Chapter 27 ELEANOR: A MOMENT OF TRUCE

 Windsor Castle October 1172 I sat alone in blessed silence. I was supposed to be at prayer, but unlike Alais, I had no god to pray to. I had just heard from my spy network that Henry had word from the pope. His Holiness was cautious, nothing like the man who had set me free from Louis. This pope would wait, and bide¹ his time, to see which way the wind blew, before he moved against me. The pope no doubt knew, as I did, that though Henry had sworn to go on Crusade, he would never stir from his own borders to begin a foreign war, especially a war of someone else’s devising. It served no purpose but to waste money, and Henry had the business of the kingdom to consume him; that, and keeping his sons at bay. Richard was another matter altogether. I knew it was the secret wish of his heart to go on Crusade for the Church, to raise the banner of Christ once more over the city of Jerusalem. No doubt the pope had heard this, too. From all accounts, his spy network was almost as good as mine. So His Holiness would not move against me, or my son. All I needed to do was bide my time, and wait for Henry to tire of her. I crossed my solar to my window, where the breeze and sun touched my face. It was almost winter, but still I kept my windows unshuttered. I loved the feel of the wind, and kept them open as long as I could, mewed up as I was in my husband’s keep. I could not go far, either in hunting or in merriment. I had to keep my eye always on Henry, to see what move he might make next. I did not think on Alais. I missed her as I missed nothing and no one else, but I kept my mind from her, except when she was before me. Like the pope, I would bide my time there as well. Before long, an opportunity would present itself, and I would bring her back to me. Richard barged in without knocking, the only man alive who would have dared. He crossed the room to me, his hair disheveled, his eyes wild. For one horrible moment, I thought something might have happened to Henry, or to Alais. I was wrong. “Mother, he will discard her.” “Richard.” I raised one hand, and Amaria drew the door closed behind my son. She raised an eyebrow², and I shook my head at her, telling her that there was nothing truly to worry about, reminding her that Richard was emotional, especially where Alais was concerned. His news had to do with Alais, the only subject that could upset him during those dark days. “Richard, what ails³ you?” “Alais, Mother. She is bearing the king’s bastard⁴, and he will toss her aside as he has all the others. What will she do then? Who will protect her, when I cannot?” I waited, but the old jealousy⁵ did not rise as it once would have done. “Hear me, Richard. When Henry casts Alais aside, as indeed he must, I will care for her.” “She will be disgraced before all of Europe. Her life will be over.” I smiled. My son was strong and brave, but naive⁶, as all men are. The loss of reputation did not ruin a woman unless she had no one else to succor⁷ her. Alais would always have me. “Richard, do not trouble yourself over this. There is nothing you or anyone can do to help her. She has chosen this path, and she will walk it to the end. But know this: when he casts her off, I will take her in. I will give her shelter.” “And her child?” The words were like bile in my throat, sharp and foul⁸, but I meant them. “And her child.” Richard knelt to me and pressed his lips to my hand. He felt things so deeply; he always had, even as a child. I saw how much he still loved her, how much he would always love her, as he knelt there at my feet. “Richard, enough of this. Come and sit with me. Keep me company. I grow lonely without you near.” He rose at once, and crossed the room, my hand in his. He seated me in the best chair, and arranged the cushions behind my back. He kissed my forehead as if in blessing⁹, before he sat beside me. “Wine, Mother?” “Please. Thank you, Richard.” He poured a glass of Anjou wine for me, and I drank it, though I was not thirsty. I watched him, my beautiful golden boy, and cursed Alais for hurting him as no woman ever had, as no woman ever would again. I swallowed my bile, and smiled at him. “What brings Alais’ plight¹⁰ to your mind, Richard? Have you been praying for her again?” “Yes, Mother. But I also went to see her.” I raised one eyebrow, but said nothing. “She said something vile¹¹ about you, about ...” He flushed, not willing to repeat the phrase that was on all the court’s lips. My dried-up womb, indeed. “Yes, Richard, she spoke¹² foolishly.” “She spoke against you,” he said. “Richard, things are said at such times that are not meant. No doubt Alais forgot in a moment of pique¹³ that every word she says is open to the speculation¹⁴ of others. The court cares for what a queen has to say, as they do not a princess of France.” “She is not queen,” Richard said, his face darkening. “Nor will she be. But the court does not know that. They must be cautious, and play both sides, until one comes out a clear winner.” “It is despicable.” “It is politics, my son. You would do well to heed¹⁵ it.” “I would rather be run through on the battlefield than force myself to such womanish tricks.” I laughed out loud at that. He forgot that I was a woman, too. “I’m sorry ...” I raised one hand, still laughing. “No, Richard, you do me honor. I know in your world to be thought womanish is a weakness. But women have deviousness¹⁶, and ways that men do not, to see to it that their will is done.” “Yes, Mother.” “Do not trouble yourself, Richard. Leave the politics to me.” His face was still dark, his blue eyes shadowed. “Mother, she is sorry that she hurt you.” I felt my breath catch in my throat, as if he brought me news of a lover, and not of a young girl. “Is she?” I kept my voice from trembling, but I held my breath as I waited for his answer. “Yes. She is sorry for what she said.” I pressed his hand, and forced myself to smile. “Don’t think on the princess anymore, Richard.” He kissed my cheek, and rose to his feet. He had been too long indoors already “I love you, Mother.” He left me, and my women came in, bringing fruit and fresh wine, smiling at me as if I had not fallen into disgrace with the king, as if no usurper¹⁷ sought my throne. “Send for Bertrand,” I told Amaria. ”Let us have some music and be merry, while we may” She obeyed me, and my women laughed and clapped, for they loved to look at my troubadour, at his shapely thighs¹⁸ and calves¹⁹, his broad shoulders and muscled arms, which more than one of them had felt around them in the dark. As for myself, I wanted only peace. Music was the only way to get that during that dark, benighted²⁰ time, when I had nothing and no one but Richard. I sat alone that night after the meal in the great hall. Alais had gone to bed early, for pregnancy²¹ made her tired. I sent rose water to her rooms, and a snifter of brandy to help her sleep. She sent no reply I sat before the fire, my hair trailing down my back. It was still bronze, but silver had begun to make its inroads, the march of time across my forehead, and into the glossy²² depths of my hair. I was growing old. So be it. I was not dead yet. Richard had gone off with his lover, Margaret. Though they saw little of each other now, Margaret was to leave court on the morrow. Her father had heard of her disgrace and had asked me to arrange her marriage. I had done so with little difficulty, for I had settled some money on her, and had chosen for her an older man. Sir Ralph of Nottingham was happy to overlook the fact that Margaret had once been a favorite of my son’s. No doubt Richard and Margaret wished to have some lovers’ talk, about old times that would not come again. Richard was not quite sixteen years old. It amused me that he thought he had old times to speak of. The fire was burning well, and the charcoals²³ gave off their feeble heat. I was not one for melancholy²⁴, but for some reason that night my regrets lingered with me, all the losses of my long life, and precursors²⁵ of all the losses yet to come. I was musing²⁶ to myself, deep in self-pity, when there was a scratching at my door. When I called, Henry answered, and came in. I did not stand and greet him, so surprised was I to see him, there in my rooms, alone. I watched him as he came to me, moving like the lion he so often made me think of, the predator²⁷ that I had matched my wits against for so many years, the man I had loved. “Henry, you are welcome.” When I moved to stand, finally remembering the protocol²⁸ that should govern us even when we were alone, Henry gestured to me to sit, drawing another chair close to me, and to the fire. “Eleanor.” He sat, staring into the fire, and I did the same. For that moment, it was as if we had both slipped into old age, with lust²⁹ and fire behind us. As if we watched and waited for death together, as I once thought we might. Henry reached over and took my hand in his. In his strong grip, my hand looked feeble and old. My rings gleamed in the lamplight, and my fingers tapered³⁰ in elegance³¹ into his palm. Time was what it was, and had left me as it left me. I would not be ashamed. As if he could see these thoughts behind my eyes, Henry smiled at me. His smile was full of grudging³² admiration³³ as his looks always were, now that we were enemies. But that night we sat together, a moment of detente in the middle of a war. Neither of us knew yet which of us would win, but sitting alone, the court banished³⁴ from our presence, we saw for the first time what both of us had lost already “Eleanor, I am sorry it has come to this” I did not answer right away. I knew, even then, that nothing would change between us. “You have only to raise one hand, and this war would end, Henry You know that.” The gray eyes I had loved for half my life did not leave mine. “But you will not,” I said. “No,” he answered. “I will not.” He did not release my hand, even then. Still we sat together in peaceful silence, the firelight flickering³⁵ across our faces, and over the silvered bronze of my hair. “Your hair shines like electrum in this light, Eleanor. I had forgotten.” I felt my tears rise then, for all that we had once been to one another, for what we would never be to each other again. I knew, even as my sorrow rose, that my pain was part of our love, just as the joy once had been. Even now, at the end, I would not have had it any different. “Ah, Henry, soon you will be singing me love songs” He laughed, as I had meant him to, and my tears receded³⁶. “And would you have me fetch you barley³⁷ cakes, and apple butter made with my own hands?” Henry barked once more with laughter, but I heard the seriousness under that. “Dear God, Eleanor, stop it. You are a queen.” “And so I shall remain, until my days pass from this earth. You know that, do you not?” Henry met my eyes, his temper dormant³⁸. That night I might have said anything to him, and he would have loved me just the same. “I know that you will try” I inclined my head. My hand still lay in his. “You are a queen, Eleanor, and not because I made you one.” “I am surprised you know it,” I said. “Ah, Eleanor, I have always known it. I knew it the moment I met you. The day I met you, I knew that if I could make you mine, the world would be at my feet, the throne of England mine for the taking.” “I knew it, too.” We sat once more in silence, both taken back to that magic time, when all the obstacles that stood in our way were as nothing: my husband, Henry’s mother, the war he fought for his inheritance. When we stood together, looking at each other in the light of my husband’s court, he had known, as I had, that together we could do anything. “I love you,” Henry said. “I know that, too.” As he stood, even then, he was reluctant to let go of my hand. In the end, I took it from him, to remind him that he had made his choice already We walked a path of his own devising. We could not now turn back. But at my door, Henry did turn back. He saw me, sitting where he had left me, my green gown drawn³⁹ around my shoulders against the evening chill. He saw my hair, shining like bronze in the firelight, the silver strands⁴⁰ heightening its beauty, the light soft on my face. “Henry,” I said. “Why did you come?” “I missed you, Eleanor. I am not myself when you are not with me.” He left me then, and closed the door. My women did not come in to wish me a good night. Though I had no god to thank, I was grateful, for there were tears on my cheeks. I did not want to shed them in front of another. Not even him.

1 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

2 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

3 ails   

v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳

参考例句：

• He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

5 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

6 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

7 succor   

n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助

参考例句：

• In two short hours we may look for succor from Webb.在短短的两小时内，韦布将军的救兵就可望到达。
• He was so much in need of succor,so totally alone.他当时孑然一身，形影相吊，特别需要援助。

8 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

11 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

12 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。

13 pique   

v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气

参考例句：

• She went off in a fit of pique.她一赌气就走了。
• Tom finished the sentence with an air of pique.汤姆有些生气地说完这句话。

14 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

15 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

16 deviousness   

参考例句：

• Besides, deviousness isn't your style. 此外，旁敲侧击也不是你的作风。
• These adjectives mean disposed to or marked by indirection or deviousness in the gaining an end. 这些形容词都有通过或表明通过间接或迂回手段最终获得。

17 usurper   

n. 篡夺者, 僭取者

参考例句：

• The usurper wrested the power from the king. 篡位者从国王手里夺取了权力。
• The usurper took power by force. 篡夺者武装夺取了权力。

18 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 benighted   

adj.蒙昧的

参考例句：

• Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened,heed only one side and you will be benighted.兼听则明，偏信则暗。
• Famine hit that benighted country once more.饥荒再次席卷了那个蒙昧的国家。

21 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

22 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

23 charcoals   

n.炭，木炭( charcoal的名词复数 )；深灰色

参考例句：

• Irons__red-hot charcoals were used to heat up the irons. 使用时．把烧红了的炭放在熨斗内．待热力传遍。便可用来熨衣服。 来自互联网
• The gallery specialises in beautiful charcoals and watercolours. 这个画廊专营美丽的木炭画和水彩画。 来自互联网

24 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

25 precursors   

n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 )；先行者；先兆；初期形式

参考例句：

• Phenyl (or polyphenyl) substituted epoxides serve as excellent precursors to phenyl (or diphenyl) carbenes. 某些苯代（或多苯）环氧乙烷是制取带苯环（或二苯）碳烯的极好原料。 来自辞典例句
• Note the presence of megakaryocytes, erythroid islands, and granulocytic precursors. 可见巨核细胞，红细胞岛和粒细胞前体细胞。 来自互联网

26 musing   

n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "At Tellson's banking-house at nine," he said, with a musing face. “九点在台尔森银行大厦见面，”他想道。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. 她把那件上衣放到一边，站着沉思了一会儿。

27 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

28 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

29 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

30 tapered   

adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The tail tapered to a rounded tip. 尾部越来越细，最后成了个圆尖。
• The organization tapered off in about half a year. 那个组织大约半年内就逐渐消失了。

31 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

32 grudging   

adj.勉强的，吝啬的

参考例句：

• He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
• After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。

33 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。

34 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

36 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

37 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

38 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

39 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。

40 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》