Bayi Désirée

Karena hari itu cerah dan menyenangkan, Madame Valmondé berkendara ke L’Abri untuk menjenguk Désirée dan bayinya.

As the day was pleasant, Madame Valmondé drove over to L’Abri to see Désirée and the baby.

Ia tersenyum geli memikirkan Désirée kini memiliki bayi.

It made her laugh to think of Désirée with a baby.

Rasanya baru kemarin Désirée sendiri masih belum lebih dari seorang bayi; ketika Monsieur, saat berkuda melewati gerbang Valmondé, menemukannya sedang tertidur di bawah bayang-bayang pilar batu yang besar.

Why, it seemed but yesterday that Désirée was little more than a baby herself; when Monsieur in riding through the gateway of Valmondé had found her lying asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.

Anak kecil itu terbangun dalam dekapannya dan mulai menangis memanggil “Dada.” Hanya itu yang bisa ia lakukan atau katakan. Sebagian orang mengira ia mungkin berjalan tersesat ke sana atas kemauannya sendiri, karena ia sudah berada di usia balita.

The little one awoke in his arms and began to cry for “Dada.” That was as much as she could do or say. Some people thought she might have strayed there of her own accord, for she was of the toddling age.

Keyakinan yang umum adalah bahwa ia sengaja ditinggalkan oleh sekelompok orang Texas, yang kereta bertutup terpalnya, di pengujung hari, telah menyeberangi feri milik Coton Maïs, tepat di bawah perkebunan.

The prevailing belief was that she had been purposely left by a party of Texans, whose canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had crossed the ferry that Coton Maïs kept, just below the plantation.

Lama-kelamaan Madame Valmondé mengabaikan setiap spekulasi kecuali satu: bahwa Désirée dikirimkan kepadanya oleh Takdir Yang Maha Pengasih untuk menjadi anak kesayangannya, mengingat ia sendiri tidak memiliki anak kandung.

In time Madame Valmondé abandoned every speculation but the one that Désirée had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection, seeing that she was without child of the flesh.

Sebab gadis itu tumbuh menjadi sosok yang cantik dan lembut, penuh kasih dan tulus,—kesayangan seluruh Valmondé.

For the girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere,—the idol of Valmondé.

Maka tidak mengherankan, ketika pada suatu hari ia berdiri di dekat pilar batu yang bayang-bayangnya dulu melindunginya saat tertidur, delapan belas tahun sebelumnya, Armand Aubigny yang berkuda melintas dan melihatnya di sana, langsung jatuh cinta kepadanya.

It was no wonder, when she stood one day against the stone pillar in whose shadow she had lain asleep, eighteen years before, that Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing her there, had fallen in love with her.

Begitulah cara semua orang Aubigny jatuh cinta, seolah terhantam tembakan pistol. Yang mengherankan adalah ia tidak mencintainya sejak dulu; sebab ia telah mengenalnya sejak sang ayah membawanya pulang dari Paris, saat ia masih bocah berusia delapan tahun, setelah ibunya meninggal di sana.

That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot. The wonder was that he had not loved her before; for he had known her since his father brought him home from Paris, a boy of eight, after his mother died there.

Gairah cinta yang bangkit dalam dirinya hari itu, ketika ia melihat gadis itu di gerbang, menyapu bagaikan longsoran salju, atau bagai kobaran api padang rumput, atau bagai apa pun yang menerjang tanpa ragu melintasi segala rintangan.

The passion that awoke in him that day, when he saw her at the gate, swept along like an avalanche, or like a prairie fire, or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles.

Monsieur Valmondé bersikap praktis dan ingin segala sesuatunya dipertimbangkan baik-baik: yaitu, asal-usul gadis itu yang tidak jelas. Armand menatap matanya dan tidak peduli. Ia diingatkan bahwa gadis itu tidak memiliki nama keluarga.

Monsieur Valmondé grew practical and wanted things well considered: that is, the girl’s obscure origin. Armand looked into her eyes and did not care. He was reminded that she was nameless.

Apa pedulinya sebuah nama ketika ia bisa memberinya salah satu nama tertua dan paling membanggakan di Louisiana? Ia memesan corbeille dari Paris, dan menahan diri dengan kesabaran sebisa mungkin sampai barang itu tiba; lalu mereka pun menikah.

What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? He ordered the corbeille from Paris, and contained himself with what patience he could until it arrived; then they were married.

Madame Valmondé belum melihat Désirée dan bayinya selama empat minggu. Ketika ia tiba di L’Abri, ia bergidik saat pertama kali melihatnya, seperti yang selalu ia rasakan.

Madame Valmondé had not seen Désirée and the baby for four weeks. When she reached L’Abri she shuddered at the first sight of it, as she always did.

Itu adalah tempat yang tampak suram, yang selama bertahun-tahun tidak pernah mengenal kehadiran lembut seorang nyonya rumah, karena Monsieur Aubigny tua menikah dan menguburkan istrinya di Prancis, dan sang istri terlampau mencintai tanah airnya sendiri untuk sudi meninggalkannya.

It was a sad looking place, which for many years had not known the gentle presence of a mistress, old Monsieur Aubigny having married and buried his wife in France, and she having loved her own land too well ever to leave it.