《曾达的囚徒》第14期:为了对国王的爱(2)

Flavia smiled．'Oh，why do I love you now？'she said softly¹．'I didn't love you before，but I do now．'

弗蕾维亚微笑了：“哦，为什么我现在爱你了？”她温柔地说，“以前我并不爱你，可现在我爱了。”

How happy I was！ It was not the King she loved．It was me -it was Rudolf Rassendyll！ But as I looked into her lovely face，I knew I could not live with the lie．

我多么幸福啊！她爱的并不是国王，而是我——鲁道夫·拉森狄尔！可是当我望着她可爱的脸，我知道我没法再对她撒谎。

How could I pretend² to be the King any longer？

我怎么能继续装扮我是国王呢？

'There's something I must tell you…'I began in a low voice．

“有件事我必须告诉你……”我低声说。

'Your Majesty，'said a voice from the garden．'People are waiting to say goodbye．'

“国王陛下，”花园里有人说道：“人们都在等着跟您告别呢。”

It was Sapt．He had heard me talking to the Princess³．

是萨普特，他听见我和公主说的话了。

'We'll come，'I replied coldly．

“我们就来。”我冷冷地回答。

But Flavia，her eyes full of her love for me， held out her hand to Sapt as he came into the room．He took it and said softly and sadly，'God save your Royal⁴ Highness．'

可是弗蕾维亚的眼里充满了对我的爱，对走进房间的萨普特伸出手去。他握着她的手，温柔而又伤感地说：“上帝拯救公主殿下。”

And then he added，'But before all comes the King-God save the King！'

然后他又加了一句：“可是国王高于一切，上帝拯救国王！”

When Sapt told the people that Princess Flavia had accepted the King as her future husband，they were wild with happiness⁵．

当萨普特宣告说弗蕾维亚公主接受国王作为她未来的丈夫时，人们都乐得发疯了。

'You know，Sapt，'I said sadly，'I could marry the Princess and let my people kill Duke⁶ Michael-and the King．'

“你知道，萨普特，”我悲哀地说，“我可以娶了公主，并且让我的人民杀了迈克尔公爵，还有国王。”

'I know，'Sapt replied quietly．

“我知道。”萨普特静静地回答。

'So we must go to Zenda and bring the King home atonce！'I said．

“所以我们必须立即去曾达，把国王弄回来！”

Sapt put his hand on my shoulder．'You're the finest Elph-berg of them all，'he said with feeling．

萨普特把手放在我的肩上：“在所有艾尔弗伯格家族的人当中，你是最好的一个。”他动情地说。

Before we left Strelsau，I saw the Marshal⁷ and asked him to stay near Flavia，to take care of her and to keep her safe from Duke Michael．

在我们离开斯特莱索之前，我见了元帅，并且请他呆在弗蕾维亚身边，照顾她并且使她免受迈克尔公爵的打扰。

Then I went to say goodbye to her．At first she was cold with me．She did not understand why I wanted to leave her．

然后我去向她告别。起初她对我很冷淡，她不明白为什么我想离开她。

But her anger⁸ changed to fear when I told her that I was going after Duke Michael．

但当我告诉她我去追赶迈克尔公爵时，她的怒气变成了恐惧。

'Oh，Rudolf，be careful！'she cried．'He's a dangerous man！Please come back safely to me．'

“哦，鲁道夫，小心点儿！”她说，“他是个危险的家伙！请你一定要平安地回到我的身边。”

'Duke Michael can never keep me away from you，'I promised．But in my heart I knew that another man could．

“迈克尔公爵永远也别想让我离开你。”我保证道。但在我心里，我知道另一个人却能做到。

1 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。

2 pretend   

vt.假装，假托，装扮；vi.假装，装作

参考例句：

• So you don't need to pretend,do you?所以你不必装假了，对吧？
• Many people pretend that they understand modern art.许多人装着自己懂得现代艺术。

3 princess   

n.公主，王妃，公爵夫人

参考例句：

• The princess grew up happily.公主很快乐地长大了。
• She was the people's princess.她是人民的王妃。

4 royal   

adj.王室的，皇家的；堂皇的，盛大的；极大的，第一流的

参考例句：

• Most European royal families are connected with each other.欧洲大部分王室都有姻亲关系。
• His grandfather was a royal duke.他的祖父是王室公爵。

5 happiness   

n.幸福感；快乐；幸运

参考例句：

• I wish you the life of happiness and prosperity.我祝你生活幸福、万事如意。
• We all desire happiness and health.我们都想得到幸福和健康。

6 duke   

n.公爵

参考例句：

• His grandfather was a royal duke.他的祖父是王室公爵。
• The duke was the king's most trusted adviser.公爵是国王最信赖的顾问。

7 marshal   

n.元帅，总指挥，（美）执法官；vt.整理，集结

参考例句：

• The oldest general was appointed marshal of the armies.资格最老的将军被任命为军队的元帅。
• Marshal your arguments before debating.辩论前整理一下你的论点。

8 anger   

n.生气，怒，愤怒；vt.使发怒；vi. 发怒

参考例句：

• I won't see him until his anger has cooled down.等他怒气消了，我再去看他。
• His eyes flash with anger.他眼中冒出怒火。