Prologue（1）
Prologue
SUMMER TERM
I
It was the opening day of the summer term at Meadowbank school. The late afternoon sun shonedown on the broad gravel sweep in front of the house. The front door was flung hospitably wide,and just within it, admirably suited to its Georgian proportions, stood Miss Vansittart, every hair inplace, wearing an impeccably cut coat and skirt.
Some parents who knew no better had taken her for the great Miss Bulstrode herself, notknowing that it was Miss Bulstrode’s custom to retire to a kind of holy of holies to which only aselected and privileged few were taken.
To one side of Miss Vansittart, operating on a slightly different plane, was Miss Chadwick,comfortable, knowledgeable, and so much a part of Meadowbank that it would have beenimpossible to imagine Meadowbank without her. It had never been without her. Miss Bulstrodeand Miss Chadwick had started Meadowbank school together. Miss Chadwick wore pince-nez,stooped, was dowdily dressed, amiably vague in speech, and happened to be a brilliantmathematician.
Various welcoming words and phrases, uttered graciously by Miss Vansittart, floated throughthe house.
“How do you do, Mrs. Arnold? Well, Lydia, did you enjoy your Hellenic cruise? What awonderful opportunity! Did you get some good photographs?
“Yes, Lady Garnett, Miss Bulstrode had your letter about the Art Classes and everything’s beenarranged.
“How are you, Mrs. Bird? … Well? I don’t think Miss Bulstrode will have time today to discussthe point. Miss Rowan is somewhere about if you’d like to talk to her about it?
“We’ve moved your bedroom, Pamela. You’re in the far wing by the apple tree….
“Yes, indeed, Lady Violet, the weather has been terrible so far this spring. Is this youryoungest? What is your name? Hector? What a nice aeroplane you have, Hector.
“Très heureuse de vous voir, Madame. Ah, je regrette, ce ne serait pas possible, cette après-midi. Mademoiselle Bulstrode est tellement occupée.
“Good afternoon, Professor. Have you been digging up some more interesting things?”
序章 夏季学期（1）
序章 夏季学期
1今天是芳草地学校夏季学期的开学日。下午晚些时候的阳光闪耀在屋前宽阔的石子路上。学校的大门热情地敞开，范西塔特小姐站在当中，头发丝毫不乱，外套和裙装的剪裁无可挑剔，和校舍的乔治王朝建筑风格完美搭配。
一些不太了解情况的家长会以为她就是布尔斯特罗德小姐本人，殊不知布尔斯特罗德小姐的习惯是隐身其后，只有极少数受到特别优待的人才有缘得见。
站在范西塔特小姐一侧，负责性质不太相同的工作的是查德威克小姐，她平易近人又无所不知，就像是芳草地的一部分，很难想象学校没有了她会怎样。事实上，芳草地一直有她的存在。正是布尔斯特罗德小姐和查德威克小姐一同创办了这所学校。查德威克小姐戴着夹鼻眼镜，伛着腰，看起来穿着不甚考究，说话亲切但是有些含混，可她是名才华横溢的数学家。
范西塔特小姐殷勤有礼地与大家打着招呼，各种欢迎的寒暄在楼中回荡。
“你好啊，阿诺德太太！啊，莉迪亚，希腊邮轮之旅玩得可还开心？真是个不错的机会！拍了些照片留念吗？”
“是了，加尼特夫人，布尔斯特罗德小姐收到你关于美术课的信了，一切都安排妥当了。”
“你好吗，伯德太太？……是这样啊？我想布尔斯特罗德小姐今天不会有时间讨论这个的。罗恩小姐应该就在附近，如果你想和她说说这事儿的话？”
“帕米拉，我们调换了你的寝室，你现在住靠近苹果树那头的房间。”
“是啊，确实是这样，维奥莱特夫人，今年春天到现在的天气一直不好。这是你最小的孩子吗？你叫什么名字啊？赫克托？赫克托，你这架飞机真是漂亮啊。”
“很高兴见到你，夫人。哦，很抱歉，今天下午是不可能了，布尔斯特罗德小姐实在是太忙了。”（法语）
“下午好啊，教授。发现了什么有趣的新东西吗？”
Prologue（2）
II
In a small room on the first floor, Ann Shapland, Miss Bulstrode’s secretary, was typing withspeed and efficiency. Ann was a nice-looking young woman of thirty-five, with hair that fitted herlike a black satin cap. She could be attractive when she wanted to be but life had taught her thatefficiency and competence often paid better results and avoided painful complications. At themoment she was concentrating on being everything that a secretary to the headmistress of afamous girls’ school should be.
From time to time, as she inserted a fresh sheet in her machine, she looked out of the windowand registered interest in the arrivals.
“Goodness!” said Ann to herself, awed, “I didn’t know there were so many chauffeurs left inEngland!”
Then she smiled in spite of herself, as a majestic Rolls moved away and a very small Austin ofbattered age drove up. A harassed-looking father emerged from it with a daughter who looked farcalmer than he did.
As he paused uncertainly, Miss Vansittart emerged from the house and took charge.
“Major Hargreaves? And this is Alison? Do come into the house. I’d like you to see Alison’sroom for yourself. I—”
Ann grinned and began to type again.
“Good old Vansittart, the glorified understudy,” she said to herself. “She can copy all theBulstrode’s tricks. In fact she’s word perfect!”
An enormous and almost incredibly opulent Cadillac, painted in two tones, raspberry fool andazure blue, swept (with difficulty owing to its length) into the drive and drew up behind Major theHon. Alistair Hargreaves’ ancient Austin.
The chauffeur sprang to open the door, an immense bearded, dark-skinned man, wearing aflowing aba, stepped out, a Parisian fashion plate followed and then a slim dark girl.
That’s probably Princess Whatshername herself, thought Ann. Can’t imagine her in schooluniform, but I suppose the miracle will be apparent tomorrow….
Both Miss Vansittart and Miss Chadwick appeared on this occasion.
“They’ll be taken to the Presence,” decided Ann.
Then she thought that, strangely enough, one didn’t quite like making jokes about MissBulstrode. Miss Bulstrode was Someone.
“So you’d better mind your P.s and Q.s, my girl,” she said to herself, “and finish these letterswithout making any mistakes.”
Not that Ann was in the habit of making mistakes. She could take her pick of secretarial posts.
She had been P.A. to the chief executive of an oil company, private secretary to Sir MervynTodhunter, renowned alike for his erudition, his irritability and the illegibility of his handwriting.
She numbered two Cabinet Ministers and an important Civil Servant among her employers. But onthe whole, her work had always lain amongst men. She wondered how she was going to likebeing, as she put it herself, completely submerged in women. Well—it was all experience! Andthere was always Dennis! Faithful Dennis returning from Malaya, from Burma, from various partsof the world, always the same, devoted, asking her once again to marry him. Dear Dennis! But itwould be very dull to be married to Dennis.
She would miss the company of men in the near future. All these schoolmistressy characters—not a man about the place, except a gardener of about eighty.
But here Ann got a surprise. Looking out of the window, she saw there was a man clipping thehedge just beyond the drive—clearly a gardener but a long way from eighty. Young, dark, good-looking. Ann wondered about him—there had been some talk of getting extra labour—but thiswas no yokel. Oh well, nowadays people did every kind of job. Some young man trying to gettogether some money for some project or other, or indeed just to keep body and soul together. Buthe was cutting the hedge in a very expert manner. Presumably he was a real gardener after all!
“He looks,” said Ann to herself, “he looks as though he might be amusing….”
Only one more letter to do, she was pleased to note, and then she might stroll round thegarden….
序章 夏季学期（2）
2二楼的一个小房间里，安•夏普兰，布尔斯特罗德小姐的秘书，正在又快又准地打字。
安是位三十五岁，年轻漂亮的女士，头发像是一顶戴在头上的黑缎面帽子。只要她愿意打扮，会是一位相当吸引人的女性，只是生活教会了她，高效和能力通常能有更好的回报，还能避免那些令人痛苦的麻烦事。她正专注于成为一个从各方面而言都合格的、著名女子学校校长的秘书。
每打完一页，在往打字机里夹上一张新纸的时候，她会看看窗外，对来到学校的人显出很有兴趣的样子。
“天哪！”安有些愣神地自言自语，“我都不知道英国会有这么多专职司机！”
一辆气派十足的劳斯莱斯开走，一辆样子小巧，有些年岁的奥斯汀紧接着开过来。对此她讪讪地笑了笑。一位看起来有些不安的父亲带着女儿从车里钻出来，那女儿看起来倒是比他要冷静。
正当他犹豫不决地停下脚步时，范西塔特小姐从大楼里走出来接待他们了。
“是哈格里夫斯少校吗？这就是艾莉森？快请进来吧。我带你亲自去看看艾莉森的房间。我是……”
安咧嘴笑了笑，又开始打字。
“我们的范西塔特啊，真是个不错的接班人。”她对自己说，“她倒是把布尔斯特罗德的那一套完全学会了。说起来，还真是一字不差。”
一辆相当宽大，几乎可以说是富态到令人难以置信的凯迪拉克开了过来。这辆树莓红和天蓝配色的车滑进车道（考虑到车身的长度，倒是很不容易），刚刚好排在令人尊敬的阿利斯泰尔•哈格里夫斯少校那辆古旧的奥斯汀后面。
司机跳出来打开车门，一位身材高大、蓄着络腮胡、皮肤黝黑，身穿阿拉伯式无袖长袍的男子走出来，跟在后面的是一名身穿巴黎时装的女性，然后是一位肤色显黑的苗条女孩。
这八成就是那位什么什么公主了吧，安想道，真想象不出她穿着校服会是什么样子，不过我猜这个奇迹明天就会出现了。
这一次，范西塔特小姐和查德威克小姐同时出现。
“看起来他们要被带去觐见女王了。”安暗想。
她忽然想到一点，这倒是挺奇怪的，大家都不怎么拿布尔斯特罗德小姐开玩笑。布尔斯特罗德小姐算是个大人物。
“你还是小心着不要把p打成q了，大小姐。”她对自己说，“打完这些信，一个错都别犯。”
倒不是说安有犯错的习惯。有很多秘书的职位可供她挑选。她给一家石油公司的首席执行官当过私人助理，给默文•托德亨特爵士做过秘书，这位爵士以博学、暴躁和字迹潦草著称。她以往的雇主里还有两名内阁部长和一位重要的公务员。不过总的来说，她的工作总是和男人们在一起。她想知道自己会不会喜欢——用她自己的话来说——完全被女性淹没。总之呢，这些都是经验！对了，还有丹尼斯！忠诚的丹尼斯从马来西亚、缅甸，从世界各地回国，总是一如继往地一次又一次向她求婚。亲爱的丹尼斯！但是嫁给丹尼斯也实在太乏味了。
在不久的未来，她大概会想念男性的陪伴。现在她身边都是些女教师——这地方一个男人都没有，除了一个八十岁上下的园丁。
但是安马上就遇到了点儿惊喜。往窗外看的时候，她看到一个男人正在修剪车道旁的树篱——明显是一个园丁，但是距离八十岁还远得很。年轻英俊、肤色黝黑。安琢磨着——她倒是听到过要再找个帮工的说法，但是这人可不像是个粗人。哦，也是，现在的人什么活儿都肯干。有些年轻人想挣些钱，做这个做那个的，又或者只是为了维持生计。但是看他修剪树丛的样子倒是很专业，看起来还真的是个园丁。
“看起来，”安又对自己说，“看起来他可能是个有趣的人……”
只剩一封信要打了，对此她挺开心的，说不定待会儿她会去花园走走。
Prologue（3）
III
Upstairs, Miss Johnson, the matron, was busy allotting rooms, welcoming newcomers, andgreeting old pupils.
She was pleased it was term time again. She never knew quite what to do with herself in theholidays. She had two married sisters with whom she stayed in turn, but they were naturally moreinterested in their own doings and families than in Meadowbank. Miss Johnson, though dutifullyfond of her sisters, was really only interested in Meadowbank.
Yes, it was nice that term had started—
“Miss Johnson?”
“Yes, Pamela.”
“I say, Miss Johnson. I think something’s broken in my case. It’s oozed all over things. I thinkit’s hair oil.”
“Chut, chut!” said Miss Johnson, hurrying to help.
序章 夏季学期（3）
3楼上，舍监约翰逊小姐正在忙着分配房间，欢迎新生，和老生打着招呼。
她很高兴又是开学时间了。一到假期，她就不知道该干些什么好。她有两个已经结婚的姐妹，虽说可以轮流住在她们家，但是她们自然更关注自己的事情和家庭，而不是这所芳草地学校。约翰逊小姐很爱自己的姐妹们，可她真正感兴趣的也只有芳草地学校。
是了，学期又开始了，真好——
“约翰逊小姐？”
“有事吗，帕梅拉？”
“我是说，约翰逊小姐，我觉得我箱子里有什么东西碎掉了，流得到处都是。我想应该是发油。”
“啧啧！”约翰逊小姐咂了咂嘴，赶忙过去帮忙。
Prologue（4）
IV
On the grass sweep of lawn beyond the gravelled drive, Mademoiselle Blanche, the new Frenchmistress, was walking. She looked with appreciative eyes at the powerful young man clipping thehedge.
“Assez bien,” thought Mademoiselle Blanche.
Mademoiselle Blanche was slender and mouselike and not very noticeable, but she herselfnoticed everything.
Her eyes went to the procession of cars sweeping up to the front door. She assessed them interms of money. This Meadowbank was certainly formidable! She summed up mentally the profitsthat Miss Bulstrode must be making.
Yes, indeed! Formidable!
序章 夏季学期（4）
4石子车道外的茂密草坪上，新来的法语老师布兰奇小姐正带着欣赏的目光打量着那个修剪树篱的健壮年轻人。
“真是不错。”布兰奇小姐心想。
布兰奇是位身形瘦小的女士，给人一种老鼠的感觉，非常不引人注意，不过她自己倒是能留心到周边的一切。
她的目光转向一路停到大门前的那列车，按价钱给它们排着顺序。芳草地学校确实是了不起啊！她在脑中暗暗把布尔斯特罗德小姐应该能赚到的利润计算了一下。
是啊，真的是了不起！
Prologue（5）
VMiss Rich, who taught English and Geography, advanced towards the house at a rapid pace,stumbling a little now and then because, as usual, she forgot to look where she was going. Herhair, also as usual, had escaped from its bun. She had an eager ugly face.
She was saying to herself:
“To be back again! To be here … It seems years … ” She fell over a rake, and the younggardener put out an arm and said:
“Steady, miss.”
Eileen Rich said “Thank you,” without looking at him.
序章 夏季学期（5）
5教英文和地理的里奇小姐飞快地朝大楼走去，有些磕磕绊绊，因为她和往常一样总不注意自己脚下。也和往常一样，她的头发从发髻里飞了出来。她有一张神情急切、显得很难看的脸。
她自言自语着。
“还是回来了！又到了这儿……像是过了好多年……”
一把叶耙绊到了她，年轻的园丁向她伸出胳膊说：“稳着点儿，小姐。”
艾琳•里奇说了声“谢谢”，却没有看他一眼。
Prologue（6）
VI
Miss Rowan and Miss Blake, the two junior mistresses, were strolling towards the Sports Pavilion.
Miss Rowan was thin and dark and intense, Miss Blake was plump and fair. They were discussingwith animation their recent adventures in Florence: the pictures they had seen, the sculpture, thefruit blossom, and the attentions (hoped to be dishonourable) of two young Italian gentlemen.
“Of course one knows,” said Miss Blake, “how Italians go on.”
“Uninhibited,” said Miss Rowan, who had studied Psychology as well as Economics.
“Thoroughly healthy, one feels. No repressions.”
“But Guiseppe was quite impressed when he found I taught at Meadowbank,” said Miss Blake.
“He became much more respectful at once. He has a cousin who wants to come here, but MissBulstrode was not sure she had a vacancy.”
“Meadowbank is a school that really counts,” said Miss Rowan, happily. “Really, the newSports Pavilion looks most impressive. I never thought it would be ready in time.”
“Miss Bulstrode said it had to be,” said Miss Blake in the tone of one who has said the lastword.
“Oh,” she added in a startled kind of way.
The door of the Sports Pavilion had opened abruptly, and a bony young woman with ginger-coloured hair emerged. She gave them a sharp unfriendly stare and moved rapidly away.
“That must be the new Games Mistress,” said Miss Blake. “How uncouth!”
“Not a very pleasant addition to the staff,” said Miss Rowan. “Miss Jones was always sofriendly and sociable.”
“She absolutely glared at us,” said Miss Blake resentfully.
They both felt quite ruffled.
序章 夏季学期（6）
6罗恩小姐和布莱克小姐都是低年级的老师，两人朝体育馆方向踱着步。罗恩小姐身材瘦小，皮肤发黑，一副紧张兮兮的样子，布莱克小姐倒是丰满白皙。她们正兴高采烈地讨论着不久前的佛罗伦萨之旅：看过的图画、雕像、果树，还有两个年轻意大利绅士的殷勤——她们倒希望那是不怀好意献上的殷勤。
“当然啦，”布莱克小姐说，“人人都知道意大利人是怎么回事。”
“不羁，”学过心理学和经济的布莱克小姐说，“有人觉得是非常健康，无拘无束的。”
“但是朱塞佩知道我在芳草地教书的时候倒是相当惊讶，”布莱克小姐说，“他马上变得礼貌起来。他有个表妹想来这里读书，但是布尔斯特罗德小姐不太肯定能有空缺。”
“芳草地是所挺有名的学校。”罗恩小姐开心地说，“真的，这座体育馆看起来威风极了。我没想到它能按时完工。”
“布尔斯特罗德小姐说过，必须按时修好。”布莱克小姐用那种不容对方再争辩的语气说道。
“哦。”她有些吃惊地补上了一声。
体育馆的门忽然打开了，一个姜黄色头发的干瘦年轻女人走了出来。她不太友好地狠狠盯了她们一眼，迅速走开了。
“那应该是新来的体育老师吧。”布莱克小姐说，“真是粗鲁啊！”
“同事里多出这样一个人倒是让人高兴不起来。”罗恩小姐说道，“琼斯小姐以前总是那么友好，那么和蔼可亲。”
“她绝对是瞪了咱们一眼。”布莱克小姐不太满意地说。
这么一来，两人都不高兴了。
Prologue（7）
VII
Miss Bulstrode’s sitting room had windows looking out in two directions, one over the drive andlawn beyond, and another towards a bank of rhododendrons behind the house. It was quite animpressive room, and Miss Bulstrode was rather more than quite an impressive woman. She wastall, and rather noble looking, with well-dressed grey hair, grey eyes with plenty of humour inthem, and a firm mouth. The success of her school (and Meadowbank was one of the mostsuccessful schools in England) was entirely due to the personality of its Headmistress. It was avery expensive school, but that was not really the point. It could be put better by saying thatthough you paid through the nose, you got what you paid for.
Your daughter was educated in the way you wished, and also in the way Miss Bulstrode wished,and the result of the two together seemed to give satisfaction. Owing to the high fees, MissBulstrode was able to employ a full staff. There was nothing mass produced about the school, butif it was individualistic, it also had discipline. Discipline without regimentation, was MissBulstrode’s motto. Discipline, she held, was reassuring to the young, it gave them a feeling ofsecurity; regimentation gave rise to irritation. Her pupils were a varied lot. They included severalforeigners of good family, often foreign royalty. There were also English girls of good family orof wealth, who wanted a training in culture and the arts, with a general knowledge of life andsocial facility who would be turned out agreeable, well groomed and able to take part in intelligentdiscussion on any subject. There were girls who wanted to work hard and pass entranceexaminations, and eventually take degrees and who, to do so, needed only good teaching andspecial attention. There were girls who had reacted unfavourably to school life of the conventionaltype. But Miss Bulstrode had her rules, she did not accept morons, or juvenile delinquents, and shepreferred to accept girls whose parents she liked, and girls in whom she herself saw a prospect ofdevelopment. The ages of her pupils varied within wide limits. There were girls who would havebeen labelled in the past as “finished,” and there were girls little more than children, some of themwith parents abroad, and for whom Miss Bulstrode had a scheme of interesting holidays. The lastand final court of appeal was Miss Bulstrode’s own approval.
She was standing now by the chimneypiece listening to Mrs. Gerald Hope’s slightly whiningvoice. With great foresight, she had not suggested that Mrs. Hope should sit down.
“Henrietta, you see, is very highly strung. Very highly strung indeed. Our doctor says—”
Miss Bulstrode nodded, with gentle reassurance, refraining from the caustic phrase shesometimes was tempted to utter.
“Don’t you know, you idiot, that that is what every fool of a woman says about her child?”
She spoke with firm sympathy.
“You need have no anxiety, Mrs. Hope. Miss Rowan, a member of our staff, is a fully trainedpsychologist. You’ll be surprised, I’m sure, at the change you’ll find in Henrietta” (Who’s a niceintelligent child, and far too good for you) “after a term or two here.”
“Oh I know. You did wonders with the Lambeth child—absolutely wonders! So I am quitehappy. And I—oh yes, I forgot. We’re going to the South of France in six weeks’ time. I thoughtI’d take Henrietta. It would make a little break for her.”
“I’m afraid that’s quite impossible,” said Miss Bulstrode, briskly and with a charming smile, asthough she were granting a request instead of refusing one.
“Oh! but—” Mrs. Hope’s weak petulant face wavered, showed temper. “Really, I must insist.
After all, she’s my child.”
“Exactly. But it’s my school,” said Miss Bulstrode.
“Surely I can take the child away from a school anytime I like?”
“Oh yes,” said Miss Bulstrode. “You can. Of course you can. But then, I wouldn’t have herback.”
Mrs. Hope was in a real temper now.
“Considering the size of the fees I pay here—”
“Exactly,” said Miss Bulstrode. “You wanted my school for your daughter, didn’t you? But it’stake it as it is, or leave it. Like that very charming Balenciaga model you are wearing. It isBalenciaga, isn’t it? It is so delightful to meet a woman with real clothes sense.”
Her hand enveloped Mrs. Hope’s, shook it, and imperceptibly guided her towards the door.
“Don’t worry at all. Ah, here is Henrietta waiting for you.” (She looked with approval atHenrietta, a nice well-balanced intelligent child if ever there was one, and who deserved a bettermother.) “Margaret, take Henrietta Hope to Miss Johnson.”
Miss Bulstrode retired into her sitting room and a few moments later was talking French.
“But certainly, Excellence, your niece can study modern ballroom dancing. Most importantsocially. And languages, also, are most necessary.”
The next arrivals were prefaced by such a gust of expensive perfume as almost to knock MissBulstrode backwards.
“Must pour a whole bottle of the stuff over herself every day,” Miss Bulstrode noted mentally,as she greeted the exquisitely dressed dark-skinned woman.
“Enchantée, Madame.”
Madame giggled very prettily.
The big bearded man in Oriental dress took Miss Bulstrode’s hand, bowed over it, and said invery good English, “I have the honour to bring to you the Princess Shaista.”
Miss Bulstrode knew all about her new pupil who had just come from a school in Switzerland,but was a little hazy as to who it was escorting her. Not the Emir himself, she decided, probablythe Minister, or Chargé d’Affaires. As usual when in doubt, she used that useful title Excellence,and assured him that Princess Shaista would have the best of care.
Shaista was smiling politely. She was also fashionably dressed and perfumed. Her age, MissBulstrode knew, was fifteen, but like many Eastern and Mediterranean girls, she looked older—quite mature. Miss Bulstrode spoke to her about her projected studies and was relieved to find thatshe answered promptly in excellent English and without giggling. In fact, her manners comparedfavourably with the awkward ones of many English school girls of fifteen. Miss Bulstrode hadoften thought that it might be an excellent plan to send English girls abroad to the Near Easterncountries to learn courtesy and manners there. More compliments were uttered on both sides andthen the room was empty again though still filled with such heavy perfume that Miss Bulstrodeopened both windows to their full extent to let some of it out.
The next comers were Mrs. Upjohn and her daughter Julia.
Mrs. Upjohn was an agreeable young woman in the late thirties with sandy hair, freckles and anunbecoming hat which was clearly a concession to the seriousness of the occasion, since she wasobviously the type of young woman who usually went hatless.
Julia was a plain freckled child, with an intelligent forehead, and an air of good humour.
The preliminaries were quickly gone through and Julia was despatched via Margaret to MissJohnson, saying cheerfully as she went, “So long, Mum. Do be careful lighting that gas heater nowthat I’m not there to do it.”
Miss Bulstrode turned smilingly to Mrs. Upjohn, but did not ask her to sit. It was possible that,despite Julia’s appearance of cheerful common sense, her mother, too, might want to explain thather daughter was highly strung.
“Is there anything special you want to tell me about Julia?” she asked.
Mrs. Upjohn replied cheerfully:
“Oh no, I don’t think so. Julia’s a very ordinary sort of child. Quite healthy and all that. I thinkshe’s got reasonably good brains, too, but I daresay mothers usually think that about their children,don’t they?”
“Mothers,” said Miss Bulstrode grimly, “vary!”
“It’s wonderful for her to be able to come here,” said Mrs. Upjohn. “My aunt’s paying for it,really, or helping. I couldn’t afford it myself. But I’m awfully pleased about it. And so is Julia.”
She moved to the window as she said enviously, “How lovely your garden is. And so tidy. Youmust have lots of real gardeners.”
“We had three,” said Miss Bulstrode, “but just now we’re shorthanded except for local labour.”
“Of course the trouble nowadays,” said Mrs. Upjohn, “is that what one calls a gardener usuallyisn’t a gardener, just a milkman who wants to do something in his spare time, or an old man ofeighty. I sometimes think—Why!” exclaimed Mrs. Upjohn, still gazing out of the window—“howextraordinary!”
Miss Bulstrode paid less attention to this sudden exclamation than she should have done. For atthat moment she herself had glanced casually out of the other window which gave on to therhododendron shrubbery, and had perceived a highly unwelcome sight, none other than LadyVeronica Carlton-Sandways, weaving her way along the path, her large black velvet hat on oneside, muttering to herself and clearly in a state of advanced intoxication.
Lady Veronica was not an unknown hazard. She was a charming woman, deeply attached to hertwin daughters, and very delightful when she was, as they put it, herself—but unfortunately atunpredictable intervals, she was not herself. Her husband, Major Carlton-Sandways, coped fairlywell. A cousin lived with them, who was usually at hand to keep an eye on Lady Veronica andhead her off if necessary. On Sports Day, with both Major Carlton-Sandways and the cousin inclose attendance, Lady Veronica arrived completely sober and beautifully dressed and was apattern of what a mother should be.
But there were times when Lady Veronica gave her well-wishers the slip, tanked herself up andmade a beeline for her daughters to assure them of her maternal love. The twins had arrived bytrain early today, but no one had expected Lady Veronica.
Mrs. Upjohn was still talking. But Miss Bulstrode was not listening. She was reviewing variouscourses of action, for she recognized that Lady Veronica was fast approaching the truculent stage.
But suddenly, an answer to prayer, Miss Chadwick appeared at a brisk trot, slightly out of breath.
Faithful Chaddy, thought Miss Bulstrode. Always to be relied upon, whether it was a severedartery or an intoxicated parent.
“Disgraceful,” said Lady Veronica to her loudly. “Tried to keep me away—didn’t want me tocome down here—I fooled Edith all right. Went to have my rest—got out car—gave silly oldEdith slip … regular old maid … no man would ever look at her twice … Had a row with policeon the way … said I was unfit to drive car … nonshense … Going to tell Miss Bulstrode I’mtaking the girls home—want ’em home, mother love. Wonderful thing, mother love—”
“Splendid, Lady Veronica,” said Miss Chadwick. “We’re so pleased you’ve come. I particularlywant you to see the new Sports Pavilion. You’ll love it.”
Adroitly she turned Lady Veronica’s unsteady footsteps in the opposite direction, leading heraway from the house.
“I expect we’ll find your girls there,” she said brightly. “Such a nice Sports Pavilion, newlockers, and a drying room for the swim suits—” their voices trailed away.
Miss Bulstrode watched. Once Lady Veronica tried to break away and return to the house, butMiss Chadwick was a match for her. They disappeared round the corner of the rhododendrons,headed for the distant loneliness of the new Sports Pavilion.
Miss Bulstrode heaved a sigh of relief. Excellent Chaddy. So reliable! Not modern. Not brainy—apart from mathematics—but always a present help in time of trouble.
She turned with a sigh and a sense of guilt to Mrs. Upjohn who had been talking happily forsome time….
“ … though, of course,” she was saying, “never real cloak and dagger stuff. Not dropping byparachute, or sabotage, or being a courier. I shouldn’t have been brave enough. It was mostly dullstuff. Office work. And plotting. Plotting things on a map, I mean—not the story telling kind ofplotting. But of course it was exciting sometimes and it was often quite funny, as I just said—allthe secret agents followed each other round and round Geneva, all knowing each other by sight,and often ending up in the same bar. I wasn’t married then, of course. It was all great fun.”
She stopped abruptly with an apologetic and friendly smile.
“I’m sorry I’ve been talking so much. Taking up your time. When you’ve got such lots ofpeople to see.”
She held out a hand, said good-bye and departed.
Miss Bulstrode stood frowning for a moment. Some instinct warned her that she had missedsomething that might be important.
She brushed the feeling aside. This was the opening day of summer term, and she had manymore parents to see. Never had her school been more popular, more assured of success.
Meadowbank was at its zenith.
There was nothing to tell her that within a few weeks Meadowbank would be plunged into a seaof trouble; that disorder, confusion and murder would reign there, that already certain events hadbeen set in motion….
序章 夏季学期（7）
7布尔斯特罗德小姐的会客室两头都有窗，一边对着车道和外侧的草坪，一边是大楼后方的大片杜鹃花。这是一个很气派的房间，布尔斯特罗德小姐本人则更气派。她身材高大，气质高贵，灰白的头发梳理得很服帖，灰色的眼睛满含着笑意，嘴巴的轮廓坚定。学校的成功——芳草地学校已经是英格兰最成功的学校之一——完全归功于这位女校长的个人品格。这是一间学费非常昂贵的学校，但这不是真正的卖点。这样说应该会更好：虽然付出去的钱能把你盖到头顶，但是每一分都花得物有所值。
你的女儿会按照你所希望的方式被教育。当然，也是依着布尔斯特罗德小姐的意愿。
两厢结合的结果倒是令人满意的。也因为收费高昂，布尔斯特罗德小姐可以请到足够多的职员。这间学校不以批量生产为荣，讲求的是个性，但是也强调纪律。要求纪律而不追求一律，这是布尔斯特罗德小姐的座右铭。在她看来，纪律是对年轻人的保障，这可以给予他们安全的感觉；一律则会引起反感。她的学生出身不同，有来自名门的外国人，通常是外国的王室；也有来自望族或者是豪门的英国本土女孩，希望在文化和艺术等方面得到训练，又能学到人生常识和社交能力，最终成长得举止优雅、大方得体，还能参与关于任何话题的有洞见的讨论。有些女孩愿意勤奋用功，通过大学的入学考试，最终拿到学位，她们需要的只是良好的教导和特别的关注。有些女孩则不适应传统类型的学校生活。布尔斯特罗德小姐自有她的一套规则，她不会接受低能儿或者是少年犯；她更愿意让那些她所喜欢的家长的孩子入学，还有那些在她看来会有发展前景的姑娘。学校学生的年龄差别也很大：有些在过去会被称为“超龄”，还有些只是比小孩子大一点点而已。她们当中有不少人的父母都在外国，布尔斯特罗德小姐为这些学生安排了有趣的假期规划。这间学校的一切，都需要布尔斯特罗德小姐的批准才能算是最终的决定。
现在，她正站在壁炉的旁边，听着杰拉德•霍普太太略带哭腔的倾诉。她很有预见性地没有请霍普太太坐下。
“你是知道的，亨丽埃塔非常容易激动，真的非常容易被激怒。我们的医生说……”
布尔斯特罗德小姐点点头，很温和地表达着安慰，极力克制她可能会脱口而出的尖刻话——
“难道你真不知道？你这个笨蛋啊！每个傻女人都会这么说自己的孩子。”
但是她带着坚定的同情说了下面的话。
“不要有任何担忧，霍普太太。我们的教员之一罗恩小姐，是受过严格训练的心理学家。我很肯定，一两个学期之后，你会对发生在亨丽埃塔（这个你根本不配做她母亲的聪明好孩子）身上的变化感到惊讶。”
“啊，这我是知道的。你们在兰贝思家的孩子身上创造了奇迹——绝对是奇迹！所以我是很高兴的。还有啊，是了，刚才忘了说，我们六个星期之后要到法国南部去，我想带上亨丽埃塔。这应该能让她放松一下。”
“恐怕这是不太可能的。”布尔斯特罗德小姐说道，轻快，带着迷人的微笑，就像是她答应了某个请求，而不是拒绝了它。
“啊！可是……”霍普夫人的脸色在示弱和动怒之间动摇着，好像是有些生气了，“说真的，我必须坚持。说到底，她是我的孩子。”
“完全正确。但这是我的学校。”布尔斯特罗德小姐说。
“只要我愿意，我随时可以把孩子从学校接走吧？”
“哦，那是啊。”布尔斯特罗德小姐说，“你可以，你当然可以接走。但是那样的话，我可不会让她再回来。”
霍普太太现在是真的要动怒了。
“想想我付的学费有多贵……”
“也没错，”布尔斯特罗德小姐说，“是你让你女儿读我的学校，难道不是吗？要么接受这样的设计，要么走人。就像你现在穿着的那套迷人的巴黎世家。这是巴黎世家，对吧？
能遇见一位真正有服装品味的女士确实是让人高兴。”
她一手笼住霍普太太的手，握了握，不动声色地就把她领到了门口。
“完全不用担心。啊，亨丽埃塔在这儿等着你呢。”她带着赞许的神色看着亨丽埃塔，这个孩子堪称罕见，她聪明而镇静，理应有个更好一点的妈妈，“玛格丽特，带亨丽埃塔•霍普去见约翰逊小姐。”
布尔斯特罗德小姐退回自己的会客室，不一会儿就开始说起了法语。
“当然了，阁下，您的侄女可以学习现代交际舞，这对社交是非常重要的。还有各种语言，也是极有必要的。”
下一位访客还没露面，浓烈的名贵香水味便先到一步，几乎让布尔斯特罗德小姐往后打了个踉跄。
“一定是每天要往自己身上倒一整瓶这些玩意儿吧。”布尔斯特罗德小姐心里这么想着，一边迎接这位深色皮肤、衣着精致的女士。
“很高兴见到你，夫人。”
这位夫人咯咯笑起来，一副娇滴滴的样子。
那位穿着东方服饰、蓄着胡子、身材高大的男士托起布尔斯特罗德小姐的手，俯身亲吻它，用非常好的英文说：“我很荣幸地向您介绍谢斯塔公主。”
布尔斯特罗德小姐对这位从瑞士某学校转来的新学生的情况倒是都了解，但是对送她过来的人不是很清楚。她可以肯定不是王公本人，可能是某位大臣，或者是某个临时代办。和以往那些搞不清楚的时候一样，她用了“阁下”这个称呼，并向他保证，谢斯塔公主将会得到最好的照顾。
谢斯塔公主礼貌性地微笑着。她的穿着也很时尚，身上洒满了香水。她的年龄，就布尔斯特罗德小姐所知，是十五岁。但是跟很多东方和地中海国家的女孩一样，她看起来要大一些——相当成熟。布尔斯特罗德小姐和她谈了谈她的学习规划，很安心地发现她可以很快地用熟练的英文回答，而且完全没有傻笑。事实上，相比之下她的举止要比很多十五岁左右笨拙的英国女学生文雅很多。布尔斯特罗德小姐时常会想，把英国女孩送到某些近东国家去学习一些礼节和教养应该是个很好的安排。双方又讲了一些客套话，然后房间又空了，只是浓郁的香水味还充斥其间，布尔斯特罗德小姐把两头的窗户都完全打开，好让它散去一些。
下一批来访的是厄普约翰太太和她的女儿茱莉亚。
厄普约翰太太是位很好相处的少妇，三十七八岁的样子，浅茶色的头发，脸上有雀斑，戴一顶不太合宜的帽子，应该是考虑到当下场合的严肃性才做了这样的让步，因为她显然是那种习惯不戴帽子的年轻女人。
茱莉亚是个相貌普通、满脸雀斑的孩子，前额突出，感觉应该是个风趣的人。
开场的寒暄很快完成，茱莉亚被玛格丽特带着去见约翰逊小姐了，她走开时高兴地说：“再见啦，妈妈。点煤气炉的时候请务必小心啊，我没办法再帮你做这件事了。”
布尔斯特罗德小姐微笑着转向厄普约翰太太，但是没有请她坐下。事情很有可能是这样：虽然茱莉亚看起来开开心心的，不过她的母亲和其他人一样，还是会想要强调一下自己的女儿非常容易激动。
“关于茱莉亚，还有什么特别需要注意的事情告诉我吗？”她问道。
厄普约翰太太显得很高兴地应答起来。
“哦，不，我想没有了。茱莉亚是个非常普通的孩子，很健康，一切正常。我想她脑子也相当好用，但是我敢说母亲们都这么想自己的孩子，不是吗？”
“妈妈们嘛，”布尔斯特罗德小姐淡淡地说，“也不太相同的。”
“她能到这儿读书真是太好了。”厄普约翰太太说，“其实吧，是我婶婶付的学费，或者说，资助了费用。我自己可是负担不起的。但我是真的挺高兴的，茱莉亚也是。”她边说边走向窗口，带着羡慕的语气继续，“你们的花园真可爱啊，而且还那么整洁。你们一定有不少真正懂行的园丁吧。”
“我们请了三位，”布尔斯特罗德小姐说，“只是目前我们有些缺人手，也雇了本地人来干活。”
“现在就是这么麻烦啦，”厄普约翰太太接过话，“自称是园丁的人通常不是真的园丁，可能是想在闲暇时间找点事情来做的送奶工，要不就是八十几岁的老人家。我有时候想啊——天哪！”厄普约翰太太失声叫出来，眼睛还是盯着窗外，“这也太奇怪了！”
布尔斯特罗德小姐对这声意外地呼喊没有给予应有的关注。那时她自己也正漫不经心地透过另一边的窗户——也就是正对着杜鹃花丛的那扇窗——看着外面，正巧看到了一幕极为令人讨厌的场景——维罗尼卡•卡尔顿-桑德韦斯女士晃悠悠地沿着小路走着，她巨大的黑色天鹅绒帽子歪在一边，喃喃自语着，显然是醉得不轻。
维罗尼卡女士倒也不是什么不为人知的隐患，她是个有魅力的女人，深爱自己的双胞胎女儿。按照大家的说法，她清醒的时候还是挺讨人喜欢的——不幸的是，她通常都不是那个自己，而且变化周期完全无法预料。她的丈夫卡尔顿-桑德韦斯少校对这类情况倒是应对地相当自如。有个表亲和他们住在一起，总待在维罗尼卡女士身边照看着，必要时还得拦着她别让她乱来。开运动会的那几天，在卡尔顿-桑德韦斯少校和那位表亲的贴身守护下，维罗尼卡女士倒是完全清醒着来到了学校，穿得漂漂亮亮，就是一位母亲应该有的样子。
但是维罗尼卡女士时常又会让那些对她抱着希望的人们失望，把自己灌得大醉，跑来找到自己的两个女儿，含混不清地向她们保证自己无私的母爱。双胞胎女儿们今天一早搭火车到了学校，但是没有人说过维罗尼卡女士会过来。
厄普约翰太太还在说，但是布尔斯特罗德小姐已经没有在听了。她正在考虑可以采取哪些行动，因为她已经发现了，维罗尼卡女士正在快速接近发酒疯的阶段。但是很突然地——就像是上帝听到了谁的祈祷——查德威克小姐小跑着出现了，有些上气不接下气。忠诚的查德威克，布尔斯特罗德小姐这么想着，不管是动脉出血还是家长醉酒，她总是那么靠得住。
“太不像话了，”维罗尼卡女士对查德威克小姐大声地说，“要拦住我——不想让我到这儿来——伊迪丝是被我骗过去了。我说去休息，然后把车开出来，伊迪丝这个老傻瓜完全被骗了——可怜的老处女，没人会有兴趣看她第二眼。路上倒是和警察有点争执，说我不适合驾车。胡扯。去告诉布尔斯特罗德小姐，我来把姑娘们接回家——我要她们回家去，母爱。伟大的玩意儿，母爱啊——”
“很好啊，维罗尼卡女士，”查德威克小姐说，“你能来我们真高兴。我特别想带你去看看新建成的体育馆，你肯定会喜欢的。”
她熟练地将维罗尼卡女士踉跄的脚步引向了完全相反的方向，把她带离了大楼。
“我想我们会在那儿找你的女儿们，”她高兴地说着，“真是间很漂亮的体育馆，全新的储物柜，还有专门晾干游泳衣的房间——”她们俩的声音慢慢远去。
布尔斯特罗德小姐看着。维罗尼卡女士一度想要挣脱，回到走向大楼的方向，不过查德威克小姐和她倒是势均力敌。她们消失在杜鹃花丛的拐角处，朝着独处一隅的新体育馆走去。
布尔斯特罗德小姐松了一口气。好样的，查德威克就是这么可靠。不时髦，除了数学以外，也算不上太聪明——但是一旦有麻烦，她总能帮上忙。
她叹了口气转过身来，带着一点点愧疚感面向已经高高兴兴说了好一会儿的厄普约翰太太。
“……是了，那是当然了，”她这么说着，“绝对不是什么刀剑盾牌那样的活儿，也不是背着伞包跳伞，又或者是敌后破坏，传递情报那样的事情。我应该没有那样的胆量。基本上都是些枯燥的工作，办公室的活儿，还有些规划什么的。我是说，在地图上标注些东西，不是讲故事那种谋划。但是当然有时候也会很刺激，一般也是挺有趣的，就像我刚说过的——在日内瓦，所有的秘密特工都互相跟踪，所有人都互相认得，经常就坐在同一间酒吧里。当然啦，我当时还没结婚。倒是挺有乐趣的。”
她忽然就停下了，略带歉意地友好微笑着。
“很抱歉，我说了太多，占用了你不少时间吧，你还有那么多人要接待。”
她伸出一只手，说了再见后便离开了。
布尔斯特罗德小姐皱眉站了一会儿。某种本能警告她，她错过了什么事情，而且可能是什么非常重要的事情。
她努力抛开这种感觉。今天是夏季学期的开学日，她还有太多家长要接待。她的学校从未像现在这样出名过，她有十足的把握取得成功。芳草地正处在它的全盛期。
没有任何迹象提醒她，仅仅几周后，芳草地就会陷入一大堆麻烦；她不会想到，混乱、迷惑以及谋杀，将会占据这儿；她不会知道，注定会发生的事情其实已经开始了。