16. CARLISLE
第十六章 卡莱尔
He led me back to the room that he'd pointed out as Carlisle's office. He paused outside the door for an instant.
他把我带回了那个他指点过的房间,卡莱尔的办公室。他只在房门外停顿了一瞬。
"Come in," Carlisle's voice invited.
“进来。”卡莱尔的声音邀请道。
Edward opened the door to a high-ceilinged room with tall, west-facing windows. The walls were paneled again, in a darker wood — where they were visible. Most of the wall space was taken up by towering bookshelves that reached high above my head and held more books than I'd ever seen outside a library.
爱德华打开了门。这是一间有着高高的天花板,和朝西的长窗的屋子。墙面上也镶嵌着木嵌板,是一种颜色更深的木头——能看见的墙面都是这样的。而大部分的墙面都被高耸过我头顶的书架挡住了。这里面的藏书甚至比我在外头见到的一座图书馆的书还要多。
Carlisle sat behind a huge mahogany desk in a leather chair. He was just placing a bookmark in the pages of the thick volume he held. The room was how I'd always imagined a college dean's would look — only Carlisle looked too young to fit the part.
卡莱尔坐在一张巨大的桃心木书桌后,坐在一张皮椅上。他正把一张书签放进他手里的一册厚厚的书里。这间屋子是我想象过的一个大学校长的办公室的样子——只不过卡莱尔太年轻了,和这里不太相称。
"What can I do for you?" he asked us pleasantly, rising from his seat.
“我能为你们做些什么?”他从座位上站起来,和蔼地问道。
"I wanted to show Bella some of our history," Edward said. "Well, your history, actually."
“我想向贝拉展示一些我们的历史,”爱德华说道。“嗯,事实上,是你的历史。”
"We didn't mean to disturb you," I apologized.
“我们并非有意要打扰您的。”我道歉道。
"Not at all. Where are you going to start?"
“没关系。你们打算从哪段听起?”
"The Waggoner," Edward replied, placing one hand lightly on my shoulder and spinning me around to look back toward the door we'd just come through. Every time he touched me, in even the most casual way, my heart had an audible reaction. It was more embarrassing with Carlisle there.
“御夫座。”爱德华答道,轻轻地把一只手放到我的肩膀上,让我转过身去面向我们刚刚走进来的那个门。每次他触碰我的时候,哪怕是再寻常不过的接触,我的心都会作出清晰可闻的反应。更何况还有卡莱尔在旁边,这就更令人尴尬了。
《暮光之城》与图书题目相得益彰的是,“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容:“只是分别善恶树上的果子,你不可吃,因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实,这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。