Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 Mummy wasn't happy. That was never good. But this time, it was sour-faced Spasky getting the heat. That was sweet. Natalie kept her posture straight, even though it was difficult on the cushy sofa. She kept sliding forward on the slippery satin. But even while Mummy ranted, she could spot slumping shoulders. Ian sat next to her. He'd come back seasick, his face the color of her new chartreuse Prada purse. "This is your fault." Isabel's voice had taken on the cool, precise tone that Ian and Natalie privately called the scalpel. It sliced you open and left you bleeding. She paced in front of Irina, her high heels making dents in the thick carpet of the hotel suite. Her heavy charm bracelet jangled along with her agitation. "I had to soak for an hour

第十一章妈妈很不高兴。 这一点都不好。但这一次，吃亏的是愁眉苦脸的斯帕斯基。 真贴心。娜塔莉保持着笔直的姿势，尽管在舒适的沙发上很难做到。 她在光滑的缎子上不停地向前滑。 但即使是在妈妈咆哮的时候，她也能看到她下垂的肩膀。 伊恩坐在她旁边。他回来时晕船，脸的颜色就像她新买的黄绿色普拉达钱包。 “这是你的错。”伊莎贝尔的声音带着一种冷静、精确的语气，伊恩和娜塔莉私下里把这种语气叫做手术刀。 它把你切开，让你流血不止。 她在伊琳娜前面踱来踱去，高跟鞋在酒店套房的厚地毯上踩出了凹痕。 她那笨重的手镯随着她的激动而叮当作响。 “我泡了一个小时

to get the smell out. I had to throw away my entire outfit. And it was Chanel!" Natalie shuddered. Nothing worse than losing couture. "Not to mention that the girl got away!" Isabel put her hand to her throat, where Amy's jade necklace gleamed against her sleeveless white dress. Natalie had no idea why she was wearing it when she could be wearing diamonds. "Excuse me, but I don't see why this is my fault," Irina said. "Reminder: I was not on boat." Ian stiffened beside her and Natalie stared at Irina, fascinated. Didn't she have any idea how to handle Isabel when she was angry? You had to agree with everything she said and apologize, no matter how unfair the accusations were. Otherwise, you were toast. Isabel wheeled and approached her. Natalie knew that look. Irina was about to get it. Both barrels between the eyes. This was going to be very good. "Excuse me," Isabel said witheringly. "You had one simple assignment. Find Amy. Bring her to the

为了去除臭味。我不得不扔掉我的整套衣服。 而且是香奈儿！”娜塔莉·战栗。 没有什么比失去时装更糟糕的了。 “更别提那个女孩跑了！”伊莎贝尔把手放在喉咙上，艾美的玉项链在她的无袖白色连衣裙上闪闪发光。 娜塔莉不知道为什么她戴着它，而她可以戴钻石。 “对不起，但我不明白为什么这是我的错，”伊琳娜说。 “提醒一下：我没在船上。” 伊恩在她身边僵住了，娜塔莉盯着伊琳娜，被迷住了。 难道她不知道伊莎贝尔生气的时候该怎么对付她吗？ 你必须同意她所说的一切，并道歉，无论这些指控多么不公平。 否则，你就完蛋了。 伊莎贝尔转过身来，走近她。 纳塔利知道他的表情。艾瑞娜就要得到它了。 两眼夹击。 这本来会很不错的。 “对不起，”伊莎贝尔冷淡地说。 “你有一个简单的任务。 发现艾米。把她带到

boat." "Excuse me for second time," Irina said. "She did go aboard boat, which was the objective. I do not see—" "You do not see because you are a fool!" Isabel let her contempt drip from every word. "You were supposed to deliver Amy at three-twelve exactly. And you were supposed to arrive by Argyle Street so that Ian could spot you with the binoculars and I could prepare the boat. You didn't do any of it! You were fifteen minutes late. Fifteen minutes! That gave the Holts enough time to get organized. Even those thick skulls don't need too long to figure out a plan!" Isabel planted herself in front of Irina. "They had us under surveillance. And you are responsible for counter surveillance. So add it up, Irina. Not only did you fail… you failed miserably." Natalie smirked. Why shouldn't she let Irina know how much she was enjoying this? Irina had never gotten it into her head that she wasn't the boss. Ian and Natalie were the personal representatives of Vikram and Isabel. They were the de facto Lucian leaders. Irina couldn't bear

船。”“对不起，我再说一次。”伊琳娜说。 “她确实上了船，这是我们的目标。 我看不见——”“你看不见是因为你是个傻瓜！”伊莎贝尔的每一句话都流露出轻蔑的神情。 “你应该在3点12分准时送艾米。 你应该在亚都街到达这样伊恩就可以用望远镜看到你我可以准备好船。 你什么都没做！你迟到了15分钟。 十五分钟!这给了霍尔特夫妇足够的时间组织起来。 即使是那些头脑迟钝的人也不需要太长时间就能想出一个计划！”伊莎贝尔站在伊琳娜面前。 “他们一直在监视我们。 你负责反监视。 把它加起来，艾琳娜。你不仅失败了，而且失败得很惨。” 娜塔莉·傻笑。她为什么不让艾瑞娜知道她有多享受呢？ 伊琳娜从来没有想过自己不是老板。 伊恩和娜塔莉是维克拉姆和伊莎贝尔的私人代表。 他们是事实上的卢西亚领导人。 伊琳娜受不了了

that. Isabel held up her thumb and index finger a fraction apart. "I was this close to getting her to tell all the clues they had. This close! That little mouse was terrified." "What if she didn't?" Irina asked. "What if she didn't what?" "Cooperate. You would throw her to sharks?" "Don't bore me with what ifs," Isabel said, turning and waving a hand. "I am about results. And now we've been defeated. By the Tomas. Unacceptable!" Isabel's narrow, toned shoulders lifted up, then down. When she turned around, her expression was calm. Not that her face ever showed much emotion. Isabel kept the best plastic surgeons in London very busy. She'd been pulled, pricked, smoothed, and plumped. Natalie wished her mother wasn't quite so obsessed, but she guessed that once you were in your forties, it was a gigantic amount of work to keep yourself up. "The thing is, Irina, this isn't the first time you've failed to achieve our objectives," she said.

那。伊莎贝尔把大拇指和食指分开一点举起来。 “我差一点就能让她说出他们掌握的所有线索。 这近!那只小老鼠吓坏了。” “如果她没有呢？”伊丽娜问道。 “如果她没有什么呢？”“合作。 你要把她扔给鲨鱼？”“别用假设来烦我，”伊莎贝尔说着，转过身来挥了挥手。 “我看重结果。现在我们被打败了。 托马斯。无法接受!”伊莎贝尔窄窄的、健美的肩膀抬了起来，然后又垂了下来。 当她转过身来时，她的表情是平静的。 她的脸上并没有流露出多少感情。 伊莎贝尔让伦敦最好的整形医生忙得不可开交。 她被拉过、扎过、抚平过、丰满过。 娜塔莉希望她的母亲不要那么痴迷，但她猜，一旦你到了四十多岁，要让自己保持清醒是一件巨大的工作。 “问题是，伊琳娜，这不是你第一次没能实现我们的目标了，”她说。

"You're slipping. You're… well, frankly, you're old." "Reminder," Irina said. "We are the same age." "Old thinking," Isabel said. "You don't keep up. You were once the best spy in the business. I give you that. But if you don't shape up, you're going to be out. Do you understand? It's crunch time, as the Americans say. There is no such thing as failure for a Kabra." "Don't you mean, no such thing as failure for the Lucians?" Irina asked. Isabel looked uncertain for a moment. "Of course that is what I meant." "Because this contest is about power for the Lucian Cahills, not the Kabra family," Irina said. "Unless I've been misinformed." "Well, naturally." Isabel's fingers drummed on her leg. Somehow, Irina had succeeded in making Mummy uncomfortable. Isabel flicked a piece of lint off her dress as though it were a missile. Natalie hoped her mother would demolish Irina, or they'd be in for a very bad afternoon.

“你是下滑。你……嗯，坦白地说，你老了。” “提醒一下，”伊琳娜说。“我们是同龄人。” “老想法，”伊莎贝尔说。 “你跟不上。你曾经是最棒的间谍。 我同意。但如果你不好好表现，你就会被淘汰。 你明白吗？正如美国人所说，现在是关键时刻。 对于卡布拉来说，没有失败这回事。” “你的意思是说，卢西亚人没有失败这回事吗？”伊丽娜问道。 伊莎贝尔一时有些犹豫。 “我当然是这个意思。” “因为这场比赛关乎卢西恩·卡希尔家族的权力，而不是卡布拉家族的权力，”伊琳娜说。 “除非我被误导了。” “嗯,自然。”伊莎贝尔的手指在腿上敲来敲去。 不知怎么的，伊琳娜成功地让妈妈感到不舒服。 伊莎贝尔像弹导弹一样弹掉衣服上的一块棉絮。 纳塔利希望她的母亲能把伊琳娜打倒，否则他们会度过一个非常糟糕的下午。

"And I would also argue that perhaps Kabras do know failure occasionally," Irina continued, keeping her voice bland. "Your children, for example." You hateful witch, Natalie thought. She waited for Ian to say something, but he was like a statue next to her. Irina smiled. "It seems that Amy and Dan Cahill have bested them at every turn. How many clues have you two collected?" she asked. "I mean, the two of you, alone. How many?" She put a finger to her temple. "Let me think… oh, I remember! One." "Mummy!" Natalie half rose. "She can't talk to us that way!" Irina turned back to Isabel. "The truth is that those two have turned out to be much smarter than we expected. And what if they discover what really happened to their parents? Now, they are resourceful. If they have an even greater reason to win— revenge— they will be dangerous." Suddenly, Isabel undid the clasp of the jade necklace and threw it at Irina's feet.

“我也想说，也许卡布拉斯偶尔也知道失败，”伊琳娜继续说，声音很温和。 “比如你的孩子。” 你这个可恶的女巫，娜塔莉想。 她等着伊恩说点什么，但他在她身边就像一座雕像。 伊丽娜笑了。“艾米和丹·卡希尔似乎在每一个转折点上都胜过了他们。 你们俩收集了多少线索？”她问。 “我是说，你们两个，单独在一起。 有多少?”她用手指按着太阳穴。 “让我想想……啊，我想起来了！”一个。” “妈妈!”娜塔莉半站起来。 “她不能那样跟我们说话！”伊琳娜又转向伊莎贝尔。 “事实是，这两个人比我们想象的要聪明得多。 如果他们发现了父母的真实遭遇怎么办？ 现在，他们足智多谋。 如果他们有一个更大的获胜理由——复仇——他们将是危险的。” 突然，伊莎贝尔解开玉项链的扣子，扔在伊琳娜的脚边。