear fellow, but your liaison with her, in her interests and in yours, ought not to be serious. —
玛格丽特非常爱你，亲爱的朋友，但你们之间的关系，无论对她还是对你，都不能太过认真。 —

You with your seven or eight thousand francs a year, what could you do toward supplying all the luxuries which a girl like that is in need of? —
你有七八千法郎的年薪，你能为像她这样一个女孩所需要的所有奢侈品做些什么呢？ —

It would not be enough to keep her carriage. —
这还不够养她的马车。 —

Take Marguerite for what she is, for a good, bright, pretty girl; —
接受玛格丽特的本来面目，一个好的、聪明的、漂亮的女孩； —

be her lover for a month, two months; give her flowers, sweets, boxes at the theatre; —
做她的情人一个月，两个月；给她鲜花、糖果，剧院的包厢； —

but don’t get any other ideas into your head, and don’t make absurd scenes of jealousy. —
但是不要产生其他的想法，也不要闹出荒谬的嫉妒场面。 —

You know whom you have to do with; Marguerite isn’t a saint. —
你知道你在和谁打交道；玛格丽特不是个圣人。 —

She likes you, you are very fond of her; let the rest alone. —
她喜欢你，你很喜欢她；别再想其他的了。 —

You amaze me when I see you so touchy; —
当我看到你这样易怒时，你让我很吃惊； —

you have the most charming mistress in Paris. She receives you in the greatest style, she is covered with diamonds, she needn’t cost you a penny, unless you like, and you are not satisfied. —
你在巴黎有最迷人的情妇。她用华贵的方式接待你，她身上镶满了钻石，她不会让你花一分钱，除非你想，而你还不满足。 —

My dear fellow, you ask too much!”
亲爱的朋友，你太过要求了！”

“You are right, but I can’t help it; the idea that that man is her lover hurts me horribly.”
“你说得对，但我无能为力；那个男人是她的情人的想法让我痛苦不堪。”

“In the first place,” replied Prudence; “is he still her lover? —
“首先，”普鲁登斯回答道，“他还是她的情人吗？ —

He is a man who is useful to her, nothing more. She has closed her doors to him for two days; —
他只是对她有用而已。她已经两天不让他进门了； —

he came this morning—she could not but accept the box and let him accompany her. —
他今天早上过来了——她不得不接受他送来的礼物并让他陪同着她。 —

He saw her home; —
他一直送她回家； —

he has gone in for a moment, he is not staying, because you are waiting here. —
他只是进去了一会儿，不会待很久，因为你在这里等着。 —

All that, it seems to me, is quite natural. —
在我看来，这一切都很自然。 —

Besides, you don’t mind the duke.”
而且，你也不介意公爵。”

“Yes; but he is an old man, and I am sure that Marguerite is not his mistress. —
“是的，但他是个老人，我相信玛格丽特不是他的情妇。 —

Then, it is all very well to accept one liaison, but not two. —
此外，接受一段姻缘还好，但不能接受两段。 —

Such easiness in the matter is very like calculation, and puts the man who consents to it, even out of love, very much in the category of those who, in a lower stage of society, make a trade of their connivance, and a profit of their trade.”
在这件事上如此轻易，很容易让人联想到算计，而且使得即使出于爱情，同意这种事情的人也很容易被归为那些在社会底层，以默许他人行为为营生、以从这种行为中获取利益的人群。”

“Ah, my dear fellow, how old-fashioned you are! —
“啊，我亲爱的朋友，你太过时了！ —

How many of the richest and most fashionable men of the best families I have seen quite ready to do what I advise you to do, and without an effort, without shame, without remorse! —
我见过最富有、最时尚的男人，属于最好的家族，都很愿意照我劝你的去做，而且毫不费力、无愧无悔！ —

Why, one sees it every day. How do you suppose the kept women in Paris could live in the style they do, if they had not three or four lovers at once? —
哎呀，这种事情每天都能看到。你想像巴黎的小姐们能过上她们那样的生活，又能不同时拥有三、四个情人？ —

No single fortune, however large, could suffice for the expenses of a woman like Marguerite. —
没有什么单一的财富，无论多么庞大，都足以支付得起一个像玛格丽特那样女人的花销。 —

A fortune of five hundred thousand francs a year is, in France, an enormous fortune; —
在法国，一年五十万法郎的财产已经算是巨大的财富了。 —

well, my dear friend, five hundred thousand francs a year would still be too little, and for this reason: —
哦，亲爱的朋友，五十万法郎一年还是太少了，原因如下： —

a man with such an income has a large house, horses, servants, carriages; —
有这样收入的人拥有一座大房子、马匹、仆人、马车。 —

he shoots, has friends, often he is married, he has children, he races, gambles, travels, and what not. —
他会打猎、交友，常常结婚、有孩子，参加赛马、赌博、旅行，等等。 —

All these habits are so much a part of his position that he can not forego them without appearing to have lost all his money, and without causing scandal. —
所有这些习惯都是他社会地位的一部分，如果他不遵守这些习俗，就会显得手头一贫如洗，引起丑闻。 —

Taking it all round, with five hundred thousand francs a year he can not give a woman more than forty or fifty thousand francs in the year, and that is already a good deal. —
总的来说，年收入五十万法郎，他一年最多也不能给一个女人超过四十到五十万法郎，这已经是很大一笔了。 —

Well, other lovers make up for the rest of her expenses. —
好吧，其他情人来付这之外的花费。 —

With Marguerite, it is still more convenient; —
对于玛格丽特来说，这更方便； —

she has chanced by a miracle on an old man worth ten millions, whose wife and daughter are dead; —
她碰巧找到了一个价值千万的老人，他的妻子和女儿已经去世了； —

who has only some nephews, themselves rich, and who gives her all she wants without asking anything in return. —
他只有一些富裕的侄子，他给了她想要的一切而不求任何回报。 —

But she can not ask him for more than seventy thousand francs a year; —
但是她不能向他要求超过七万法郎每年； —

and I am sure that if she did ask for more, despite his health and the affection he has for her he would not give it to her.
我确信，即使她要求更多，尽管老人身体健康，对她也有感情，他也不会给她。

“All the young men of twenty or thirty thousand francs a year at Paris, that is to say, men who have only just enough to live on in the society in which they mix, know perfectly well, when they are the lovers of a woman like Marguerite, that she could not so much as pay for the rooms she lives in and the servants who wait upon her with what they give her. —
“巴黎的年收入为二三万法郎的年轻人，也就是说刚好够维持他们在社交圈中的生活水平的人，非常清楚当他们成为像玛格丽特这样的女人的情人时，她甚至连住处和侍奉她的仆人的钱都付不起。” —

They do not say to her that they know it; —
他们不会对她说他们知道这一点； —

they pretend not to see anything, and when they have had enough of it they go their way. —
他们假装什么都没看到，当他们厌倦了就会离开。 —

If they have the vanity to wish to pay for everything they get ruined, like the fools they are, and go and get killed in Africa, after leaving a hundred thousand francs of debt in Paris. Do you think a woman is grateful to them for it? —
如果他们太自负地愿意为所有的东西买单，他们就会像傻瓜一样破产，并在离开巴黎前在非洲留下十万法郎的债务。你认为女人会对他们心存感激吗？ —

Far from it. She declares that she has sacrificed her position for them, and that while she was with them she was losing money. —
恰恰相反。她宣称她为他们牺牲了自己的地位，并且在与他们在一起时正在亏钱。 —

These details seem to you shocking? Well, they are true. You are a very nice fellow; —
这些细节对你来说令人震惊？那么，它们是真实的。你是个很好的人。 —

I like you very much. I have lived with these women for twenty years; —
我非常喜欢你。我与这些女人一起生活了二十年。 —

I know what they are worth, and I don’t want to see you take the caprice that a pretty girl has for you too seriously.
我知道她们的价值，我不希望你对一个漂亮女孩对你的一时兴起过于认真。

“Then, besides that,” continued Prudence; —
然后，再加一句，”普鲁登斯接着说道； —

“admit that Marguerite loves you enough to give up the count or the duke, in case one of them were to discover your liaison and to tell her to choose between him and you, the sacrifice that she would make for you would be enormous, you can not deny it. —
“承认玛格丽特爱你足够放弃伯爵或公爵，如果他们中的一个发现了你们的恋情，并告诉她在他和你之间选择，她为你所做的牺牲将是巨大的，你不能否认这一点。 —

What equal sacrifice could you make for her, on your part, and when you had got tired of her, what could you do to make up for what you had taken from her? —
而你能为她做出什么同等的牺牲？在你已经对她厌倦时，你又能如何弥补你从她那里夺走的东西呢？ —

Nothing. You would have cut her off from the world in which her fortune and her future were to be found; —
什么都没有。你会把她隔离到她的财富和未来所在的世界之外； —

she would have given you her best years, and she would be forgotten. —
她会为你付出她最美好的岁月，然后被遗忘。 —

Either you would be an ordinary man, and, casting her past in her teeth, you would leave her, telling her that you were only doing like her other lovers, and you would abandon her to certain misery; —
要么你将成为一个普通人，然后你会向她提起她的过去，告诉她你只是像她的其他情人一样对待她，然后抛弃她，让她遭受无尽的痛苦； —

or you would be an honest man, and, feeling bound to keep her by you, you would bring inevitable trouble upon yourself, for a liaison which is excusable in a young man, is no longer excusable in a man of middle age. —
要么你将成为一个诚实的人，觉得有责任留住她，并为此带来无法避免的麻烦，因为一个年轻人的关系是可以原谅的，但对于一个中年男人而言，这就不再可原谅； —

It becomes an obstacle to every thing; it allows neither family nor ambition, man’s second and last loves. —
它成为了一切的障碍；它既不允许有家庭，也不允许有雄心壮志，这是男人的第二和最后的爱； —

Believe me, then, my friend, take things for what they are worth, and do not give a kept woman the right to call herself your creditor, no matter in what.”
相信我，我的朋友，接受事实的真相，不要让一个被你养着的女人有权利称自己是你的债主，不管在什么情况下；

It was well argued, with a logic of which I should have thought Prudence incapable. —
这个论点很有道理，这是我本以为Prudence无法做到的逻辑； —

I had nothing to reply, except that she was right; —
我没有什么可以回答的，除了她是对的； —

I took her hand and thanked her for her counsels.
我握住她的手，感谢她的建议；

“Come, come,” said she, “put these foolish theories to flight, and laugh over them. —
“来吧，来吧，”她说，”把这些愚蠢的理论扫除，笑一笑吧。 —

Life is pleasant, my dear fellow; it all depends on the colour of the glass through which one sees it. —
生活是愉快的，亲爱的朋友；一切取决于我们用什么样的眼光看待它。 —

Ask your friend Gaston; there’s a man who seems to me to understand love as I understand it. —
去问问你的朋友加斯东吧；他是我所理解的爱情的懂得者。 —

All that you need think of, unless you are quite a fool, is that close by there is a beautiful girl who is waiting impatiently for the man who is with her to go, thinking of you, keeping the whole night for you, and who loves you, I am certain. —
你要想的只是，附近有一个美丽的女孩正在不耐烦地等着她身边的男人离去，一心想着你，整夜等你到来，并且她爱你，我敢肯定。 —

Now, come to the window with me, and let us watch for the count to go; —
现在，和我一起走到窗户那里，让我们等着那个男子离开； —

he won’t be long in leaving the coast clear.”
他不会在海岸上停留太久。”

Prudence opened the window, and we leaned side by side over the balcony. —
普鲁登斯打开了窗户，我们并肩站在阳台上。 —

She watched the few passers, I reflected. —
她看着匆匆走过的人们，我陷入了沉思。 —

All that she had said buzzed in my head, and I could not help feeling that she was right; —
她说的一切在我脑海中回响，我不能不感觉她是对的； —

but the genuine love which I had for Marguerite had some difficulty in accommodating itself to such a belief. —
但是我对玛格丽特真挚的爱对这种信念有些困惑。 —

I sighed from time to time, at which Prudence turned, and shrugged her shoulders like a physician who has given up his patient.
我时不时地叹了口气，普鲁登斯转过头，耸了耸肩，就像一个放弃了病人的医生。

“How one realizes the shortness of life, ” I said to myself, “by the rapidity of sensations! —
“人们通过感触的迅速来意识到生命的短暂！”我自言自语道。 —

I have only known Marguerite for two days, she has only been my mistress since yesterday, and she has already so completely absorbed my thoughts, my heart, and my life that the visit of the Comte de G. is a misfortune for me.”
我才认识玛格丽特两天，她才成为我的情妇昨天，但她已经完全占据了我的思想、我的心灵和我的生活，所以格先生的造访对我来说是个不幸。

At last the count came out, got into his carriage and disappeared. —
最后，格先生出来了，上了自己的马车，消失了。 —

Prudence closed the window. At the same instant Marguerite called to us:
普鲁登斯关上窗户。就在同一瞬间，玛格丽特叫住我们。

“Come at once,” she said; “they are laying the table, and we’ll have supper.”
“快过来，”她说，“他们正在摆餐桌，我们要吃晚餐。”

When I entered, Marguerite ran to me, threw her arms around my neck and kissed me with all her might.
当我走进去时，玛格丽特跑过来，扑到我的脖子上，用尽全力地吻了我一下。

“Are we still sulky?” she said to me.
“我们还冷淡吗?”她问我。

“No, it is all over,” replied Prudence. —
“不，已经结束了，”普鲁登斯回答。 —

“I have given him a talking to, and he has promised to be reasonable.”
“我训了他一顿，他答应会 Vernunft 的。”

“Well and good.”
“好吧，就这样。”

In spite of myself I glanced at the bed; it was not unmade. —
虽然我忍不住看了看床，但并没有没整理好。 —

As for Marguerite, she was already in her white dressing-gown. —
至于玛格丽特，她已经穿着白色睡袍了。 —

We sat down to table.
我们坐下开始用餐。

Charm, sweetness, spontaneity, Marguerite had them all, and I was forced from time to time to admit that I had no right to ask of her anything else; —
迷人、甜美和自发性，玛格丽特拥有这一切，我不得不时不时地承认我没有权利向她要求其他任何东西； —

that many people would be very happy to be in my place; —
很多人会乐意处在我的位置； —

and that, like Virgil’s shepherd, I had only to enjoy the pleasures that a god, or rather a goddess, set before me.
而且，就像维吉尔的牧羊人一样，我只需享受一个神，或者说是女神所摆放在我面前的乐趣。

I tried to put in practice the theories of Prudence, and to be as gay as my two companions; —
我尝试实施谨慎的理论，像我两个伴侣一样快乐； —

but what was natural in them was on my part an effort, and the nervous laughter, whose source they did not detect, was nearer to tears than to mirth.
但对他们来说是自然的，在我身上却是一个努力，那种他们没有发觉源头的神经性笑声比起欢笑更近于眼泪。

At last the supper was over and I was alone with Marguerite. —
最后，晚餐结束了，只剩下我和玛格丽特。 —

She sat down as usual on the hearthrug before the fire and gazed sadly into the flames. —
她照例坐在壁炉前的火毯上，悲伤地凝视着火焰。 —

What was she thinking of? I know not. As for me, I looked at her with a mingling of love and terror, as I thought of all that I was ready to suffer for her sake.
她在想什么？我不知道。至于我，当我想到为了她我愿意承受的一切时，我对她充满爱与恐惧地看着她。

“Do you know what I am thinking of?”
“你知道我正在想什么吗？”

“No.”
“不知道。”

“Of a plan that has come into my head.”
“我有一个计划闪过我的脑海。”

“And what is this plan?”
“这个计划是什么？”

“I can’t tell you yet, but I can tell you what the result would be. —
“我现在不能告诉你，但我可以告诉你结果会是什么。” —

The result would be that in a month I should be free, I should have no more debts, and we could go and spend the summer in the country.”
“结果将是在一个月内我将自由了，我不再有债务，我们可以去乡下度过夏天。”

“And you can’t tell me by what means?”
“你不能告诉我具体是怎样做到的？”

“No, only love me as I love you, and all will succeed.”
“不能，只要像我爱你一样爱我，一切都会成功。”

“And have you made this plan all by yourself?”
“这个计划是你自己想出来的吗？”

“Yes.”
“是的。”

“And you will carry it out all by yourself?”
“你会独自实施这个计划吗？”

“I alone shall have the trouble of it,” said Marguerite, with a smile which I shall never forget, “but we shall both partake its benefits.”
“只有我一个人会有麻烦，”玛格丽特笑着说，我永远不会忘记这个笑容，” 但我们都会分享它的好处。”

I could not help flushing at the word benefits; —
我忍不住脸红了一下，想到”好处”这个词； —

I thought of Manon Lescaut squandering with Desgrieux the money of M. de B.
我想到了曼农·莱斯科的故事，她和德格里厄一起挥霍了德·B的钱。

I replied in a hard voice, rising from my seat:
我用严厉的声音回答道，从座位上站起来：

“You must permit me, my dear Marguerite, to share only the benefits of those enterprises which I have conceived and carried out myself.”
“亲爱的玛格丽特，你必须允许我只分享我自己构思和实施的企业带来的好处。”

“What does that mean?”
“这是什么意思？”

“It means that I have a strong suspicion that M. de G. is to be your associate in this pretty plan, of which I can accept neither the cost nor the benefits.”
“这意味着我强烈怀疑G先生将成为你在这美好计划中的伙伴，而我既无法承担成本，也无法获得利益。”

“What a child you are! I thought you loved me. I was mistaken; all right.”
“你真是个孩子！我以为你爱我，我错了；没关系。”

She rose, opened the piano and began to play the “Invitation à la Valse”, as far as the famous passage in the major which always stopped her. —
她站起来，打开钢琴，开始弹奏《邀请华尔兹》，一直弹到让她停下来的那个著名的大调段落。 —

Was it through force of habit, or was it to remind me of the day when we first met? —
是因为习惯的力量，还是为了提醒我我们第一次见面的那一天？ —

All I know is that the melody brought back that recollection, and, coming up to her, I took her head between my hands and kissed her. —
我只知道那个旋律带回了那个回忆，我走到她面前，用双手托着她的头亲吻了她。 —

“You forgive me?” I said.
“你原谅我了？”我问。

“You see I do,” she answered; “but observe that we are only at our second day, and already I have had to forgive you something. —
“你看我原谅你了。”她回答说，“但要注意，我们才第二天，我已经不得不原谅你一些事情了。” —

Is this how you keep your promise of blind obedience?”
这就是你履行盲从承诺的方式吗？

“What can I do, Marguerite? I love you too much and I am jealous of the least of your thoughts. —
“我该怎么办，玛格丽特？我爱你爱得太深，连你的最微小的想法我也会嫉妒。 —

What you proposed to me just now made me frantic with delight, but the mystery in its carrying out hurts me dreadfully.”
你刚才提出的计划让我兴奋不已，但是它实施的神秘感令我极度痛苦。

“Come, let us reason it out,” she said, taking both my hands and looking at me with a charming smile which it was impossible to resist, “You love me, do you not? —
“来，让我们好好推敲一下。”她说着，双手握住我的手，用迷人的微笑看着我，我无法抵挡，“你爱我，对吗？ —

and you would gladly spend two or three months alone with me in the country? —
并且你愿意和我一起在乡村度过两三个月的时间？ —

I too should be glad of this solitude à deux, and not only glad of it, but my health requires it. —
我也希望有这样的独处时光，而且不仅希望，我的健康也需要这样。 —

I can not leave Paris for such a length of time without putting my affairs in order, and the affairs of a woman like me are always in great confusion; —
我不能长时间离开巴黎，不整理好我的事务，而像我这样的女人的事务总是一团糟； —

well, I have found a way to reconcile everything, my money affairs and my love for you; —
好吧，我已经找到一个方法来和谐处理一切，我的金钱事务和我对你的爱； —

yes, for you, don’t laugh; I am silly enough to love you! —
是的，对你，别笑；我傻到爱上了你！ —

And here you are taking lordly airs and talking big words. —
而你却摆架子，说大话。 —

Child, thrice child, only remember that I love you, and don’t let anything disturb you. —
孩子，记住我爱你，不要让任何事情打扰你。 —

Now, is it agreed?”
现在，我们达成协议了吗？

“I agree to all you wish, as you know.”
你知道，我同意你的一切要求。

“Then, in less than a month’s time we shall be in some village, walking by the river side, and drinking milk. —
那么，不到一个月的时间，我们将在某个村庄散步在河边，喝牛奶。 —

Does it seem strange that Marguerite Gautier should speak to you like that? —
玛格丽特·戈提耶以这种方式对你说话，是否显得奇怪？ —

The fact is, my friend, that when this Paris life, which seems to make me so happy, doesn’t burn me, it wearies me, and then I have sudden aspirations toward a calmer existence which might recall my childhood. —
事实是，我的朋友，当这个看似让我如此快乐的巴黎生活不再燃烧我时，它使我厌倦，然后我突然向往一个更加宁静的生活，让我回忆起我的童年。 —

One has always had a childhood, whatever one becomes. Don’t be alarmed; —
无论一个人成为什么样的人，他总是有一个童年。别担心； —

I am not going to tell you that I am the daughter of a colonel on half-pay, and that I was brought up at Saint-Denis. I am a poor country girl, and six years ago I could not write my own name. —
我不会告诉你，我是一个半薪上校的女儿，我在圣丹尼斯长大。我是一个贫穷的乡下女孩，六年前我连自己的名字都不会写。 —

You are relieved, aren’t you? Why is it you are the first whom I have ever asked to share the joy of this desire of mine? —
你终于松了一口气，是吗？为什么我是第一个让你分享我这个愿望的人呢？ —

I suppose because I feel that you love me for myself and not for yourself, while all the others have only loved me for themselves.
我想是因为我感觉你爱我是因为我自己，而不是为了你自己，而其他人只是为了他们自己而爱我。

“I have often been in the country, but never as I should like to go there. —
我经常在乡村待过，但从没像我想去的那样。 —

I count on you for this easy happiness; do not be unkind, let me have it. Say this to yourself: —
这个简单的幸福我指望着你，不要太刻薄，让我拥有它。对自己说： —

‘She will never live to be old, and I should some day be sorry for not having done for her the first thing she asked of me, such an easy thing to do!’”
‘她永远不会活到老，而我有一天会为了没有满足她的第一个请求而后悔，这么简单的一件事情！”

What could I reply to such words, especially with the memory of a first night of love, and in the expectation of a second?
对于这样的话，我能回答什么呢，特别是在初次亲密之夜的回忆中，并且期待着第二次。

An hour later I held Marguerite in my arms, and, if she had asked me to commit a crime, I would have obeyed her.
一个小时后，我抱着玛格丽特，如果她要我犯罪，我会听从她的命令。

At six in the morning I left her, and before leaving her I said: —
早上六点钟我离开她，在离开之前，我说： —

“Till to-night!” She kissed me more warmly than ever, but said nothing.
“到今晚！”她比以往任何时候都更热烈地吻了我一下，但没有说话。

During the day I received a note containing these words:
白天的时候，我收到了一张纸条，上面写着这些话：

“DEAR CHILD: I am not very well, and the doctor has ordered quiet. —
“亲爱的孩子：我身体不太好，医生叫我要安静休息。 —

I shall go to bed early to-night and shall not see you. —
我今晚会早点上床休息，可能见不到你。 —

But, to make up, I shall expect you to-morrow at twelve. I love you.”
但是，为了弥补，我期待明天中午能见到你。我爱你。”

My first thought was: She is deceiving me!
我第一个想法是：她在欺骗我！

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, for I already loved this woman too much not to be overwhelmed by the suspicion. —
一阵冷汗涌上我的额头，因为我已经爱上了这个女人，对于这种怀疑，我无法不被压倒。 —

And yet, I was bound to expect such a thing almost any day with Marguerite, and it had happened to me often enough with my other mistresses, without my taking much notice of it. —
然而，对于玛格丽特来说，我几乎每天都期待这样的事情发生，这在我其他的情妇身上发生过很多次，我并没有太在意。 —

What was the meaning of the hold which this woman had taken upon my life?
这个女人对我的生活产生了什么样的影响？

Then it occurred to me, since I had the key, to go and see her as usual. —
于是我想到，既然我有钥匙，就去像往常一样见她。 —

In this way I should soon know the truth, and if I found a man there I would strike him in the face.
这样我很快就会知道真相了，如果我发现那里有个男人，我会打他一巴掌。

Meanwhile I went to the Champs-Elysées. I waited there four hours. She did not appear. —
在此期间，我去了香榭丽舍大道。我等了四个小时，她没有出现。 —

At night I went into all the theatres where she was accustomed to go. —
晚上，我去了她经常去的所有剧院。 —

She was in none of them.
她不在其中任何一个剧院。

At eleven o’clock I went to the Rue d’Antin. There was no light in Marguerite’s windows. —
十一点钟我去了昂坦街。玛格丽特的窗户里没有亮光。 —

All the same, I rang. The porter asked me where I was going.
尽管如此，我还是按了门铃。门卫问我要去哪里。

“To Mlle. Gautier’s,” I said.
“去高蒂埃小姐那里，”我说。

“She has not come in.”
“她还没回来。”

“I will go up and wait for her.”
“我会上去等她。”

“There is no one there.”
“那里没有人。”

Evidently I could get in, since I had the key, but, fearing foolish scandal, I went away. —
显然我可以进去，因为我有钥匙，但是出于担心引起愚蠢的丑闻，我还是离开了。 —

Only I did not return home; I could not leave the street, and I never took my eyes off Marguerite’s house. —
只是我没有回家；我不能离开这条街，我一直盯着玛格丽特的房子。 —

It seemed to me that there was still something to be found out, or at least that my suspicions were about to be confirmed.
在我看来，似乎还有什么要发现的事情，或者至少我怀疑的事情即将得到证实。

About midnight a carriage that I knew well stopped before No. 9. —
大约午夜时分，一辆我熟悉的马车停在了9号门前。 —

The Comte de G. got down and entered the house, after sending away the carriage. —
G子爵下了车，进了房子，然后让马车离开。 —

For a moment I hoped that the same answer would be given to him as to me, and that I should see him come out; —
有一瞬间，我希望他收到跟我一样的答复，然后我就能看到他走出来。 —

but at four o’clock in the morning I was still awaiting him.
但是凌晨四点的时候，我还在等待他。

I have suffered deeply during these last three weeks, but that is nothing, I think, in comparison with what I suffered that night.
我在过去的三个星期里经历了巨大的痛苦，但是我认为那与我在那个晚上所经历的相比微不足道。