《福尔摩斯探案集·铜山毛榉案》第8节
“It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know a little more before I quite committed myself. “‘May I ask where you live, sir?’ said I. “‘Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.’ “‘And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would be.’ “‘One child—one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack! smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!’ He leaned back in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again. “I was a little startled at the nature of the child’s amusement, but the father’s laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking. “‘My sole duties, then,’ I asked, ‘are to take charge of a single child?’ “‘No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,’ he cried. ‘Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided always that they were such commands as a lady might with propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?’
注释摘要
这一节是维奥莱特·亨特小姐在福尔摩斯寓所里亲口讲述的一段应聘经历，核心是一场面试对话。雇主鲁卡斯尔先生先以一百英镑一年的天价薪水、预支半薪的慷慨姿态打动了经济困窘的家庭女教师；亨特小姐虽欠着小商贩的债，却凭本能感到这笔交易有些不对劲，于是追问了两件事：工作地点在何处，她的具体职责是什么。雇主把铜山毛榉这个地方描述成温彻斯特郊外一座迷人的乡间老宅，接着用一个…