He glanced at the bottles and was surprised to see that one contained nembutal sleeping-pills. Perhaps her nerves had been more shaken by the events at the villa3 than he had imagined.
The bath had been filled for him and there was a new flask4 of some expensive pine bath-essence on a chair beside it with his towel.
'Vesper,' he called.
'Yes?'
'You really are the limit. You make me feel like an expensive gigolo.'
'I was told to look after you. I'm only doing what I was told.'
'Darling, the bath's absolutely right. Will you marry me?'
She snorted. 'You need a slave, not a wife.'
'I want you.'
'Well, I want my lobster5 and champagne6, so hurry up.'
'All right, all right,' said Bond.
He dried himself and dressed in a white shirt and dark blue slacks. He hoped that she would be dressed as simply and he was pleased when, without knocking, she appeared in the doorway7 wearing a blue linen8 shirt which had faded to the colour of her eyes and a dark red skirt in pleated cotton.
'I couldn't wait. I was famished9. My room's over the kitchen and I've been tortured by the wonderful smells.'
He came over and put his arm round her.
She took his hand and together they went downstairs out on to the terrace where their table had been laid in the light cast by the empty dining-room.
The champagne which Bond had ordered on their arrival stood on a plated wine-cooler beside their table and Bond poured out two full glasses. Vesper busied herself with a delicious home-made liver paté and helped them both to the crisp French bread and the thick square of deep yellow butter set in chips of ice.
They looked at each other and drank deeply and Bond filled their glasses again to the rim10.
While they ate Bond told her of his bathe and they talked of what they would do in the morning. All through the meal they left unspoken their feelings for each other, but in Vesper's eyes as much as in Bond's there was excited anticipation11 of the night. They let their hands and their feet touch from time to time as if to ease the tension in their bodies.
When the lobster had come and gone and the second bottle of champagne was half-empty and they had just ladled thick cream over their fraises des bois, Vesper gave a deep sigh of contentment.
'I'm behaving like a pig,' she said happily. 'You always give me all the things I like best. I've never been so spoiled before.' She gazed across the terrace at the moonlit bay. 'I wish I deserved it.' Her voice had a wry12 undertone.
'What do you mean?' asked Bond surprised.
'Oh, I don't know. I suppose people get what they deserve, so perhaps I do deserve it.'
She looked at him and smiled. Her eyes narrowed quizzically.
'You really don't know much about me,' she said suddenly.
Bond was surprised by the undertone of seriousness in her voice.
'Quite enough,' he said laughing. 'All I need until tomorrow and the next day and the next. You don't know much about me for the matter of that.' He poured out more champagne.
Vesper looked at him thoughtfully.
'People are islands,' she said. 'They don't really touch. However close they are, they're really quite separate. Even if they've been married for fifty years.'
Bond thought with dismay that she must be going into a vin triste. Too much champagne had made her melancholy13. But suddenly she gave a happy laugh. 'Don't look so worried.' She leaned forward and put her hand over his. 'I was only being sentimental14. Anyway, my island feels very close to your island tonight.' She took a sip15 of champagne.
Bond laughed, relieved. 'Let's join up and make a peninsula,' he said. 'Now, directly we've finished the strawberries.'
'No,' she said, flirting16. 'I must have coffee.'
'And brandy,' countered Bond.
The small shadow had passed. The second small shadow. This too left a tiny question-mark hanging in the air. It quickly dissolved as warmth and intimacy17 enclosed them again.
When they had had their coffee and Bond was sipping18 his brandy, Vesper picked up her bag and came and stood behind him.
'I'm tired,' she said, resting a hand on his shoulder.
He reached up and held it there and they stayed motionless for a moment. She bent19 down and lightly brushed his hair with her lips. Then she was gone and a few seconds later the light came on in her room.
Bond smoked and waited until it had gone out. Then he followed her, pausing only to say good night to the proprietor20 and his wife and thank them for the dinner. They exchanged compliments and he went upstairs.
It was only half past nine when he stepped into her room from the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
The moonlight shone through the half-closed shutters21 and lapped at the secret shadows in the snow of her body on the broad bed.
*
Bond awoke in his own room at dawn and for a time he lay and stroked his memories.
Then he got quietly out of bed and in his pyjama-coat he crept past Vesper's door and out of the house to the beach.
The sea was smooth and quiet in the sunrise. The small pink waves idly licked the sand. It was cold, but he took off his jacket and wandered naked along the edge of the sea to the point where he had bathed the evening before, then he walked slowly and deliberately22 into the water until it was just below his chin. He took his feet off the bottom and sank, holding his nose with one hand and shutting his eyes, feeling the cold water comb his body and his hair.
The mirror of the bay was unbroken except where it seemed a fish had jumped. Under the water he imagined the tranquil23 scene and wished that Vesper could just then come through the pines and be astonished to see him suddenly erupt from the empty seascape.
When after a full minute he came to the surface in a froth of spray, he was disappointed. There was no one in sight. For a time he swam and drifted and then when the sun seemed hot enough, he came in to the beach and lay on his back and revelled24 in the body which the night had given back to him.
As on the evening before, he stared up into the empty sky and saw the same answer there.
After a while he rose and walked back slowly along the beach to his pyjama-coat.
That day he would ask Vesper to marry him. He was quite certain. It was only a question of choosing the right moment.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
belongings
|
|
| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
neatly
|
|
| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
villa
|
|
| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
flask
|
|
| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
lobster
|
|
| n.龙虾，龙虾肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
champagne
|
|
| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
famished
|
|
| adj.饥饿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
anticipation
|
|
| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
wry
|
|
| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
sentimental
|
|
| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
sip
|
|
| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
flirting
|
|
| v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
intimacy
|
|
| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
sipping
|
|
| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
proprietor
|
|
| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
shutters
|
|
| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
tranquil
|
|
| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
revelled
|
|
| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |