Chapter 21 ELEANOR: THE QUEEN

Windsor Castle July 1172 When Alais came to me, she did not knock, for the door was open and my women saw her coming. The tallest of my ladies beckoned¹ her in with a smile, as if to welcome her into the ranks of the wicked. I raised one hand, and my women withdrew from the room. The door closed behind them. Amaria lingered, to see if I would have her stay, but my hand remained raised, so she withdrew as well. Alais and I were alone, but for Richard, who stood behind me. If she was affected² by the sight of my son, her face showed no sign of it. I stood before my daughter, before the woman who had betrayed me with my own husband in my own house. I looked for the little girl I had known, the little girl I had taken under my wing when she first came to me from France. As I looked into her eyes, a woman stared back at me, a woman of my own devising. Had I not been so miserable³, I might have laughed at the irony⁴ of Fate. As it was, I simply offered her a chair. “Will you join me, Alais? Will you take some wine?” “I thank you, Your Majesty⁵. No” Alais continued to stand, and continued to look at me. She did not glance at my son or acknowledge his presence. It had been a long day for me. I had endured scenes with Richard, who came back to court when I sent word, who now stood behind me in sullen⁶ silence, having refused to leave the room. I had suffered the silent consternation⁷ of my own ladies, which no doubt turned to amusement when they were out of my sight. I still had the meal in the great hall to face. I hoped to settle with Alais now, and to make the best of what had happened. “Alais, you must deny the king.” She stared at me, the daughter of my heart, and I saw her strength as I had always seen it. Now I saw not only her strength but also the will behind it. I had thought to control this girl. She was only fourteen. But then I remembered: I had been only fifteen when I first became queen of France. I had asked no one’s leave, either. Alais held my eyes when she answered me. “I deny nothing.” I sighed, and sat down, raising my goblet⁸ of wine to my lips. It was my silver goblet, the one that had gone missing the night before. I found later that it had been brought to Alais in the king’s rooms, at her request, so that I had to drink my wine from another. I kept my silver ewer⁹ and goblet in my own chamber¹⁰ now. No one would be fool enough to take them from there, not even Henry’s chamberlain. Henry’s people were allowed nowhere near my rooms, though no doubt he had spies among my women, as I had among his men. “Alais, you have put me in an untenable position. You have slept with my husband, and all the court knows it. You must deny that it happened. If we stand together, we can save your reputation and our treaty with France. If you stand with me, I can protect you, even from yourself.” “I have the king’s protection. I have no need of any other.” I felt my temper rise, and I clamped my jaw¹¹ down on it. If we both gave up our reason, neither of us would get anywhere. I did not look to Richard. He stayed silent behind me, as he had promised me he would. I knew he did not trust himself to speak with her, that, even now, his heart bled as if she had stabbed him with his own knife. My eyes moved to the hourglass and saw that there was little time left before the evening meal. I would have to secure her assent¹², and quickly. There was no more time for niceties. I saw the stubborn set of her lips, and remembered where I had seen that stubbornness before. Louis had always looked like that when he was determined¹³ to get his way Louis had given me that same look when I asked to be left with Raymond in peace. No doubt he would have worn that look the whole time he laid siege to Antioch, if I had not walked out of that city, and agreed to come home with him. The stubborn look sat strange on my daughter’s face, but she had been Louis’ daughter before she was mine. “You are making a fool of me in my own court, Alais. I will not allow it.” She stared at me without answering. I saw that she had not forgiven me for handing over her letter to the king. Behind her fury, I also saw her pain. She felt Richard had betrayed her, simply because he was a man. She felt I had betrayed her. She was furious with me for acting¹⁴ against her, for handing over her letter to Henry. But she was my daughter. I could bring her back to me. Richard stepped forward then, and came to stand at my side. Finally, Alais looked at him, at the man she had claimed so fervently¹⁵ to love before she cuckolded him with my husband. When she saw his face, the pain in his eyes pierced her fury. Alais took a step toward him, as if drawn¹⁶ by a higher force, as if she could not stop herself. She moved only one step, for Richard flinched¹⁷ away from her as if she were a leper and might infect all who came too near. “How could you?” he asked her, his own fury rising to fill the blue of his eyes. “How could you be so faithless, and with him?” Alais drew herself up as if he had struck her. I saw the tears in her eyes, tears that I knew she would not shed. “You keep a mistress, and sit in judgment¹⁸ on me?” Richard blinked, stunned¹⁹. No woman in his life had ever thrown his infidelity back in his face. No other woman would have dared. But Alais stood before him, her dark eyes blazing with an inner fire. I saw in that moment that she refused to accept what I had understood all my life: men are unfaithful ever. She thought to hold the men she loved to a higher standard. I could have warned her to look elsewhere if she expected faithfulness from Henry “I thought better of you,” Richard said. Alais swallowed her tears, for they had risen once more, and vied with her fury for supremacy²⁰. Her fury won, if only barely. Her eyes grew calm, her voice cold, as if we were dead to her already. “I will deny nothing, for I am ashamed of nothing, except that I called you beloved and meant it” I did not know if she was speaking to Richard or to me. Perhaps she was speaking to both of us. I know I felt the pain of her words, and I saw my own pain mirrored on Richard’s face. She left us gasping²¹. She walked away as if she had never known us, as if she might never see us again. I thought I might weep, for my heart was bleeding. Richard came to me then, and took my arm. My strength flowed back at his touch. Alais loved me still, I knew that she did. I need only continue to chase her; I would run her to ground. What lay between us could not be undone²². Richard escorted me into Henry’s hall, his eyes shadowed and his face grim. I smiled brightly for all to see, and greeted by name each person who called to me, with a graceful²³ sweep of my arm. Alais was there before us, seated at Henry’s right hand. She shared his trencher, lifting a morsel²⁴ of squab to her lips as her eyes turned to look at me. They had started the feast without us. Henry saw the breach²⁵ and regretted it. I was still his wife and queen. He smiled at me and bowed, first to me and then to Richard. My smile did not leave my face, though the knife twisted in my heart. The sight of my daughter seated next to my husband, as if her place were there and not with me, was almost my undoing²⁶. But I would not think of that. Instead, I pressed my hand down hard on Richard’s arm until he bowed to his father, and drew out my chair for me. “Welcome, wife,” Henry called, sitting down once more and raising his glass to me. I thought at first he meant to rub my face in his triumph, but I saw soon that he meant only to make the peace. I was mollified. God knows, I had seen such mistresses come and go before. Never before had one of them been my daughter, fed from my own heart’s blood. But I would not think of that, either. Alais said nothing, but when I raised my glass to her, she bowed her head to me. I wondered if we still might play it off, for if Henry favored her only, but did not acknowledge her as his mistress, all public knowledge of this business could still be avoided. But little did I know her, and her plans. Henry rose once more but gestured for the court to sit. He raised his tankard of mead²⁷ to the whole company, and the idle talk fell silent. “I am happy to announce that I will be going to my hunting lodge²⁸ at Deptford. There I will see to the needs of the kingdom while indulging in some much-needed respite²⁹. While I am gone, Eleanor, my queen, will sit in state at Windsor, and keep you all in fine spirits, until I return.” I raised my glass to him as if I had known of this all along, as if he had consulted me, as indeed he once would have done. My dissembling was so skilled that even Richard was taken in, and glared at me until I pressed his hand beneath the table. “My lady Alais, Princess of France, will accompany me into my self-imposed exile. She will give me comfort while I withdraw from public life, to deal with the affairs of state in private.” Alais stood with him then, and the hall applauded her. I was a beat behind, but as always, I was quick to pick up the tune³⁰. I set my goblet down and applauded her also, the knife twisting where she had stabbed me the night before. Still I smiled, while Richard glowered³¹, but even he showed restraint. He did not stalk from the hall as he once would have done. They sat down, and the king leaned close to fill her glass with wine taken from my own barrels. While he poured my wine for her with his own hand, Alais smiled at him, and rewarded him with a kiss. She did not give him a demure³² peck as a daughter might, but opened her mouth over his, welcoming his tongue, as he no doubt had taught her to do the night before. One of the younger men let out a whoop³³ to see her do it, then turned pale as he looked at me. I said nothing, but raised my glass once more to the princess and to my husband. She nodded to me, and I saw admiration³⁴ for me dawn in her eyes, to live there with the anger that still controlled every move she made. As I watched, she made the mistake of looking at Richard. She saw the pain on his face, pain he did not know how to hide. I thought in that moment that she would collapse³⁵ under the weight she had chosen to carry. I thought that she would weep and run from the hall, that she would throw herself down at his feet and beg his forgiveness. But she did none of these things. As I watched from the corner of my eye, Richard faced her and saw her pain. In my rooms he had been too blinded by anger to see it, to remember who she was, and who she had been to him. He saw it now. He clutched my hand under the table, this time drawing strength from me. He raised his glass, and did not look at her again, his back straight and his shoulders squared under the heap of bitterness and gall³⁶ that she and his father had laid upon him. Beneath the table, he still held my hand, but his grip loosened, so that my blood could flow once more. Music began then, for last night I had started a new tradition of having music at dinner as the rest of the hall ate their meal. Henry noticed where his lover’s gaze was tending, but he did not rain fury down on her head. He only watched her, his gray eyes on her face, offering her a bit of venison, which she ate, no doubt without tasting it. When the bell for vespers chimed, she leaned close to him and asked him leave to go. Even carnal knowledge of Henry had not turned her from her father’s religion. Henry’s face darkened, but she did not notice, so sunk was she in her own misery³⁷. Henry kissed her, his hand gentle on her cheek as he let her go. Richard watched Alais leave the hall, but did not move from my side. Henry ate his dinner, but his appetite was gone. Only I would know that, though; of all the courtiers who ate in his hall, only I knew him. When the dancing began, Henry rose as if to join them. I stood, and Richard stood with me, ready as he always was to support me, whatever might come. Henry passed beside my chair and I spoke³⁸ low to him, daring to make a move that I knew was foolhardy. But even I make mistakes; I made only one that night. “My lord king, will you join the dancing?” I all but asked him to partner me, there in front of the whole table. He knew what I was offering: an alliance with me and my son, no matter what harlot he chose to take to his bed. He could stand with me, and dance, as we had done the night when he gifted Richard with the Aquitaine. I could tell from the gray of his eyes that he was thinking of that night, too. For a moment’s breath, I thought I had him. Henry bowed to me most courteously³⁹, and kissed my hand. “My lady wife, I must be gone. I have pressing business elsewhere.” Henry left the hall, and all the court knew that he went to her. Richard took up my hand as soon as his father dropped it. The two men I had loved the most said not a word to each other, nor did they glance in the other’s direction. Once Henry stalked out of the hall after the prey⁴⁰ that had lately slipped his nets, Richard led me onto the dance floor, smiling down at me. “Richard, you never smile unless you mean it,” I said. “Has your heart healed so quickly?” He moved with me in the dance, his smile in place, his eyes never leaving my face. “My heart will never heal, Mother. But do they need to know it?” The music of my laughter filled that stone hall, so that others joined in, though they did not know the joke. Indeed, there was nothing funny. I laughed so that I would not weep as I took my son’s hand and followed him in the intricacies of the dance. There would be more moves to make and more dance steps to plan for, before I gave Alais up. That night the whole hall knew I faced yet another challenge to my power with a glittering smile and light laughter. All in that hall knew, as I did, that whatever came before, in the end, I would win.

1 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

4 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

5 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

6 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

7 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

8 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。

9 ewer   

n.大口水罐

参考例句：

• The ewer is in very good condition with spout restored.喷口修复后，水罐还能用。
• She filled the ewer with fresh water.她将水罐注满了清水。

10 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

11 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

12 assent   

v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
• The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 flinched   

v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He flinched at the sight of the blood. 他一见到血就往后退。
• This tough Corsican never flinched or failed. 这个刚毅的科西嘉人从来没有任何畏缩或沮丧。 来自辞典例句

18 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

19 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

20 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

21 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

22 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

23 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

24 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

25 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

26 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

27 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

28 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

29 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

30 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

31 glowered   

v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He just glowered without speaking. 他一言不发地皱眉怒视我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He glowered at me but said nothing. 他怒视着我，却一言不发。 来自辞典例句

32 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

33 whoop   

n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息

参考例句：

• He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时，高兴得叫了起来。
• Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。

34 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

35 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

36 gall   

v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难

参考例句：

• It galled him to have to ask for a loan.必须向人借钱使他感到难堪。
• No gall,no glory.没有磨难，何来荣耀。

37 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

38 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

39 courteously   

adv.有礼貌地，亲切地

参考例句：

• He courteously opened the door for me.他谦恭有礼地为我开门。
• Presently he rose courteously and released her.过了一会，他就很客气地站起来，让她走开。

40 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。