030 情意流露

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After Father returned home, Beth's recovery took a turn for the better as she rapidly grew stronger

父亲回家后，贝思的康复有了好转，她很快恢复了体力。

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In no time she was climbing upstairs and downstairs on her own

很快她就能自己上下楼了。

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Being with his family again seemed to have the same effect on Father's health as well

重新和家人在一起，对父亲的健康似乎也有了同样的效果。

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True, he had lost a lot of weight and his body seemed stiff and sore, but his eyes remained as kind and watchful as ever

他确实消瘦了许多，身体显得僵硬酸痛，但眼神依然慈祥而关切，一如往常。

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" Shall I continue with the next chapter, or do you want a nap?"

“我接着念下一章，还是你想睡一会儿？”

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Father asked Beth, who was lying on the sofa listening to him read

父亲问躺在沙发上听他读书的贝思。

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Jo, who was also listening, answered excitedly," Please carry on. I want to know what happens!"

也在听着的乔兴奋地答道：“请继续念吧，我想知道接下来发生了什么！”

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Laughing, Beth nodded and said," I'd like to hear more, too, Father, but only if you're not too tired."

贝思笑着点点头说：“我也想多听一些，父亲，只要您不太累就行。”

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" I never get tired of reading to you, my dear girl," Father said lovingly, as he turned the page and continued

“给你读书我从不觉得累，亲爱的女儿，”父亲慈爱地说着，翻过一页继续念下去。

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" Oh, this color is not right either!" complained Amy from the corner by the window

“哦，这颜色也不对！”艾米在窗边的角落里抱怨道。

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where she had set up her easel and was trying to paint a vase of flowers

她在那儿支好画架，正试着画一瓶花。

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Mother and Meg, smiled at the peacefulness of their family at that moment. But the peace didn't last long

母亲和梅格微笑着看着此刻家中的宁静。但这份宁静并没有持续多久。

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" Oh, I can't believe she's here!" Amy suddenly cried as she glanced out the window

“哦，真不敢相信她来了！”艾米瞥了一眼窗外，突然喊道。

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" Who, Amy?" asked Mother, standing up to look for herself

“谁呀，艾米？”母亲问道，站起身自己去看。

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" Aunt March! Thank goodness, she didn't bring that annoying parrot," said Amy, screwing the lids back on her paints

“马奇姑婆！谢天谢地，她没带那只烦人的鹦鹉，”艾米说着，把颜料盖子拧回去。

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Unseen by their children, Mother and Father exchanged wordless glances that meant " get ready " for this unexpected visit

孩子们没注意到，母亲和父亲交换了一个心照不宣的眼神，意思是“做好准备”迎接这次突访。

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Mother opened the door for Aunt March as she strolled into the house as if she owned it

母亲为马奇姑婆开了门，她大摇大摆地走进屋子，仿佛这是她的房产。

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" Oh, there you are," she said, catching sight of Father

“哦，原来你在这儿，”她看见父亲，说道。

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" How are you, Aunt?" he asked graciously as he stood to give her a kiss on the cheek

“您好吗，姑妈？”他彬彬有礼地问候，同时站起身吻了吻她的脸颊。

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" You go off to war at your age, get sick, take away the children's mother

“你这把年纪还去打仗，又生病，还把孩子们的母亲带走，

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meanwhile your small one gets scarlet fever and nearly dies," snapped Aunt March

“与此同时，你的小女儿得了猩红热，差点没命，”马奇姑婆厉声说道，

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" so that the youngest, as adorable as she is" — here Aunt March nodded approvingly at Amy —

“结果最年幼的那个，尽管她这么可爱”——这时马奇姑婆赞许地朝艾米点了点头——

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" is sent over to my care despite my illnesses... and you ask me how I am!" she concluded

“却被送到我这儿来照顾，尽管我自己还病着……你倒问起我怎么样了！”她最后说道。

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While Father tried to explain his situation to Aunt March, who demanded that Jo bring a blanket for her cold knees and ordered hot tea from Meg

父亲试图向马奇姑婆解释他的处境，而姑婆却要乔拿条毯子盖住她发冷的膝盖，又吩咐梅格去泡热茶，

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Amy announced more visitors to the house

艾米通报家里又来了客人。

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" Here come Laurie and Mr. Brookes," she shouted, waving eagerly out the window

“劳里和布鲁克斯先生来了，”她喊道，兴奋地朝窗外挥手。

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Cheeks flushing, Meg quickly disappeared into the kitchen to get the tea

梅格脸颊泛红，匆匆躲进厨房去准备茶。

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Father stood up, relieved, even for a moment, not to have to listen to his aunt's scolding, and welcomed the guests into his home

父亲站起身来，松了口气，哪怕只是片刻不用听姑婆的责骂，便欢迎客人进屋。

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Father and Mr. Brookes had formed a close bond during his sickness, and since then Mr. Brookes had become a regular visitor to the March home

父亲在生病期间与布鲁克斯先生建立了深厚的情谊，从那以后，布鲁克斯先生就成了马奇家的常客。

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As much as Meg tried to appear cool, secretly, she was happy to see John so often

尽管梅格努力装作若无其事，但私下里，她很高兴能经常见到约翰。

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Her pride might not admit it, but Meg's heart could no longer deny her feelings for him

她的骄傲也许不承认，但梅格的内心已无法否认对他的感情。

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" I have something to ask you, sir," Mr. Brookes said to Father, not realizing that Aunt March was there

“我有件事想请教您，先生，”布鲁克斯先生对父亲说，没注意到马奇姑婆也在场。

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" Who are you?" asked Aunt March bluntly

“你是谁？”马奇姑婆直截了当地问。

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While Father explained, Meg entered with the tea, her hands shaking ever so slightly, causing the china to rattle on the tray

父亲解释的时候，梅格端着茶走进来，双手微微发颤，托盘上的瓷器碰得叮当响。

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" Child," Aunt March shrieked at Meg," I swear you're going to break that cheap tea set if you clink them any harder!"

“孩子，”马奇姑婆冲梅格尖声叫道，“你再这么碰得叮当响，准要把那套廉价茶具打碎！”

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Turning a deep red, Meg would have dropped the tray if Mr. Brookes hadn't sprung up and taken it from her trembling hands

梅格满脸通红，要不是布鲁克斯先生一跃而起，从她颤抖的手中接过托盘，她就已经把托盘摔了。

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As Aunt March sipped her tea, she kept one eye on Mr. Brookes, sensing his obvious attraction to Meg

马奇姑婆啜着茶，一只眼睛留意着布鲁克斯先生，察觉出他对梅格明显的好感，

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and the other eye on Meg, who undoubtedly shared the same feelings toward him

另一只眼则盯着梅格，而梅格无疑也对他怀有同样的感情。

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Meanwhile Jo, oblivious to what was happening, caught sight of Laurie trying to get her attention

与此同时，乔对眼前的一切浑然不觉，瞥见劳里正试图引起她的注意。

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He motioned with his head toward the kitchen, so Jo cautiously got up and crept away

劳里朝厨房的方向摆了摆头，于是乔小心翼翼地站起身，悄悄溜走了。

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Laurie joined her a few minutes later

几分钟后，劳里也来到了她身边。

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" What is it?" Jo asked him

“什么事？”乔问他。

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" Something major is about to happen. I can't tell you but...," Laurie began excitedly

“有件大事就要发生了。我不能告诉你，但是……”劳里激动地说。

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" Then why bother calling me into the kitchen?" Jo asked irritably

“那你何必费心把我叫到厨房来？”乔不耐烦地问。

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" To save you the shock," Laurie said

“免得你受到惊吓呀。”劳里说。

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" From what?" asked Jo

“什么惊吓？”乔问。

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" Something major is going to happen that will change your life forever," Laurie said firmly, looking deep into Jo's eyes

“有件大事将要发生，它会永远改变你的生活。”劳里凝视着乔的眼睛，坚定地说。

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Then grabbing her arm, he led her back to the living room, where to Jo's horror, the big event was just taking place

然后，他抓住她的胳膊，把她带回客厅。令乔惊恐的是，那件大事正在那里发生。

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Mr. Brookes was on his knee in front of Meg and he was holding her hand

布鲁克斯先生单膝跪在梅格面前，握着她的手。

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" Margaret March, will you marry me?" Brookes asked in a gentlemanly manner

“玛格丽特·马奇，你愿意嫁给我吗？”布鲁克斯以一种绅士的口吻问道。

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" What is the meaning of this?" Aunt March demanded

“这是什么意思？”马奇姑婆质问道。

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" This is an outrage! You are only a child!"

“这太不像话了！你还只是个孩子！”

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" Aunt March, I don't think this matter concerns you," Father said firmly

“马奇姑婆，我想这件事与您无关，”父亲坚定地说。

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" Of course it concerns me! I am the head of the family

“当然与我有关！我是一家之主。

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You belong to me! Therefore I have a right to speak!" she said haughtily

你们属于我！因此我有权说话！”她傲慢地说。

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" I love your grand-niece, madam, and I promise to make her as happy and content as she is now," John said kindly

“我爱您的甥孙女，夫人，我保证会让她像现在一样幸福美满，”约翰和善地说。

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Looking him up and down, Aunt March said disdainfully," You're nothing but a poor tutor. How can you make this girl happy?"

马奇姑婆上下打量着他，不屑地说：“你不过是个穷家教。你怎么能让这个女孩幸福？”

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Poor Mr. Brookes flushed with embarrassment and anger, but he controlled it admirably

可怜的布鲁克斯先生因尴尬和愤怒涨红了脸，但他令人钦佩地控制住了自己。

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Surprisingly, it was Meg who spoke up

令人惊讶的是，开口说话的是梅格。

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" Aunt March! I will not allow you to speak to this man in that way

“马奇姑婆！我不允许您用那种方式跟这个人说话。

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He is a good kind person who has helped our family when we needed him. What have you done for us?

他是个善良的好人，在我们需要的时候帮助过我们家。您为我们做过什么？

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You never offered to help Father when he lost his money or even when he was sick

父亲失去钱财时，甚至他生病时，您从未主动伸出援手。

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You never came to visit Beth while she had the fever

贝思发烧时，您从未来探望过她。

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And now you come here and tell me that I can't marry the man who has done nothing but good for our family?

现在您来这里告诉我，不能嫁给这个除了为我们家做好事什么也没做的人？

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No! I will not allow it!" Meg cried, not caring as tears rolled down her cheeks

不！我决不允许！”梅格喊道，不顾泪水顺着脸颊滚落。

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Everyone was stunned. They had never seen Meg react so strongly in her life

所有人都惊呆了。他们从未见过梅格一生中有如此强烈的反应。

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Shaking with anger, Aunt March pointed her walking stick at Meg and threatened

马奇姑婆气得发抖，用手杖指着梅格威胁道：

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" I warn you, Margaret, if you marry this man, you will not get a single penny from me when I die!"

“我警告你，玛格丽特，如果你嫁给这个人，我死后你休想从我这里拿到一分钱！”

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Meg took a deep breath and turning her back on Aunt March, she grabbed John's hands and said to him," Yes, John Brookes, I will marry you."

梅格深吸一口气，背对着马奇姑婆，抓住约翰的手对他说：“我愿意，约翰·布鲁克斯，我愿意嫁给你。”

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Jo felt the ground drop from beneath her and before she knew it, she was lying on the floor with a circle of worried faces staring down at her

乔感觉脚下的地面塌陷了，还没等她反应过来，她已经躺倒在地板上，周围一圈焦急的面孔正低头看着她。

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" Are you all right, Jo?" Laurie asked, pulling Jo up and giving her a slight shake

“你还好吗，乔？”劳里把乔拉起来，轻轻摇了摇她，问道。

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Nodding, Jo said," Yes, I'm fine."

乔点了点头，说：“嗯，我没事。”

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" Oh, Jo, isn't this wonderful news?" Meg said in a breathless voice as she hugged her sister." I'm getting married!"

“哦，乔，这难道不是个好消息吗？”梅格拥抱着妹妹，用屏息的声音说，“我要结婚了！”

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Hearing those words again, Jo fainted. She hoped she would never wake up from the awful nightmare that was about to unfold

再次听到这些话，乔晕了过去。她希望自己永远不要从这场即将展开的可怕噩梦中醒来。