FATHER! Did I hear right? My body slammed to a halt. I know that my jaw1 hung wide.
The King's eyes were drawn2 to Emilie. I could not tell if he was pleased or stern. Has your absence from the court made you forget, child, who it is you address?
No, my lord, Emilie replied. She knelt and averted3 her eyes. Then she lifted them, twinkling with amusement. Father... She exhaled4 and smiled.
So. The King signaled for us to rise. Show me the misguided fool who I am told is responsible for this unrest.
Emilie shot forward, clasping my arm. You are mistaken, Father. It is not Hugh who is responsible but-
Quiet, the King interrupted, his voice raised. I was referring toStephen , the supposed duke, not your damned jester, he said.
Emilie, her eyes moist, broke into a blushing smile. She took my hand.
The duke is dead, my lord. Anne came forward. He died, realizing his shame, by his own hand.
By his own hand... The King glanced at the archbishop and snorted. Then it ishe , after all is done, who is withheld5 from God's grace. As for the rest of you heretics... He turned and faced my men. Consider yourselves restored. I speak for Archbishop Velloux when I give you back your souls.
A joyous6 cheer rose up. The. men hugged one another and threw their fists in the air.
Now, as foryou , jester... The King turned back to me. You have made demands that if granted would throw half the country into disarray7.
No demands. I bowed my head. Only the hope to return to our homes in peace, and some manner of law to redress8 ills perpetrated on us.
The King sucked in a breath. For a moment I thought he would go into a rage. Then he relaxed. My daughter has been talking about this very thing for years.... Perhaps it is time.
The courtyard exploded in cheers, but he immediately put up his hand to stop them. The fact remains9, you have risen up against your lords. Against those you were pledged to. The law of liege and serf is not at issue here. Some justice must be meted10 out.
Emilie pushed me down. I knelt.
You must be educated in the manner of the nobles, said the King.
My lord. I was a jongleur and an innkeeper. I am as far from highborn as one can be.
Yet you willhave to be educated. The King cocked his eye. If you intend to marry my daughter.
I slowly raised my head. I looked about, a smile spreading on my face.
Father! Emilie gasped11 and pulled me to my feet. Then she ran to the King and without so much as a curtsy, threw her arms around him.
I know, I know. Fools are everywhere, even those who wear the royal robe. But first, I need a word with your boy.
He came to me, evaluating me. Then he placed an arm around my shoulder and ushered12 me away. I felt some rebuke13 about to come.
Not to seem ungrateful, son, for I know Emilie is in your debt... but in your letter you mentioned a lance.
I took a breath, then spoke14.
It was destroyed, Your Highness. Hurled15 into flames in the fighting here. I'm afraid there is nothing left.
The King sighed deeply. It was the lance that pierced our Savior's side? Such a relic16 was more valuable than my own crown. You are sure of it, lad?
Only sure that it has produced the most miraculous17 of outcomes. Look around you, Sire.
He looked-at the ebullient18 men, at his daughter's eyes wet with joy-then nodded wistfully. What a treasure that would have made. But perhaps it is just as well.... In my experience, such things are better left the stuff of legends and myths.
Epilogue
GRAND-PERE.
My little grandson Jack19 came up to me in the gardens. It was a bright late-summer morning. I had just returned from the hill with a handful of sunflowers, as I did every morning in the summer. Though climbing to the spot was a little harder for me now.
Little Jack, my daughter Sophie's son, who was five, threw himself into my arms and almost toppled me over. He pointed20 to the checkerboard crest21 that hung above the entrance to our inn. (Of course, the inn was slightly larger than my first one. We now owned a quarter of the land that had once belonged to Baldwin. Some things do come with being married to the daughter of a king.)
Mother told me you would tell me what our crest means. She said you were once a jester.
She said that? I pretended to be surprised. Well, if she said that, then it must be true.
Show me, Jack insisted, his blue eyes twinkling.
Show you? I took his hand. Then first you must hear the tale.
I took him to the bench that overlooked the town where we had lived these forty years, near where Sophie and Phillipe were buried. Around us, the fields exploded with sunflowers galore.
I took Jack back to the time when all I had was a tiny inn. When an army marched through here, an army led by a hermit22. To the battles near and far, and the holiest prize in the world, which for a short while was in my hands. To the fight of men to make themselves free, forty years before.
My little blond-haired grandson listened without so much as a breath. That was you, Grand-p?re? You did these things?
Me and Odo and Alphonse. When Uncle Odo was just a smith in town, and not our seneschal.
Let me see. He screwed up an eye as if I were joking. Show me what you learned.
What I learned? I touched his tiny freckled23 nose. Then a thought flashed into my head. I got up off the bench and winked24 at him as if to say,This is our secret. Whatever happens, don't tell your grandmother.
I sucked in my stomach and held my breath. I hadn't done this in thirty years. I tucked myself into a deep crouch25. I prayed to God I would not kill myself. Watch this!
And I sprang. Through the air into a forward flip26. And in that fleeting27 instant, a thousand memories flashed through my mind: Sophie. Norbert. Nico and Robert. And the Turk. I sprang for all of them. One last time.
With a thump28, I landed on my feet. Every bone in my body seemed to rattle29. But I had nailed it! I was in one piece. Norbert would've been proud!
I looked at Jack. His eyes glistened30 bright as the summer sun. I saw my beautiful Emilie in those eyes. Then all at once he started to laugh. A true child's laugh, like water rushing in a brook31. It almost choked me as I watched him.Laughter , the most beautiful sound in all the world.
That'swhat I learned. I tousled his long blond hair and smiled. To make people laugh. That's what this crest is all about. That is everything.
I took my little grandson by the hand and led him back to the inn. Emilie, my queen, was waiting for me there. The hearth32 was roaring.
And I had sunflowers for her.
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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exhaled
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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disarray
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| n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱 | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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meted
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| v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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ebullient
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| adj.兴高采烈的，奔放的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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flip
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| vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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