第十六章

沒有伍德夫婦的陪伴，孤單的莎拉一人獨自出發這趟尋親之旅，如同她所料想的，來到公爵府邸，不知該進去或不該進去，讓莎拉進退維谷，事實上，莎拉完全不知如何陳述這段往事，雖然她的養父母如此詳盡地對她說了一次，但見到自己真正的家人，她又該說什麼呢？

一向不善於向陌生人打交道的莎拉在公爵府邸的大門外走來走去，提著一袋輕便行囊的她，那行囊內有著一條連繫她與這貴族世家的證物。莎拉很是緊張又徬徨，實在應該找個人陪她來的，要是當初有要求養父母一起過來就好了，眼前也不會出現尷尬的局面，正當莎拉一籌莫展時，有位男士走了出來，莎拉對她有種莫名的熟悉感。

那男士看到莎拉便問道：「你是？」莎拉這時顧不得自己的血液往腦門上衝，她說：「我是莎拉．伍德，來見公爵大人的」

那男人從頭到腳將莎拉看了一下，像是發現新大陸般，他忽然叫了起來：「一定是你了，你和父親長得好像，快，我帶你進去，父親大人一直想念著你」莎拉一頭霧水，但是滿臉通紅的她，隨這男士進入屋內。

寬敞的大廳出現在眼前，莎拉看著眼前的一刻：「真的嗎？這真的是我真正的家嗎？」然後一位看來極為貴氣的婦人突然從另一頭走過來，她用極富涵義的神色盯著莎拉看，然後才說：「我是公爵夫人，你是？」莎拉連忙欠身說：「我是莎拉．伍德，來見公爵大人的」

那男士一溜煙不見人影，讓呆站在原處的莎拉很是尷尬，加上這位貴夫人直盯著她瞧，讓她渾身很不對勁。這時一個年紀與莎拉相仿的女孩行色匆匆從樓上走下來，身後跟著方才那位男士，走在前方的女孩很快走到莎拉跟前，發出愉快的笑聲：「是你嗎？親愛的妹妹？」女孩彷彿認識莎拉很久似的，竟然抱著莎拉又叫又跳，把莎拉給嚇壞了，那男士立即制止她：「安妮，別嚇壞了莎拉，她剛到此地呢！」

叫安妮的女孩立即收斂了她的愉快，男士連忙自我介紹：「我是你的大哥威廉，旁邊這位是我們的母親凱瑟琳夫人」莎拉趕緊放下行囊，一一致意。莎拉完全沒想到自己會受到這樣的歡迎，她甚至還沒拿出認親的證物呢！這對年輕的男女已經把她當成自家人了，倒是公爵夫人看起來很不愉快，她一副盛氣凌人的模樣，讓莎拉很想逃離此地。

威廉和安妮一個拉著她的手一個拿行李，將她帶往客廳去，安妮拉著莎拉的手，一邊解釋公爵大人正在休息，無法見人，所以他們讓莎拉只在客廳待一會，等她的房間準備好，便可以讓她住進去，或者等公爵醒來先去見公爵。莎拉說了聲謝謝，安妮又笑著說：「莎拉，你是我們的妹妹，我想要一個妹妹已經很久了，沒想到現在能實現」。

安妮和莎拉長得極為神似，威廉也是，三人若走出去，肯定沒人誤以為三人不是兄妹，就是因為彼此長得太相像，威廉一看到莎拉，就認出他的妹妹來了。

莎拉不安地坐在豪華的沙發上，她看著周遭的一切，這一切來得太快，快到莎拉不知如何反應。

面對自己的家人，她反而徬徨不安起來，是為什麼呢？因為公爵夫人的態度嗎？公爵夫人看起來既高雅又有一股難以親近的特質，至於威廉和安妮倒是和他們的母親不同。從安妮的言談中，莎拉感到安妮的和善，威廉雖不表現出特別熱情的態度，但彬彬有禮，看來是個直率的人，她很高興這兩兄妹並不像他們的母親，否則這會兒，說不定她已經被攆出公爵府邸。

這時安妮忽然說：「莎拉，你彈琴嗎？」莎拉點點頭。隨著安妮的視線，莎拉驚喜地發現客廳有一架相當名貴的鋼琴。安妮拉著莎拉的手說：「莎拉如果你不累的話，彈首曲子給我們聽聽吧！」莎拉說好，立即走到鋼琴旁邊。連鋼琴椅都坐起來極為舒服，莎拉忍不住讚嘆，然後才翻開琴蓋，調整過心情後，這才用心彈奏起來，一曲優美的＂微風交響曲＂，在周遭漫延開來。

比往日更專注彈奏的莎拉，琴聲讓周遭的人如痴如醉，連公爵夫人的臉色也柔和許多，威廉和安妮更是滿臉驚嘆的神色在聆聽這個妹妹帶來的琴聲。

一曲奏畢，莎拉站起來驚訝的的發現客廳門口站了個老人，他慢慢走了過來，經過安妮與威廉身邊，然後他走到莎拉跟前。他的臉就像莎拉初見威廉一樣，是一張沒見過但卻莫名熟悉的臉，他顫抖地伸出雙手說：「我的孩子，我的孩子，你終於來找我了」莎拉自然的將手伸過去，公爵大人一握到小女兒的手忍不住老淚縱橫的說：「孩子，你不叫聲爸爸嗎？」

這時安妮和威廉也過來攙扶著自己的父親，威廉用鼓勵的語氣說：「莎拉，叫聲爸爸吧！父親等這一刻已經等很久了」莎拉結結巴巴的說：「爸爸」，老人總算破涕為笑，一家四口就這麼沉浸在重逢的喜悅中。

在這該慶賀的時刻，唯有一旁的公爵夫人冷著一張臉，在看父女團員的戲碼，當莎拉不經意接觸到公爵夫人凌厲的眼神，心頭忽然一震：究竟公爵夫人是怎樣的女人呢？她能接受她這個外人的存在嗎？滿心歡喜的莎拉在此時，忽然憂慮起自己的未來，但眼前這有著血緣的父親、哥哥及姊姊，至少，這些歡樂的笑臉是莎拉目前最大的安慰。

待續~(107.10..5)

__________________________________________

Love in London

CHAPTER XVI

Without the Woods in her company, the lonely Sarah set out on this journey alone, as she expected, to the Duke's mansion, not knowing whether to go in or not, leaving Sarah in a dilemma, in fact, Sarah did not know how to tell this story at all, although her adoptive parents told her so much once, but what should she say when she saw her real family?

Sarah, who had never been good at dealing with strangers, walked around the gates of the Duke's mansion, carrying a light bag that contained a line of evidence linking her to the aristocratic family. Sarah was very nervous and hesitant, she really should find someone to accompany her, if only she had asked her adoptive parents to come together, there would be no embarrassing situation in front of her, just when Sarah was at a loss, a man walked out, Sarah had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with her.

When the man saw Sarah, he asked, "Are you?" Sarah didn't care about her own blood rushing to her head, and she said, "I'm Sarah ．Wood, and I'm here to see the Duke."

The man looked at Sarah from head to toe, as if he had discovered a new world, and he suddenly cried out, "It must be you, you look like our father, quick, I'll take you in, my father has been missing you" Sarah was confused, but her face was flushed, and she followed the man into the house.

The spacious hall appeared in front of her, and Sarah looked at the moment in front of her, "Really, is this really my real home?" and then a woman who seemed to be extremely noble suddenly came from the other side, and she stared at Sarah with a very meaningful look, and then said, "I am the Duchess, who are you?" Sarah quickly bowed and said, "I am Sarah．Wood, I have come to see the Duke."

The man disappeared from the smoke, which made Sarah, who was standing still, very embarrassed, and the noble lady stared at her, which made her feel very wrong. At this moment, a girl of Sarah's age hurriedly walked down the stairs, followed by the gentleman from the previous moment, and the girl who walked in front quickly walked up to Sarah, and let out a pleasant laugh: "Is that you, dear sister?" The girl, as if she had known Sarah for a long time, actually hugged Sarah and screamed and jumped, which frightened Sarah, and the man immediately stopped her: "Anne, don't frighten Sarah, she has just arrived here!"

The girl named Anne immediately restrained her pleasure, and the man hurriedly introduced himself: "I am your eldest brother William, and this is our mother, Lady Catherine," Sarah quickly put down her bags and agreed. Sarah had no idea that she would be so welcomed, and she hadn't even shown evidence of her marriage! The young man and woman had already taken her for their own family, but the Duchess looked unpleasant, and her domineering appearance made Sarah want to flee from this place.

William and Anne took her hand and took her luggage one by the other, and led her to the living room, and Anne took Sarah's hand while explaining that the Duke was resting and could not see anyone, so they told Sarah to stay in the living room for a while, and when her room was ready, they could let her move in, or wait for the Duke to wake up and go to the Duke first. Sarah said thank you, and Anne smiled again and said, "Sarah, you are our sister, I have wanted a sister for a long time, I didn't expect it to happen now".

Anne and Sarah look very similar, so is William, if the three of them go out, no one will mistakenly think that the three are not brother and sister, because they look too similar to each other, William recognized his sister as soon as he saw Sarah.

Sarah sat uneasily on the plush couch as she watched everything around her, and it was all coming so fast that Sarah didn't know how to react.

Why did she become uneasy in the face of her own family? Because of the Duchess's attitude? The Duchess seemed to be both elegant and unapproachable, and William and Anne were different from their mothers. From Anne's words, Sarah felt Anne's kindness, and William, though not particularly warm, was polite and seemed to be a straightforward man, and she was glad that the two siblings were not like their mother, otherwise she might have been kicked out of the Duke's mansion by this time.

Then Anne suddenly said, "Sarah, do you play the piano?" Sarah nodded. Following Anne's gaze, Sarah was pleasantly surprised to find a rather expensive piano in the living room. Anne took Sarah's hand and said, "Sarah, if you're not tired, play a tune for us!" Sarah said yes and immediately walked to the piano. Even the piano chair was extremely comfortable to sit on, Sarah couldn't help but admire, and then opened the lid, adjusted her mood, and then played it with her heart, and a beautiful "Breeze Symphony" spread around her.

Sarah, who was more focused on playing than before, was fascinated by the sound of the piano around her, even the Duchess's face was much softer, and William and Anne listened to the sound of the piano brought by this sister with a look of amazement.

When the song was finished, Sarah stood up and was surprised to find an old man standing at the door of the living room, and he walked slowly, past Anne and William, and then he walked up to Sarah. His face was like Sarah's first meeting William, a face that he had never seen but was inexplicably familiar, he trembled and stretched out his hands and said, "My child, my child, you have finally come to me" Sarah naturally stretched out her hand, and the Duke couldn't help but cry when she shook her little daughter's hand, "Child, don't you call me father?"

Anne and William also came to support their father, William said in an encouraging tone, "Sarah, call him father! Father has been waiting for this moment for a long time" Sarah stammered, "father", the old man finally burst into tears and laughed, and the family of four was so immersed in the joy of reunion.

At this moment of celebration, only the Duchess on the side had a cold face, watching the drama of the father-daughter group, when Sarah inadvertently touched the Duchess's fierce eyes, her heart suddenly shook: What kind of woman is the Duchess? Can she accept her existence as an outsider? At this time, Sarah, who was full of joy, suddenly worried about her future, but the father, brother and sister in front of her, who are related by blood, at least, these happy smiling faces are Sarah's greatest comfort at present.

To be continued ~ (107.10..5)

 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