Chapter : 10.2. Chapitre : 10.2.

Mr. Havisham had been expected to arrive in the afternoon, but, strange to say, he was late. Such a thing had really never been known to happen before during all the years in which he had been a visitor at Dorincourt Castle. Realmente nunca se había sabido que algo así sucediera antes durante todos los años en los que había sido un visitante en el castillo de Dorincourt. He was so late that the guests were on the point of rising to go in to dinner when he arrived. Llegó tan tarde que los invitados estaban a punto de levantarse para entrar a cenar cuando él llegó. When he approached his host, the Earl regarded him with amazement. Cuando se acercó a su anfitrión, el conde lo miró con asombro. He looked as if he had been hurried or agitated; his dry, keen old face was actually pale. Parecía como si lo hubieran apresurado o agitado; su viejo rostro seco y agudo estaba realmente pálido.

"I was detained," he said, in a low voice to the Earl, "by—an extraordinary event." "Fui detenido", dijo en voz baja al conde, "por... un acontecimiento extraordinario". It was as unlike the methodic old lawyer to be agitated by anything as it was to be late, but it was evident that he had been disturbed. Era tan impropio del viejo abogado metódico estar agitado por cualquier cosa como llegar tarde, pero era evidente que lo habían perturbado. At dinner he ate scarcely anything, and two or three times, when he was spoken to, he started as if his thoughts were far away. At dessert, when Fauntleroy came in, he looked at him more than once, nervously and uneasily. En el postre, cuando entró Fauntleroy, lo miró más de una vez, nervioso e inquieto. Fauntleroy noted the look and wondered at it. He and Mr. Havisham were on friendly terms, and they usually exchanged smiles. The lawyer seemed to have forgotten to smile that evening.

The fact was, he forgot everything but the strange and painful news he knew he must tell the Earl before the night was over—the strange news which he knew would be so terrible a shock, and which would change the face of everything. El hecho era que se olvidó de todo menos de la extraña y dolorosa noticia que sabía que debía contarle al conde antes de que terminara la noche, la extraña noticia que sabía que sería un golpe terrible y que cambiaría el rostro de todo. As he looked about at the splendid rooms and the brilliant company,—at the people gathered together, he knew, more that they might see the bright-haired little fellow near the Earl's chair than for any other reason,—as he looked at the proud old man and at little Lord Fauntleroy smiling at his side, he really felt quite shaken, notwithstanding that he was a hardened old lawyer. Mientras contemplaba las espléndidas habitaciones y la brillante compañía, a la gente reunida, sabía, más para que pudieran ver al muchachito de cabellos brillantes cerca de la silla del conde que por cualquier otra razón, mientras miraba a la orgulloso anciano y al pequeño Lord Fauntleroy sonriendo a su lado, realmente se sintió bastante conmocionado, a pesar de que era un viejo abogado empedernido. What a blow it was that he must deal them! ¡Qué golpe fue el que tuvo que darles!

He did not exactly know how the long, superb dinner ended. No supo exactamente cómo terminó la larga y soberbia cena. He sat through it as if he were in a dream, and several times he saw the Earl glance at him in surprise.

But it was over at last, and the gentlemen joined the ladies in the drawing-room. Pero todo terminó por fin, y los caballeros se unieron a las damas en el salón. They found Fauntleroy sitting on the sofa with Miss Vivian Herbert,—the great beauty of the last London season; they had been looking at some pictures, and he was thanking his companion as the door opened.

"I'm ever so much obliged to you for being so kind to me!" he was saying; "I never was at a party before, and I've enjoyed myself so much!" He had enjoyed himself so much that when the gentlemen gathered about Miss Herbert again and began to talk to her, as he listened and tried to understand their laughing speeches, his eyelids began to droop. They drooped until they covered his eyes two or three times, and then the sound of Miss Herbert's low, pretty laugh would bring him back, and he would open them again for about two seconds. Caían hasta que le tapaban los ojos dos o tres veces, y luego el sonido de la risa baja y bonita de la señorita Herbert lo traía de vuelta y los abría de nuevo durante unos dos segundos. He was quite sure he was not going to sleep, but there was a large, yellow satin cushion behind him and his head sank against it, and after a while his eyelids drooped for the last time. They did not even quite open when, as it seemed a long time after, some one kissed him lightly on the cheek. Ni siquiera se abrieron del todo cuando, al parecer mucho tiempo después, alguien le dio un ligero beso en la mejilla. It was Miss Vivian Herbert, who was going away, and she spoke to him softly.

"Good-night, little Lord Fauntleroy," she said. "Sleep well." And in the morning he did not know that he had tried to open his eyes and had murmured sleepily, "Good-night—I'm so—glad—I saw you—you are so—pretty——" He only had a very faint recollection of hearing the gentlemen laugh again and of wondering why they did it. Solo tenía un vago recuerdo de haber escuchado a los caballeros reírse nuevamente y de preguntarse por qué lo hacían.

No sooner had the last guest left the room, than Mr. Havisham turned from his place by the fire, and stepped nearer the sofa, where he stood looking down at the sleeping occupant. Tan pronto como el último invitado salió de la habitación, el Sr. Havisham se volvió de su lugar junto al fuego y se acercó al sofá, donde se quedó mirando al ocupante dormido. Little Lord Fauntleroy was taking his ease luxuriously. El pequeño Lord Fauntleroy se estaba relajando lujosamente. One leg crossed the other and swung over the edge of the sofa; one arm was flung easily above his head; the warm flush of healthful, happy, childish sleep was on his quiet face; his waving tangle of bright hair strayed over the yellow satin cushion. Una pierna cruzó la otra y se balanceó sobre el borde del sofá; un brazo se arrojó fácilmente por encima de su cabeza; el cálido rubor del sueño saludable, feliz, infantil, se reflejaba en su rostro tranquilo; su ondulante maraña de cabello brillante se desparramó sobre el cojín de satén amarillo. He made a picture well worth looking at. Hizo una imagen que bien vale la pena mirar.

As Mr. Havisham looked at it, he put his hand up and rubbed his shaven chin, with a harassed countenance. Mientras el Sr. Havisham lo miraba, levantó la mano y se frotó la barbilla afeitada, con semblante afligido. Terwijl meneer Havisham ernaar keek, stak hij zijn hand op en wreef met een gekweld gezicht over zijn geschoren kin.

"Well, Havisham," said the Earl's harsh voice behind him. "What is it? It is evident something has happened. What was the extraordinary event, if I may ask?" Mr. Havisham turned from the sofa, still rubbing his chin. El Sr. Havisham se dio la vuelta desde el sofá, todavía frotándose la barbilla.

"It was bad news," he answered, "distressing news, my lord—the worst of news. "Eran malas noticias", respondió, "noticias angustiosas, mi señor, la peor de las noticias. I am sorry to be the bearer of it." The Earl had been uneasy for some time during the evening, as he glanced at Mr. Havisham, and when he was uneasy he was always ill-tempered. El conde había estado inquieto durante algún tiempo durante la noche, mientras miraba al Sr. Havisham, y cuando estaba inquieto siempre estaba de mal humor.

"Why do you look so at the boy!" he exclaimed irritably. "You have been looking at him all the evening as if—See here now, why should you look at the boy, Havisham, and hang over him like some bird of ill-omen! "Lo has estado mirando toda la noche como si... Mira ahora, ¿por qué deberías mirar al chico, Havisham, y estar pendiente de él como un pájaro de mal agüero? What has your news to do with Lord Fauntleroy?" "My lord," said Mr. Havisham, "I will waste no words. "Mi señor", dijo el Sr. Havisham, "no desperdiciaré palabras. My news has everything to do with Lord Fauntleroy. Mis noticias tienen todo que ver con Lord Fauntleroy. And if we are to believe it—it is not Lord Fauntleroy who lies sleeping before us, but only the son of Captain Errol. Y si hemos de creerlo, no es lord Fauntleroy quien duerme ante nosotros, sino sólo el hijo del capitán Errol. And the present Lord Fauntleroy is the son of your son Bevis, and is at this moment in a lodging-house in London." Y el actual Lord Fauntleroy es hijo de su hijo Bevis, y se encuentra en este momento en una casa de huéspedes en Londres. The Earl clutched the arms of his chair with both his hands until the veins stood out upon them; the veins stood out on his forehead too; his fierce old face was almost livid. El conde se agarró a los brazos de su silla con ambas manos hasta que las venas se le salieron; las venas de su frente también sobresalían; su fiero rostro anciano estaba casi lívido.

"What do you mean!" he cried out. "You are mad! Whose lie is this?" "If it is a lie," answered Mr. Havisham, "it is painfully like the truth. A woman came to my chambers this morning. Una mujer vino a mis aposentos esta mañana. She said your son Bevis married her six years ago in London. She showed me her marriage certificate. They quarrelled a year after the marriage, and he paid her to keep away from him. She has a son five years old. She is an American of the lower classes,—an ignorant person,—and until lately she did not fully understand what her son could claim. Ella es una americana de las clases bajas, una persona ignorante, y hasta hace poco no entendía del todo lo que su hijo podía reclamar. She consulted a lawyer and found out that the boy was really Lord Fauntleroy and the heir to the earldom of Dorincourt; and she, of course, insists on his claims being acknowledged." Consultó a un abogado y descubrió que el niño era en realidad Lord Fauntleroy y el heredero del condado de Dorincourt; y ella, por supuesto, insiste en que se reconozcan sus afirmaciones". There was a movement of the curly head on the yellow satin cushion. Hubo un movimiento de la cabeza rizada sobre el cojín de raso amarillo. A soft, long, sleepy sigh came from the parted lips, and the little boy stirred in his sleep, but not at all restlessly or uneasily. Un suspiro suave, largo y somnoliento salió de los labios entreabiertos, y el niño pequeño se agitó en sueños, pero sin inquietud ni inquietud. Not at all as if his slumber were disturbed by the fact that he was being proved a small impostor and that he was not Lord Fauntleroy at all and never would be the Earl of Dorincourt. En absoluto como si su sueño se viera perturbado por el hecho de que se estaba demostrando que era un pequeño impostor y que no era lord Fauntleroy en absoluto y nunca sería el conde de Dorincourt. He only turned his rosy face more on its side, as if to enable the old man who stared at it so solemnly to see it better. Sólo volvió más la cara sonrosada de lado, como para permitir que el anciano que la miraba tan solemnemente la viera mejor.

The handsome, grim old face was ghastly. El hermoso y sombrío rostro del anciano era espantoso. A bitter smile fixed itself upon it. Una amarga sonrisa se dibujó en él.

"I should refuse to believe a word of it," he said, "if it were not such a low, scoundrelly piece of business that it becomes quite possible in connection with the name of my son Bevis. "Me negaría a creer una palabra de eso", dijo, "si no fuera un asunto tan bajo y sinvergüenza que se vuelve bastante posible en relación con el nombre de mi hijo Bevis. "Ik zou er geen woord van willen geloven," zei hij, "als het niet zo'n lage, schurkachtige zaak was dat het heel goed mogelijk wordt in verband met de naam van mijn zoon Bevis. It is quite like Bevis. He was always a disgrace to us. Always a weak, untruthful, vicious young brute with low tastes—my son and heir, Bevis, Lord Fauntleroy. Siempre un joven bruto débil, mentiroso, vicioso y de mal gusto: mi hijo y heredero, Bevis, Lord Fauntleroy. Altijd een zwakke, leugenachtige, gemene jonge bruut met lage smaak - mijn zoon en erfgenaam, Bevis, Lord Fauntleroy. The woman is an ignorant, vulgar person, you say?" "I am obliged to admit that she can scarcely spell her own name," answered the lawyer. "Estoy obligado a admitir que apenas puede deletrear su propio nombre", respondió el abogado. "She is absolutely uneducated and openly mercenary. "Ella es absolutamente sin educación y abiertamente mercenaria. She cares for nothing but the money. She is very handsome in a coarse way, but——" Ella es muy hermosa de una manera tosca, pero——" Ze is erg knap op een grove manier, maar..." The fastidious old lawyer ceased speaking and gave a sort of shudder. El quisquilloso viejo abogado dejó de hablar y se estremeció. De kieskeurige oude advocaat hield op met spreken en huiverde.

The veins on the old Earl's forehead stood out like purple cords. Las venas de la frente del viejo conde sobresalían como cordones de color púrpura. Something else stood out upon it too—cold drops of moisture. También sobresalía algo más: frías gotas de humedad. He took out his handkerchief and swept them away. Sacó su pañuelo y los barrió. His smile grew even more bitter.

"And I," he said, "I objected to—to the other woman, the mother of this child" (pointing to the sleeping form on the sofa); "I refused to recognize her. And yet she could spell her own name. I suppose this is retribution." Suddenly he sprang up from his chair and began to walk up and down the room. De repente, saltó de su silla y comenzó a caminar de un lado a otro de la habitación. Fierce and terrible words poured forth from his lips. Palabras feroces y terribles brotaron de sus labios. His rage and hatred and cruel disappointment shook him as a storm shakes a tree. Su rabia, su odio y su cruel desilusión lo sacudieron como una tormenta sacude un árbol. His violence was something dreadful to see, and yet Mr. Havisham noticed that at the very worst of his wrath he never seemed to forget the little sleeping figure on the yellow satin cushion, and that he never once spoke loud enough to awaken it. Zijn gewelddadigheid was iets vreselijks om te zien, en toch merkte meneer Havisham dat hij op het ergst van zijn toorn nooit het slapende figuurtje op het gele satijnen kussen scheen te vergeten, en dat hij geen enkele keer hard genoeg sprak om het wakker te maken.

"I might have known it," he said. "They were a disgrace to me from their first hour! I hated them both; and they hated me! Bevis was the worse of the two. I will not believe this yet, though! ¡Sin embargo, no lo creeré todavía! I will contend against it to the last. Lucharé contra ella hasta el final. But it is like Bevis—it is like him!" And then he raged again and asked questions about the woman, about her proofs, and pacing the room, turned first white and then purple in his repressed fury. Y luego se enfureció de nuevo e hizo preguntas sobre la mujer, sobre sus pruebas, y paseando por la habitación, primero se puso blanco y luego morado en su furia reprimida. En toen ging hij weer tekeer en stelde vragen over de vrouw, over haar bewijzen, en terwijl hij door de kamer ijsbeerde, werd hij eerst wit en toen paars van zijn onderdrukte woede.

When at last he had learned all there was to be told, and knew the worst, Mr. Havisham looked at him with a feeling of anxiety. He looked broken and haggard and changed. Parecía roto, demacrado y cambiado. His rages had always been bad for him, but this one had been worse than the rest because there had been something more than rage in it.

He came slowly back to the sofa, at last, and stood near it.

"If any one had told me I could be fond of a child," he said, his harsh voice low and unsteady, "I should not have believed them. I always detested children—my own more than the rest. I am fond of this one; he is fond of me" (with a bitter smile). "I am not popular; I never was. But he is fond of me. He never was afraid of me—he always trusted me. He would have filled my place better than I have filled it. Él habría ocupado mi lugar mejor de lo que lo he ocupado yo. I know that. He would have been an honor to the name." He bent down and stood a minute or so looking at the happy, sleeping face. Se inclinó y se quedó un minuto más o menos mirando la cara feliz y dormida. His shaggy eyebrows were knitted fiercely, and yet somehow he did not seem fierce at all. Sus cejas peludas estaban juntas ferozmente y, sin embargo, de alguna manera no parecía feroz en absoluto. Zijn ruige wenkbrauwen waren woest gefronst, en toch leek hij op de een of andere manier helemaal niet woest. He put up his hand, pushed the bright hair back from the forehead, and then turned away and rang the bell. Levantó la mano, se apartó el pelo brillante de la frente y luego se dio la vuelta y tocó el timbre.

When the largest footman appeared, he pointed to the sofa.

"Take"—he said, and then his voice changed a little—"take Lord Fauntleroy to his room."