Chapter 9
He found the baroness in the drawing room, paging through some music.
“I hope I’m not disturbing,” he said. “I was told I would find you here. We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Chevalier Valmont.”
“How do you do, Chevalier. Of course you’re not disturbing. In fact, I couldn’t wait to meet my husband’s savior.”
page листать, перелистывать; music здесь: ноты; disturb мешать; in fact в действительности, на самом деле; по правде говоря; husband муж, супруг
“It was very kind of you to harbour a total stranger.”
“Anyone would be happy to harbour a shining knight (32), and you are a shining knight if any of what my husband told me is true.”
“Things are not always what they seem, Madam.”
“Now you speak in riddles.”
“Never mind. (33) Forget what I said.”
“Please, tell me.”
“I only wanted to say that sometimes things are much more prosaic than they would appear. I simply happened to be in the right place at the right time, that’s all.” (34)
harbour приютить; total stranger некто совершенно незнакомый; knight рыцарь ◊ shining knight рыцарь в сияющих доспехах; riddle загадка; appear казаться
“You know, I have this strange feeling that we have met before,” said the baroness after a while.
“That’s quite impossible. This is my first time in Mouseville.”
“Maybe it was before you came to Mouseville. Where are you from?”
“I was born in a small town on the southern coast of the Mouse Kingdom. Its name won’t tell you anything. Later, I spent a lot of time away from home, travelling. No, I don’t think that our paths have crossed before. Besides, I would have remembered you if I had met you.”
coast берег (моря или океана), побережье; path тропа, дорожка; cross пересекаться
“And still… Your face…It seems strangely familiar. I have this feeling ever since you entered the room.”
“Such things happen. You know, once I made a portrait of a mouse girl I had never really seen, she only existed in my imagination, and was very surprised when some time afterwards I ran into a living copy of that girl in one of the port towns. Our subconscious mind – or whatever it is – plays tricks with us sometimes. One of these tricks is called déjà vu: you think that what you’re doing or feeling now has already happened to you before. Probably, you are experiencing something like that.
and still и всё же, и тем не менее; familiar знакомый; exist существовать; imagination воображение; afterwards после этого; subconscious подсознательный ◊ subconscious mind подсознание; or whatever it is или что там еще; probably вероятно, возможно; experience испытывать
“Perhaps you’re right. You said you have spent many years away from home. How is that possible? I mean, you being so young?”
“I’m not as young as it may appear. I guess, it’s the sea. Its salty waters must have preserved me well.”
“Just don’t tell my friends about it, or they will all take to the sea, and I will have no one to gossip with.”
“I promise, I won’t tell anyone,” Valmont said with a smile.
“But you will share your secret with me, won’t you?”
“Certainly.”
preserve сохранить, законсервировать; take to the sea отправиться в плавание, здесь: податься в моряки; gossip сплетничать; share поделиться; certainly непременно, разумеется, само собой
“And what about me? May I join in on the secret?” asked the baron who happened to overhear his wife’s question.
“Martin! What are you doing here? You were supposed to be fast asleep in your bed,” said the baroness. (35)
“Which I was. But the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen woke me up.”
“I thought that the two of you might be hungry, so I asked the cook to serve dinner at five instead of seven.”
“Great!” said the baron, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “I knew you wouldn’t let your husband starve to death, my dear.”
join in (on sth) участвовать (в чем-либо); overhear нечаянно услышать; remark замечание, реплика; anticipation ожидание, предвкушение; starve умирать от голода