The pilot - Der Pilot (eng-deu)

your Lordship.”
    â€œHas she returned yet?”
    â€œNo. The driver took her to the hotel in Leicester where he had → dropped Mr Ryder off before. She got out alone and sent him back.” Zu spät dachte Stefan daran, dass schlechte Nachrichten in Chesterfields Zustand nicht unbedingt hilfreich sein mochten, und er beeilte sich, beruhigend hinzuzufügen: “But don’t worry, I’m sure everything ...”
    â€œDon’t try to → comfort me. I’m not stupid.”
    Stefan schluckte eine Bemerkung hinunter. Wieder schwiegen beide. Das flackernde Kerzenlicht erweckte ringsumher an den Wänden schattenhafte Gestalten zum Leben.
    â€œTell me why you are here, Stephen.”
    â€œYour Lordship? You asked me to stay with you.”
    â€œThat’s not what I mean. Why did you come to Chesterfield Manor?”
    â€œYou needed a nurse and I applied”, sagte Stefan. “I had been in London long enough. I wanted to work in a different place.”
    â€œDo you think I believe you left London for this desolate spot in the middle of nowhere just because you wanted to look after me?”, schnappte Chesterfield. “I may be → drugged , but I still know when you are lying.”
    â€œWhy would I lie? Maybe I do like it here.”
    â€œNobody likes it here. At least not as long as I’m alive.”
    â€œDon’t say that, your Lordship”, sagte Stefan erschrocken.
    Chesterfield schnaubte. “Why not? We both know it’s true. Everybody hates me. I’m an irritable, unjust cripple who drives everyone away sooner or later. My daughter won’t have anything to do with me, my wife Mathilda → drowned her → grief in alcohol, and each month another one of my servants quits because they can’t bear to be around me for one more minute. You know what I’m talking about, Stephen. But you’re still here, despite all my provocations. Why, Stephen? What is so important that it makes you stay?”
    Stefan dachte an seine nur wenige Stunden alte Entscheidung, tatsächlich zu gehen. Statt auszusprechen, was er beschlossen hatte, sagte er betont scherzhaft: “Maybe I really am a German spy.”
    â€œYou’re too stupid to be a spy”, sagte Chesterfield bar jeder Ironie.
    Stefans Lächeln erstarb. “Pardon me, your Lordship, but you’re really making it very difficult for me to like you.”
    â€œI don’t want you to like me, you German bastard, I want you to answer my question.”
    Das war der Tropfen, der das Fass zum Überlaufen brachte. Stefan warf alle Höflichkeit über Bord. “Do you know what?”, rief er erbost. “You’re completely right. You’re a → mean , angry old cripple → wallowing in self-pity . You want to hurt everybody around you, so nobody notices how weak you are. So here’s your answer, old man: You always tell me how much you → despise Germans, so it should have been obvious that by staying here I’m punishing you. Yes, I hate it here, but it’s worth it as long as I make you miserable.” Er beugte sich vor, bis sein Gesicht nur eine Handbreit von Chesterfields entfernt war. “I was about to quit today, right before you collapsed. But I think I’ll stay a little longer so I can make you suffer more.”
    Abrupt stand er auf und wollte das Zimmer verlassen, doch als er nach der Kerze griff, stieß er sie unbeholfen vom Tisch. Sie erlosch und dichte Schwärze schlug über Stefan zusammen. Er verwünschte sich für seine Ungeschicklichkeit.
    â€œYou’ll hurt me more if you leave.”
    Chesterfield sprach so leise, dass Stefan zunächst glaubte, sich verhört zu haben. “What?”
    â€œI almost died today”, flüsterte der Alte in der Dunkelheit, “and nobody sat beside me to comfort me afterwards. My daughter has run off, Lester said he was busy, and Doctor Shaw had other patients to attend to. But it was only when you didn’t show up, Stephen, that I truly realized how lonely I was. I ... I’ve got used to you. To your clumsiness, and your accent, and your ridiculously stubborn efforts to make me like you. You’re good to me. If you were to leave me alone like everybody else ...” Seine Stimme erstarb.
    Stefan war verwirrt. Vor einer Minute hätte er geschworen, dass nichts seinen Entschluss ins Wanken bringen könne, Chesterfield Manor zu