第十五章

「你什麼時候認識格林伯爵的，莎拉？」伊蓮娜邊逗著正在學走路的兒子，邊問著正望著窗外的莎拉，莎拉回過頭來淡淡地說：「是格林伯爵尚未繼承爵位之前的事了」伊蓮娜繼續發問：「我從沒聽說過你談起這件事呢！伯爵大人年輕有為，一看就很討人喜歡」「是的，如果你這麼想的話」。

莎拉這時有點激動，但她還是按捺住那股情緒：「在我認識他時，他已極喜歡畫畫，整天帶著畫板到處跑」這些往事牽絆著莎拉的思緒，她泫然欲泣的表情瞬間被伊蓮娜看到眼底，但她不敢多問，莎拉是很好的伴，但有過於謹慎的毛病，凡是莎拉不肯自動講的，伊蓮娜絕對不敢隨便問。

看著莎拉這模樣，之前格林伯爵送莎拉回來時之後，莎拉就整個魂不守舍，但又不知道他們之間究竟發生什麼事，伊蓮娜有點替莎拉擔心，但也不敢多問什麼。

看莎拉越來越憔悴，伊蓮娜只好時時陪伴在莎拉身邊，她真擔心哪天不小心莎拉就昏倒了。瞧莎拉她那蒼白的神色，似乎透露著一種心碎的涵義，連伊蓮娜的丈夫都好奇的問伊蓮娜知不知道是怎麼回事，伊蓮娜對她自己丈夫的疑問只能報以搖頭。

不知不覺，春天來了。春暖花開，莎拉開始想念自己的家鄉，她想回家陪伴自己的父母。

就在離去的前天晚上，晚餐當中伊蓮娜夫婦聊起最近轟動倫敦的一件事，聽說謝菲爾德公爵之前做出有辱家族的事，現在被爆出來。原來謝菲爾德公爵之前愛上一位女僕，兩人生下一個女兒，後來女僕被公爵夫人趕走，女僕也把自己所生的女兒給帶走了。

聽說小女孩身上帶著一條極為特殊的十字架項鍊，是公爵大人訂做給小女兒的出生禮物，小女孩被抱走前，身上還裹著一條公爵家特別為自己家族孩子訂做的名貴小毯子。莎拉本來有一搭沒一搭地聽著，聽到那一條極為特殊的十字架項鍊，她摸了摸自己胸口那條戴了二十幾年的項鍊，她這條項鍊也很特殊，十字架上面鑲嵌了一顆小小的祖母綠，祖母綠周圍則有著特殊圖案。

她本來就好奇這條項鍊的來歷，曾問過父母，父親曾模糊地說這條項鍊是祖母送給她作為祝福的禮物，她就沒有再多過問－想到這，莎拉好奇的問伊蓮娜：「這鍊子長什麼樣子，有圖片可以看嗎？」伊蓮娜將報紙遞了過來，莎拉看了報紙上的草圖，驚呼了一聲，那項鍊跟她戴的項鍊幾乎一模一樣。

當她將項鍊拿出來給伊蓮娜夫婦看時，他們也大叫起來：「是一樣的項鍊啊莎拉，莫非你是謝菲爾德公爵的小女兒嗎？真叫人無法置信！」伊蓮娜夫婦一致地瞪大眼睛等著莎拉的回答。莎拉自己也很驚訝，完全說不出話來，莎拉心想，這只是湊巧而已罷了，這項鍊看久了，也不覺得特殊，一定是，只是湊巧相似罷了！

伊蓮娜自己接著說：「莎拉，你一定要回去向伍德夫婦問清楚，說不定他們知道些什麼？」莎拉本來隔日一早就要回家，她答應伊蓮娜，若問清楚項鍊的來歷，一定寫信告知伊蓮娜。

隔日，莎拉心懷忐忑的啟程回家，坐上驛馬車一路顛簸回到蒙特莊園。坐了一整天馬車的莎拉，渾身疲憊，雖然如此，莎拉還是很高興能回到父母的懷抱。卻忘記了要問項鍊的事。隔日待完全恢復體力後，才想起那條項鍊．便拿著項鍊下樓去。

伍德夫婦正在餐廳用早餐，莎拉去平日的位子上坐下，然後才開口問自己的父親說：「爸爸，你知道這項鍊的來歷嗎？」伍德先生吃了一驚，連忙說：「你小時候我不是告訴過你，這是祖母送給你祝福的禮物嗎？」說完還看了自己的夫人一眼，伍德太太也趕忙接著說：「是這樣子沒錯」

莎拉於是提起在倫敦的大消息，伍德夫婦聽完面面相覷，過了好一會兒，伍德先生說：「本來這事是不想對你提起的，但莎拉，你應該是公爵大人的小女兒沒錯」然後他慢慢描述如何在年輕時，和伍德太太尋訪醫生治療不孕的途中，在一間旅館投宿，隔日卻在門口發現一名哇哇大哭的女嬰。這女嬰身上包裹著極為名貴的毯子，身上還帶著一條高貴而特殊的項鍊。他們不知道女嬰的來歷，但感謝上天賜予他們這個孩子，便把她帶回家當親生女兒扶養，而這已經是近三十年前的往事了

莎拉驚訝地聽著自己的父親說出這段陳年往事，原本忐忑的心情現在更加不知所措－她竟是謝菲爾德公爵的千金，雖然是不名譽的女兒，但報上寫著公爵大人生了重病，恐怕不久於人世，所以不得已將這段往事披露出來，因為在他過世前，他極想見見這個三十年來不曾見過的女兒。

在伍德家的餐桌上，此刻那段原本是一家人又變成不是一家人的奇怪氣氛正在周遭流動。伍德夫人回到自己的房間，拿出櫃子裡放了三十年的名貴毛毯。那毛毯略為泛黃，但上頭依然清晰可見謝菲爾德公爵家的家徽。伍德先生說：「莎拉，謝謝你當了我們三十年的女兒，雖然如今我們的緣分到此了，你回去見見你的親生父親吧！孩子，我祝福你！」

莎拉站了起來，她接過那條高貴的毯子，然後擁抱了伍德夫婦，上樓去收拾簡便的行李。

伍德夫婦將一輛唯一的輕便馬車給莎拉乘坐，莎拉忍住大哭的衝動向伍德夫婦道再見。

車子遠離了莊園，莎拉回頭看著自己從小熟悉的一事一物，終於忍不住放聲哭泣。沒想到自己的人生如此錯綜複雜，今後，又是怎樣的人生在前頭等著她呢？一切會讓人歡喜或悲傷呢？自己曾在這美麗的莊園度過許多寒暑，擁有伍德夫婦的愛和美好的回憶，如今卻要向熟悉的一切告別，奔向未知的明日，此刻的莎拉不禁迷惑了。

待續~(107.10..4)

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Love in London

CHAPTER XV

"When did you meet Earl Green, Sarah?" Elena asked Sarah, who was looking out the window, while teasing her son, who was learning to walk, and Sarah turned back and said lightly, "It's before Earl Green inherited the title" Elena continued to ask, "I've never heard you talk about it! The Earl is young and promising, and he looks very likable" "Yes, if you think so".

Sarah was a little excited at this time, but she still suppressed that emotion: "When I met him, he was very fond of drawing, and he ran around with a sketchpad all day long" These past events tied Sarah's thoughts, and her crying expression was instantly seen by Yelena, but she didn't dare to ask more, Sarah is a good companion, but there is a problem of being too cautious, where Sarah refuses to speak automatically, Elena will never dare to ask casually.

Looking at Sarah's appearance, after Earl Green sent Sarah back, Sarah was completely distracted, but she didn't know what happened between them, Yelena was a little worried about Sarah, but she didn't dare to ask anything.

Seeing that Sarah was getting more and more emaciated, Yelena had to stay by Sarah's side all the time, and she was really worried that Sarah would pass out one day. Looking at Sarah, her pale look seemed to reveal a kind of heartbreak meaning, and even Elena's husband curiously asked Elena if she knew what was going on, and Elena could only shake her head at her own husband's question.

Before you know it, spring is coming. As spring blossoms, Sarah begins to miss her hometown, and she wants to go home to be with her parents.

The night before leaving, during dinner, Elena and her husband talked about a recent incident that caused a sensation in London, and heard that the Duke of Sheffield had done something degrading to the family before, and now it was exposed. It turned out that the Duke of Sheffield had fallen in love with a maid before, and the two gave birth to a daughter, and then the maid was driven away by the Duchess, and the maid also took away the daughter she had born.

I heard that the little girl was wearing a very special cross necklace, which was a birth gift for the little daughter ordered by the Duke, and the little girl was wrapped in a precious little blanket specially made by the Duke's family for the children of his family before being taken away. Sarah had listened to it without a match, and when she heard that very special cross necklace, she touched the necklace on her chest that she had worn for more than 20 years, and her necklace was also very special, with a small emerald inlaid on the cross, and there was a special pattern around the emerald.

She was already curious about the origin of this necklace, and she had asked her parents, and her father had vaguely said that this necklace was a gift from her grandmother as a blessing, and she didn't ask any more - thinking of this, Sarah asked Elena curiously, "What does this chain look like, do you have a picture to see?" Elena handed over the newspaper, Sarah looked at the sketch on the newspaper and exclaimed, the necklace was almost exactly the same as the one she was wearing.

When she took out the necklace to show it to the Ellenas, they exclaimed, "It's the same necklace, Sarah, are you the youngest daughter of the Duke of Sheffield?" Sarah herself was also surprised, completely speechless, Sarah thought to herself, this is just a coincidence, this refining has been seen for a long time, and it doesn't feel special, it must be, it's just a coincidence that it's similar!

Elena herself continued, "Sarah, you must go back and ask the Woods, maybe they know something?" Sarah was supposed to go home early the next morning, and she promised Elena that if she asked about the origin of the necklace, she would write to Elena to let her know.

The next day, Sarah set off for home with trepidation, hopping on a stagecoach and driving back to Monte Manor. Sarah, who had been in the carriage all day, was exhausted, but despite this, Sarah was happy to be back in the arms of her parents. But he forgot to ask about the necklace. The next day, when he had fully recovered his strength, he remembered the necklace and went downstairs with it.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood were having breakfast in the dining room, and Sarah sat down at her usual seat before she asked her father, "Daddy, do you know where this chain came from?" Mr. Wood was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Didn't I tell you when you were a child that this was a blessing from your grandmother?" and then glanced at her wife, and Mrs. Wood hurriedly continued, "That's right."

After a while, Mr. Wood said, "I didn't want to talk to you about it, but Sarah, you should be the little daughter of the Duke," and then he slowly described how when he was young, on the way to a doctor's treatment for infertility with Mrs. Wood, he stayed in a hotel, only to find a crying baby girl at the door the next day. The baby girl was wrapped in an extremely expensive blanket and carried a noble and special necklace. They didn't know where the baby girl came from, but thanks to God for giving them this child, they took her home to raise her as their own daughter, and that was nearly 30 years ago

Sarah was surprised to hear her father tell this old story, and her original anxiety was now even more overwhelmed - she was actually the daughter of the Duke of Sheffield, although she was the daughter of an honorary person, but the newspaper said that the Duke was seriously ill and was afraid that he would die soon, so he had to disclose this past, because before he died, he desperately wanted to see this daughter whom he had not seen for thirty years.

At the Wood family's dining table, the strange atmosphere of what had been a family but had become not a family was flowing around him. Mrs. Wood returned to her room and took out the precious blanket that had been in the cupboard for thirty years. The blanket was slightly yellowed, but the coat of arms of the Duke of Sheffield was still clearly visible on it. Mr. Wood said, "Thank you, Sarah, for being our daughter for thirty years, and now that our fate is over, go back and meet your real father!

Sarah stood up, she took the noble blanket, hugged the Woods, and went upstairs to pack her handy luggage.

The Woods gave Sarah a ride in the only light carriage, and Sarah resisted the urge to cry and said goodbye to the Woods.

The car was far away from the manor, and Sarah looked back at the things she had been familiar with since childhood, and finally couldn't help crying. I didn't expect her life to be so complicated, and what kind of life awaits her in the future? Will everything make people happy or sad? She has spent many cold and summer in this beautiful manor, and has the love and good memories of the Woods, but now she is about to say goodbye to everything she knows and run to the unknown tomorrow, and Sarah can't help but be confused at this moment.

To be continued ~ (107.10..4)

因為用中文創作,再翻譯為英文,所以英文上的正確用詞無法翻譯出來,夫人可以意指"你的淑女身分"(代表的是當代的一種地位稱呼),公爵大人,伯爵大人,男爵大人等,小說中都有出現,抱歉,因為請Google翻譯翻譯的,而本人沒有從事過英文寫作,只想嘗試用英文表達整部小說的內容,敬請原諒!!謝謝!!

Because it is created in Chinese and then translated into English, the correct words in English cannot be translated, Madame can mean "your lady" (representing a contemporary status title), Lord Duke, Lord Earl, Lord Baron, etc., all appear in the novel, sorry, because I asked Google Translate to translate, and I have not been engaged in English writing, I just want to try to express the content of the whole novel in English, please forgive me!! Thank you!!

本小說創作如有雷同,純屬巧合,而小說寫作的年代約略定在與作家珍．奧斯汀同一年代

It is a coincidence that the novel was written in the same era as the writer Jane Austen