Поворот винта. Уровень 1 / The Turn of the Screw

Ten minutes before, I had given her a sheet of white paper, a pencil, and a copy of nice “round O’s,” in the schoolroom. Flora seemed unbothered by unpleasant tasks and looked at me with loving eyes. She had followed me because she had developed an attachment to me. This made me understand Mrs. Grose’s point even more. I hugged Flora tightly and showered her with kisses.

However, for the rest of the day, I kept an eye out for an opportunity to talk to my colleague, especially because I felt like she was trying to avoid me.

I caught up to her on the stairs, and we walked down together. Once we reached the bottom, I stopped her and held her arm. I told her that I understood her earlier comment as that she had never seen him misbehave.

She said, “Oh, I never said I haven’t seen him misbehave—I don’t say that!”

I was upset again. “Then you have seen him—?”

“Yes indeed, miss, thank God!”

“You mean that a boy who never is—?”

“Is no boy for me!”

I held her tighter. “You like them to be naughty[12 - naughty – непослушный, шаловливый]?” Then, keeping pace with her answer, “So do I!” I added.

“But not to the point to corrupt[13 - to corrupt – развращать]—”

“To corrupt?”—my big word confused her.

I explained it. “To spoil.”

She stared, trying to understand what I meant; but it made her laugh in a strange way. “Are you afraid he’ll corrupt you?” She asked with bold humor, and I laughed along, feeling a bit silly.

But the next day, as it got closer to the time for my drive, I brought up another question.

“Who was the lady who was here before?”

“The previous governess? She was also young and pretty—almost as young and almost as pretty as you, miss.”

“Ah, then, I hope her youth and beauty helped her!” I remember saying. “He seems to like us young and pretty!”

“Oh, he did,” Mrs. Grose agreed. “That’s how he liked everyone!” She quickly corrected herself. “I mean, that’s how the master likes it.”

I was curious. “But who were you talking about earlier?”

She looked confused for a moment, but then blushed.

“Why, about him.”

“The master?”

“Who else?”

It was clear that there was no one else, so I stopped thinking that she had accidentally said more than she wanted. Instead, I asked what I really wanted to know. “Did she notice anything strange about the boy…?”

“Anything strange? She never told me.”

I had a doubt, but I ignored it. “Was she careful?”

“About some things—yes.