CXXV. Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves马修对泡泡袖的坚持(4)

CXXV.Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves马修对泡泡袖的坚持(4)

Matthew had driven halfway home before hewas his own man again. It had been a gruesome experience, but it served himright, he thought, for committing the heresy of going to a strange store. Whenhe reached home he hid the rake in the tool house, but the sugar he carried into Marilla.

“Brown sugar!” exclaimed Marilla. “Whateverpossessed you to get so much? You know I never use it except for the hiredman’s porridge or black fruit cake. Jerry’s gone and I’ve made my cake longago. It’s not good sugar, either—it’s coarse and dark—William Blair doesn’tusually keep sugar like that.”

“I—I thought it might come in handysometime,” said Matthew, making good his escape.

When Matthew came to think the matter overhe decided that a woman was required to cope with the situation. Marilla wasout of the question. Matthew felt sure she would throw cold water on hisproject at once. Remained only Mrs. Lynde; for of no other woman in Avonleawould Matthew have dared to ask advice. To Mrs. Lynde he went accordingly, andthat good lady promptly took the matter out of the harassed man’s hands.

一直到马修回家的路程都走了一半了，他才回过神来，这是一个非常难受的经历，但是他想这也是对他的教训，警示他以后不要随意的走进一家不熟悉的商店。到家以后，他把草耙藏在了工具室内，但是还是把糖拿给了玛丽拉。

“红糖？”玛丽拉喊出声“你是怎么了买这么多？你知道的，除了给雇佣干活儿的工人煮粥，或者红水果蛋糕以外，我也不用它。现在杰瑞已经走了，我也很久都不做黑水果蛋糕了。而且这也不是好的红糖。颜色又暗又粗糙。威廉姆布莱尔家可没有这种糖啊”

“我，我想这个早晚会派上用场的”马修说完，就离开了。当马修考虑需要一个女士来帮助他出主意的时候，他一直都没想过找玛丽拉，因为他很肯定，玛丽拉听完只会给他泼冷水。思来想去，在整个埃文利马修唯一能问，敢问的，也就只有林德夫人了。于是他去找了林德夫人，她立马就帮焦虑的马修理顺了思路。

“Pick out a dress for you to give Anne? Tobe sure I will. I’m going to Carmody tomorrow and I’ll attend to it. Have yousomething particular in mind? No? Well, I’ll just go by my own judgment then. Ibelieve a nice rich brown would just suit Anne, and William Blair has some newgloria in that’s real pretty. Perhaps you’d like me to make it up for her, too,seeing that if Marilla was to make it Anne would probably get wind of it beforethe time and spoil the surprise? Well, I’ll do it. No, it isn’t a mite oftrouble. I like sewing. I’ll make it to fit my niece, Jenny Gillis, for she andAnne are as like as two peas as far as figure goes.”

“Well now, I’m much obliged,” said Matthew,“and—and—I dunno—but I’d like—I think they make the sleeves different nowadaysto what they used to be. If it wouldn’t be asking too much I—I’d like them madein the new way.”

“Puffs? Of course. You needn’t worry aspeck more about it, Matthew. I’ll make it up in the very latest fashion,” saidMrs. Lynde. To herself she added when Matthew had gone:

“替你给安妮挑一件裙子？欧当然没问题。我明天刚好要去卡莫迪一趟，我会顺手帮你办了。你有什么特别想要的要求么？没有么？好吧，我自己做主吧，我觉得漂亮的浓棕色就很适合安妮，威廉姆布莱尔进了一批新的光面料子非常的好看。也许你也会希望我给安妮做一身衣服，因为如果马丽拉做，安妮很可能因此而提前知道新衣服的事情，就会毁掉惊喜了。好吧，我看着办，这也不是什么大事儿，我也喜欢针线活儿，我照着我的侄女珍妮吉利斯来做，她和安妮的身材如出一辙，尺寸都一样”

“嗯，我，我也没什么别的想法”马修说道，“我，我也，我也不清楚，但是，我知道一些，就是，最近，好像很流行和以前的袖子不一样的设计，如果，如果不是太麻烦的话，我希望袖子做成最新的款式”

“泡泡袖？当然，这你就不用操心了，放心马修，我会做成最流行的款式”林德夫人说道，马修走了以后，林德夫人对自己说道