THE SOLDIERS STOOD at stiff attention, swords and lances raised in salute¹. The duke galloped² into their midst. He raised his arm to salute them, then grinned triumphantly³ at Bertrand and Marcel Gamier, his seneschal, the steward⁴ of his estate.

Almost as an afterthought, he turned to Anne.

Stephen then jumped off his mount. His hair had grown long and wild since she had seen him last, like a Goth's. His cheeks were hard edged and gaunt. Yet he still carried that narrow glint in his eyes. As was his duty, he came up to her. It had been almost two years.

Welcome, my husband. Anne stepped forward. To God's grace that He has brought you safely home.

To God's grace, Stephen said with a smile, that you have shined like such a beacon⁵ as to guide me back.

He kissed her on both cheeks, but the embrace was empty and without warmth. I have missed you, Anne, he said, in the way a man might exult⁶ in seeing the health of his favorite steed.

I have counted the days as well, she replied coldly.

Welcome, my lord. Stephen's advisers⁷ rushed forth⁸.

Bertrand, Marcel. He held out his arms. I trust the reason you have come all this way to greet me is not that we have misplaced our beautiful city.

I assure you your beautiful city still stands. The chatelain grinned. Stronger than ever.

And the treasury¹⁰ even more filled than when you left, promised the seneschal.

All this later. Stephen waved a hand. We've been riding nonstop since we docked. My ass⁹ feels like it's been kicked all the way from Toulon. Tend to my men. We are all as hungry as beggars. And I... He mooned his eyes at Anne.... I must attend to my lovely wife.

点击收听单词发音  

1 salute
vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮
参考例句：
Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。 The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

2 galloped
（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事
参考例句：
Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。 The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

3 triumphantly
ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地
参考例句：
The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。 Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

4 steward
n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员
参考例句：
He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。 He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

5 beacon
n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔
参考例句：
The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。 The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

6 exult
v.狂喜，欢腾；欢欣鼓舞
参考例句：
Few people would not exult at the abolition of slavery.奴隶制被废除了，人们无不为之欢乐鼓舞。 Let's exult with the children at the drawing near of Children's Day.六一儿童节到了，让我们陪着小朋友们一起欢腾。

7 advisers
顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授
参考例句：
a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员 She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 ass
n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人
参考例句：
He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。 An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

10 treasury
n.宝库；国库，金库；文库
参考例句：
The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。 This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 tunic
n.束腰外衣
参考例句：
The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。 Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

12 greasy
adj. 多脂的，油脂的
参考例句：
He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。 You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

13 filthy
adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的
参考例句：
The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。 You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

14 awaken
vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起
参考例句：
Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。 Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

15 rinse
v.用清水漂洗，用清水冲洗
参考例句：
Give the cup a rinse.冲洗一下杯子。 Don't just rinse the bottles. Wash them out carefully.别只涮涮瓶子，要仔细地洗洗里面。

16 derisively
adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地
参考例句：
This answer came derisively from several places at the same instant. 好几个人都不约而同地以讥讽的口吻作出回答。 The others laughed derisively. 其余的人不以为然地笑了起来。

17 slaughter
n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀
参考例句：
I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。 Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

18 caress
vt./n.爱抚，抚摸
参考例句：
She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。 She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

19 tightened
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧
参考例句：
The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。 His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

20 caressing
爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的
参考例句：
The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。 He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

21 forefinger
n.食指
参考例句：
He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。 He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

22 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》

23 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。

24 erect
n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的
参考例句：
She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。 Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

25 hideous
adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的
参考例句：
The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。 They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

26 loathe
v.厌恶，嫌恶
参考例句：
I loathe the smell of burning rubber.我厌恶燃着的橡胶散发的气味。 You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

27 spine
n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
参考例句：
He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。 His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

28 vomit
v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物
参考例句：
They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。 She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

29 grunting
咕哝的，呼噜的
参考例句：
He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声，使出更大的力气拉绳子。 Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。

30 hissed
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对
参考例句：
Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？ The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。

31 relic
n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物
参考例句：
This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。 He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。