Fourteen（3）

III
On the little beach by the Point, Hester scuffed¹ the sand with the point ofher shoe.
“I don’t see what there is to talk about,” she said.
“You’ve got to talk about it,” said Don Craig.
“I don’t see why … Talking about a thing never does any good—it nevermakes it any better.”
“You might at least tell me what happened this morning.”
“Nothing,” said Hester.
“What do you mean—nothing? The police came along, didn’t they?”
“Oh, yes, they came along.”
“Well, then, did they question you all?”
“Yes,” said Hester, “they questioned us.”
“What sort of questions?”
“All the usual ones,” said Hester. “Really just the same as before. Wherewe were and what we did, and when we last saw Mother alive. Really,Don, I don’t want to talk about it any more. It’s over now.”
“But it isn’t over, dearest. That’s just the point.”
“I don’t see why you need to fuss,” said Hester. “You’re not mixed up inthis.”
“Darling, I want to help you. Don’t you understand?”
“Well, talking about it doesn’t help me. I just want to forget. If you’dhelp me to forget, that would be different.”
“Hester, dearest, it’s no good running away from things. You must facethem.”
“I’ve been facing them, as you call it, all the morning.”
“Hester, I love you. You know that, don’t you?”
“I suppose so,” said Hester.
“What do you mean, you suppose so?”
“Going on and on about it all.”
“But I have to do that.”
“I don’t see why. You’re not a policeman.”
“Who was the last person to see your mother alive?”
“I was,” said Hester.
“I know. That was just before seven, wasn’t it, just before you came outto meet me.”
“Just before I came out to go to Drymouth — to the Playhouse,” saidHester.
“Well, I was at the Playhouse, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, of course you were.”
“You did know then, didn’t you, Hester, that I loved you?”
“I wasn’t sure,” said Hester. “I wasn’t even sure then that I was begin-ning to love you.”
“You’d no reason, had you, no earthly reason for doing away with yourmother?”
“No, not really,” said Hester.
“What do you mean by not really?”
“I often thought about killing³ her,” said Hester in a matter-of-fact voice.
“I used to say ‘I wish she was dead, I wish she was dead.’ Sometimes,” sheadded, “I used to dream that I killed her.”
“In what way did you kill her in your dream?”
For a moment Don Craig was no longer the lover⁴ but the interestedyoung doctor.
“Sometimes I shot her,” said Hester cheerfully⁵, “and sometimes I bangedher on the head.”
Dr. Craig groaned⁶.
“That was just dreaming,” said Hester. “I’m often very violent indreams.”
“Listen, Hester.” The young man took her hand in his. “You’ve got to tellme the truth. You’ve got to trust me.”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” said Hester.
“The truth, Hester. I want the truth. I love you—and I’ll stand by you. If—if you killed her I—I think I can find out the reasons why. I don’t think itwill have been exactly your fault. Do you understand? Certainly I’d nevergo to the police about it. It will be between you and me only. Nobody elsewill suffer. The whole thing will die down for want of evidence. But I’vegot to know.” He stressed the last word strongly.
Hester was looking at him. Her eyes were wide, almost unfocused.
“What do you want me to say to you?” she said.
“I want you to tell me the truth.”
“You think you know the truth already, don’t you? You think—I killedher.”
“Hester, darling, don’t look at me like that.” He took her by theshoulders and shook her gently. “I’m a doctor. I know the reasons behindthese things. I know that people can’t always be held responsible for theiractions. I know you for what you are—sweet and lovely and essentially⁷ allright. I’ll help you. I’ll look after you. We’ll get married, then we’ll behappy. You need never feel lost, unwanted, tyrannized over. The thingswe do often spring from reasons most people don’t understand.”
“That’s very much what we all said about Jacko, isn’t it?” said Hester.
“Never mind Jacko. It’s you I’m thinking about. I love you so very much,Hester, but I’ve got to know the truth.”
“The truth?” said Hester.
A very slow, mocking⁸ smile curved⁹ the corners of her mouth upwards¹⁰.
“Please, darling.”
Hester turned her head and looked up.
“There’s Gwenda calling me. It must be lunch time.”
“Hester!”
“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t kill her?”
“Of course I’d—I’d believe you.”
“I don’t think you would,” said Hester.
She turned sharply¹¹ away from him and began running up the path. Hemade a movement to follow her, then abandoned it.
“Oh, hell²,” said Donald Craig. “Oh, hell!”

1 scuffed   

v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚走

参考例句：

• I scuffed the heel of my shoe on the stonework. 我的鞋跟儿给铺好的石头磨坏了。
• Polly dropped her head and scuffed her feet. 波莉低下头拖着脚走开了。 来自辞典例句

2 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 lover   

n.情人，恋人；爱好者

参考例句：

• Every lover sees a thousand graces in the beloved object.情人眼里出西施。
• Mr.Smith was a lover of poetry.史密斯先生是一名诗歌爱好者。

5 cheerfully   

adv.高兴地，愉快地

参考例句：

• The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
• He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。

6 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 mocking   

挖苦； 为消遣而模仿

参考例句：

• He's always mocking my French accent. 他总是嘲笑我的法国口音。
• Her voice was faintly mocking. 她的声音略带一丝嘲弄。

9 curved   

a.弯曲的

参考例句：

• His lips curved in a barely perceptible smile. 他的嘴角弯了弯，露出一丝几乎察觉不到的笑容。
• The missile curved gracefully towards its target. 导弹呈优美的曲线状飞向目标。

10 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

11 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。