介绍:
（下拉有中英对照文本）
Here, in London’s fashionable Bloomsbury, is a newly built town house that faces a tree-lined square. It is the home of Henry and Juliette Laxton.
Henry Laxton could not be described as handsome. He had, though, an engaging face with undistinguished features made attractive by the fact that he was a rich banker who had the good fortune to be married to a beautiful woman.
This morning he was to be found in his study. A letter from Charles Cordell had just been delivered. He read with increasing alarm that a boy called Yann Margoza was due at the Boar Inn, Fleet Street at three o’clock that very afternoon, giving him no time to prepare for his arrival.
在伦敦的时尚之都Bloomsbury，有一座新建的市政厅酒店，临着林荫广场。这里是Henry和Juliette Laxton的家。
Henry Laxton不能称作帅。事实上，他长相平平，却是一个富有的银行家，拥有一大笔财富，这足以吸引美丽的女人与其成婚。
今天早上，仆人在书房里找到了他。Charles Cordell的信刚刚送到。他意识到一个叫Yann Margoza的男孩下午三点就要到舰队街的野猪客栈，而他没有时间为Yann的到来做些准备。
He rang the bell and his valet entered.
“Is my wife still in her boudoir?”
“I believe so, sir.”
“And does she have any visitors with her?”
“One, sir, Lady Faulkner.”
Henry Laxton smiled inwardly. He knew how bored his wife would be.
他按响门铃，仆人进来了。
“我夫人还在屋子里吗？”
“我想是的，先生。”
“她身边还有客人吗？”
“是的，先生，Faulkner女士。”
Henry Laxton暗自一笑。他能想象出自己妻子会有多无聊。
Juliette Laxton was the younger sister of Isabelle Gautier, who had married the Marquis de Villeduval. Their father, a widower, was a wealthy bourgeois businessman, and the marriage was seen as beneficial to both sides. The Villeduvals would have an injection of much-needed money, and Monsieur Gautier could claim an aristocrat as a son-in-law.
Only Juliette had had any idea of the depths of Isabelle’s misery, married to a much older man who cared only for himself.
Then, Isabelle was killed in an accident when a coach was overturned. The only survivor was three-year-old Sido, whose leg had been badly broken.
Juliette Laxton是Isabelle Gautier的妹妹，嫁给了Villeduval侯爵。他们的父亲，是一个鳏[guan]夫(妻子死亡再结婚的男人)，一个富裕的资产阶级商人，他将婚姻看作是各取所需的事情。Villeduvals急需用钱，而自己让女儿与他结婚就能对外人说自己有一个贵族血统的女婿。
只有Juliette知道姐姐Isabelle的痛苦，Isabelle嫁给了一个老头，而这个人只关心自己。
后来，Isabelle在一场车祸中丧生。这场车祸唯一的幸存者是三岁的Sido，她的腿受了很严重的伤。
After his wife’s death the marquis did something out of character. Isabelle was not buried in the family vault in Normandy. Instead, She was placed in a simple grave and the headstone merely recorded her name without title, inscription, or date. The only rational explanation for the marquis strange behavior was surely grief. For it had turned out a double tragedy: His half brother, Armand went missing, and all attempts to find him had failed.
Juliette had never gotten over the loss of her beloved sister. Her only consolation had been the hope that she might be allowed to bring up Isabelle’s
daughter, Sido, but it was not to be. For reasons Juliette had never understood, Sido’s father, the marquis, had written to say that he wanted nothing more to do with the Gautier family.
妻子死后，侯爵做了一些不像他性子的事。Isabelle没有被葬在位于诺曼底的家族地下墓室里。相反，她被埋葬在一个简单的坟墓里，墓碑上仅仅刻着她的名字，没有标题，铭文，或是日期。人们只能用侯爵过于悲伤来解释这些奇怪的行为。因为祸不单行：他同父异母的兄弟阿尔芒也失踪了，至今也没能找到他。
而Juliette从未从失去她心爱的姐姐中走出来。她唯一的希望是能抚养姐姐的女儿Sido，但这是不可能的。Juliette至今也不理解，Sido的父亲，为什么那位侯爵曾写信说，他不想再和戈蒂埃家族有任何牵扯。
For Juliette it had been a double bereavement. Not only had she lost her sister and her closest friend, but shortly after this she had had a miscarriage and been
told that there was little hope of her conceiving again. It had been her greatest sadness, for she had always imagined herself surrounded by a large and noisy family.
She sat now in front of her dressing table mirror, wishing her visitor would leave. Not for the first time, Lady Faulkner was giving Juliette the benefit of her
advice.
对Juliette来说，她不仅失去了姐姐和最亲密的朋友，自己不久后就流产了。再怀孕的希望也很渺茫。这让她很是悲伤，她总是觉得自己被一个庞大而又惹人厌烦的家庭纠缠着。
现在她坐在梳妆台前，希望眼前的这位客人能离开。这不是第一次，Faulkner女士让Juliette有这种想法。
“My formula for looking perpetually young is to avoid laughter and excessive use of the facial muscles .Only by such a means can one hold back time’s cruel hand—”
She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Juliette’s face lit up with a charming smile when she saw her husband, while Lady Faulkner’s remained masklike and rigid.
“我保持年轻的方法是坚决不笑以及避免过度使用面部肌肉，只有这样才能阻挡时间的不留情面的’杀猪刀’—”
她被敲门声打断了。Juliette看到自己的丈夫，脸上露出了一个迷人的微笑，而Faulkner女士仍然和以前一样面部僵硬，不苟言笑。
“I trust your family is well?” said Henry Laxton with a bow.
“Quite well,” replied Lady Faulkner stiffly.
“And does your son still spend all his time at the theater, sporting with pretty actresses?” The question was designed to speed the guest’s departure.
Lady Faulkner’s lips longed to purse themselves together in disgust ,but lines, as she had just informed Mrs. Laxton, must be avoided at all costs.
“家里还好吗？”Henry Laxton鞠了一躬说。
“很好，”Faulkner女士生硬地答道。
“你儿子还整天呆在剧院，和漂亮女演员一起玩吗？”问这个问题其实是为了赶走客人。
Faulkner女士的嘴唇因为厌恶这个话题有些不受控制，但依然尽力抿成了一条线，因为她刚刚告诉了Laxton太太，一定不能有任何面部表情。
“I have no idea what you mean, Mr. Laxton,” she said, standing up and waving her fan vigorously. “Jack is at Oxford, where he is studying diligently. Now I must leave you. I have other calls to make where I will, I know, be very welcome.” And with great indignation she swept out of the room.
The Laxtons waited until they heard the front door being closed, then both burst out laughing.
“She seems more absurd every time I see her,”said Laxtons.
“Jack hasn’t been near Oxford all term, from what I can gather. ”Juliette sighed.
“我不知道你在说些什么，Laxton先生，”她说着站了起来，猛烈地扇着自己的扇子。杰克现在在牛津勤奋地学习着，我要走了。我还有其他人要拜访，我知道，他们很欢迎我。”她非常气愤地从房间里走了出来。
Laxton夫妇一直等到关门声响起，才一起哈哈大笑起来。
“每次我见到她，都比上一次更不可理喻，”Laxtons说。
“据我所知，杰克整个学期都没有进过牛津。Juliette叹了口气。
“Mon chéri, (我亲爱的)please remind me to laugh and smile and to use every muscle my face might possess, lest I end up looking as sour and miserable as that woman.”
“That would be an impossibility. Now, on a more serious note, I have had a letter this morning from Charles Cordell, and I have news that will hearten you.
It relates to Sido de Villeduval.”
“To Sido? What is it?” asked Juliette urgently.
"Tonight, You will meet someone who spoke to her only a few days ago."
“You’re talking in riddles! Who is it?”
我亲爱的，请提醒我笑起来要用到脸上的每一块肌肉，别让我看起来像那个女人那样痛苦不堪。
“那是不可能的。现在，有一个严肃的事情，我今天早上收到了一封来自Charles Cordell的信，应该会让你振作起来。这和Sido de Villeduval有关。”
“Sido？什么事？Juliette急切地问道。
“今晚，你会遇到一个几天前和她说过话的人。”
“别打哑谜了！他是谁？“
“Cordell has asked if we would be willing to take in a boy for a few months. He is fourteen years old, an orphan, brought up by a contact of Cordell’s in Paris,
a man called Têtu.”
“But what has this boy to do with Sido?”
“Aha!” said Laxton. “I am coming to that. Têtu and the boy are traveling entertainers—”
“Cordell问我们是否愿意帮忙照顾一个男孩几个月。他十四岁，是个孤儿，由巴黎的一位名叫Têtu的人带大。”
“但是这男孩跟Sido有什么关系？“
“啊哈！”Laxton说。“我就要说呢。Têtu和孩子是旅行的艺人——”
“Traveling entertainers! What strange company Mr. Cordell keeps,” Juliette exclaimed.
"—and a couple of days ago they were invited, with a magician called Topolain, to perform the bullet trick which he was famous at a party the marquis was giving.” Kalliovski fired the pistol, and he shot the magician dead.”
“But why?”
“Why indeed?
“旅行艺人！Cordell先生开了家什么奇怪的公司，”朱丽叶说。
“——前几天他们被邀请，跟一个叫Topolain的魔术师表演子弹魔术，给当地很有名的一位侯爵看。”Kalliovski亲自开了一枪，打死了那个魔术师。”
“为什么？“
“到底为什么呢？
Têtu is certain that it was because both he and Topolain knew something about Kalliovski&`&s past. Têtu is now terrified that he will come after him and the boy.
“And this boy met Sido?”
“Yes. Evidently she helped them escape.”
“And what is the boy called?”
“Yann Margoza. He hasn’t had many advantages in life. Maybe we can help him, give him some education. there is no reason why he cannot live on equal terms with us and learn to be a gentleman.”
Juliette’s face lit up with excitement.“This boy met Sido! He will live with us
as a part of the family,
Têtu认为自己和Topolain都知道一些关于Kalliovski过去的事。Têtu现在担心Kalliovski会来追杀他和那个男孩。
“这个男孩遇到了Sido？“
“是的。显然她帮助他们逃跑了。”
“那男孩叫什么来着？”“
“Yann Margoza。他没过过什么好日子。也许我们可以帮助他，让他接受教育。他有权利和我们平等地生活，学着做一个绅士。”
朱丽叶脸上有兴奋的表情。“这个男孩见过Sido！他将作为我们家的一部分和我们住在一起。
Henry Laxton came over and kissed the nape of his wife’s very white neck.
Henry Laxton走过来，亲吻了妻子雪白的脖颈。
----每周一/三/五晚更----
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