Chapter 30

I AWOKE, this time with a sense of peace and the warmth of a fire about me. I found myself in a comfortable bed, in a large room with stone walls. A bowl of water sat on a wooden table to my right.

Above me, a bearded man in a scarlet¹ robe shot a satisfied grin at a portly priest at his side.

He wakes, Louis. You can go back to the abbey now. It seems you are out of a job.

The priest lowered his flabby face in front of mine. He shrugged². You have done well, Auguste... on thebody. But there is also the matter of the soul. Perhaps there is something this blood-spotted stranger would like to confess.

I wet my lips, then answered for myself. I am sorry, Father. If it's a confession³ you're looking for, you might get a better one out of the boar that attacked me. Certainly a better meal.

This made the physician laugh. Back among us for only a second, Louis, and he's sized you up.

The priest scowled⁴. It was clear he didn't like being the brunt of mockery. He threw on a floppy⁵ hat. Then I'm off.

The priest left, and the kindly-looking doctor sat down beside me. Don't mind him. We had a bet. Who got you-he or I.

I raised myself up on my elbows. I'm glad to have been the subject of your sport. Where am I?

In good hands, I assure you. My reputation is that I've never lost a patient who wasn't truly sick.

And where am I?

He shrugged. You, sir, I'm afraid, are trulyvery sick.

I forced a weak smile. I meant the place, Doctor. Where am I taken?

The physician gently patted my shoulder. I knew that, boy. You are in Bor俥.

Bor俥... My eyes widened in shock. Bor俥 was among the most powerful duchies in France. Three times the size of Treille. Bor俥 was also a four-day ride from Treille, but north. Howhad I ended up here?

How long... have I been in Bor俥? I finally asked.

Four days here. Two more along the way, the physician said. You cried out many times.

And what did I say?

Auguste wrung⁶ out a cloth from the bowl and placed it across my forehead. That your heart is not whole, though not from any boar wound. You carry a great burden.

I did not try to disagree. My Sophie lay somewhere-at Treille.And Treille was a week away on foot. I still felt her alive.

I pushed myself up. You have my thanks for tending my wounds, Auguste. But I have to go.

Whoa. The physician held me back. You are not yet well enough to go. And do not thank me. I merely applied⁷ the salve and cauterized⁸ the wounds. It is the lady Emilie who deserves your thanks.

Emilie... yes... Through the haze⁹ of my memory I brought back her face. I had thought she was Sophie. All at once, flashes of my journey here came to me. The Moor¹⁰ constructed a harness for me. The lady gave up her own mount for me and walked behind.

Without her, pilgrim, the doctor said, you would have died.

You are right, I truly owe her thanks. Who is this lady, Auguste?

A soul who cares. And a lady-in-waiting at the court.

Court? My eyes bolted wide. What court do we speak of? You said you were commanded to my care. By whom? Who is it that you serve?

Why, the duchess Anne, he replied. Wife of Stephen, duke of Bor俥, who is away on the Crusade, and second cousin to the King.

Every nerve in my body seemed to leap to attention. I could not believe it. I was in the care of a cousin to the King of France.

The doctor smiled. You have done yourself well, boar-slayer. You rest in their castle now.

1 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

2 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

4 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

5 floppy   

adj.松软的，衰弱的

参考例句：

• She was wearing a big floppy hat.她戴了顶松软的大帽子。
• Can you copy those files onto this floppy disk?你能把那些文件复制到这张软盘上吗？

6 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 cauterized   

v.（用腐蚀性物质或烙铁）烧灼以消毒( cauterize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Something was killed in your breast: burnt out, cauterized out. 你的心胸里有什么东西已经给掐死了，烧死了，腐蚀掉了。 来自英汉文学
• He cauterized the wound with a piece of red-hot iron. 他用一块烧红的烙铁烧灼伤口。 来自辞典例句

9 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

10 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。