07.Catherine Parr

7.Catherine Parr
7．凱瑟琳·帕爾
We sat silently for a while. Outside it was beginning to get dark. Margaret looked at the floor, then at her hands, then at the floor again. I waited. I knew what she was thinking. Then suddenly she looked at me, and the questions came all at once.


我們默默地坐了片刻。外面，天漸漸地暗了下來?，敻覃愄氐哪抗庖粫憾⒅匕澹粫嚎粗氖?，一會兒又回到了地板上。我等待著。我知道她在想什么。突然她看著我，問題一下子全都涌了出來。


How could you do it, my lady? How could you marry that terrible man? Weren't you afraid? Why didn't you hide... or... or run away?'


“你怎么會那么做呢，夫人？你怎么能嫁給那個可怕的男人呢？難道你不害怕嗎？你為什么不躲起來……或者……或者跑掉呢？”


I smiled at her. 'Listen to the full story, and then perhaps you'll understand. I was very different to Henry's other wives. I was thirty-one years old and Henry was my third husband. My first two husbands were old men too. They both died and I didn't have any children with them. But Herny didn't really want a wife, Margaret. He wanted a friend, and a nurse, and a mother for his three children.'


我朝她笑了笑。“聽我把故事講完，也許你就會明白的。我和亨利的其他妻子很不一樣。我31歲了，亨利是我的第三任丈夫。我的前兩位丈夫年齡也很大。他們都去世了，我也不曾跟他們有過孩子。但亨利并不真想要一個妻子，瑪格麗特。他想要的是一個朋友，一個護士，一個可以做他三個孩子的母親的女人?！?br>

Oh, I see,' said Margaret slowly. 'He wanted someone to look after him. So how did it all happen, then?'


“噢，我明白了，”瑪格麗特慢慢地說，“他想找個人來照顧他。那么，這一切又是怎么發(fā)生的呢？”


It began at a party at Hampton Court Palace. I remember it very well. While I was dancing with my friend Thomas Seymour, I turned round and saw Henry. His blue eyes were watching me. He was too ill to dance, but later that evening he asked to talk with me. I was a little afraid. I knew so many different stories about him. He was one of the most famous kings in Europe, and he was also famous for killing people who made him angry—Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and many, many others. And of course, he was also very fat and ugly!


“那開始于漢普頓王宮的一次聚會上。我記得非常清楚。我和我的朋友托馬斯·西摩跳舞時，一轉(zhuǎn)身，看見了亨利。他的一雙藍眼睛正注視著我。他已經(jīng)病得不能跳舞了，但后來，就在那天晚上，他邀請我談話。我有點兒害怕。我聽說過他許多不同的故事。他是歐洲最有名的國王之一，他也以處決惹他生氣的人而聞名——安妮·博倫，凱瑟琳·霍華德，還有其他許許多多的人。當然，他還又丑又胖！


After that evening he began to send me presents, and he asked me to visit him at Hampton Court Palace.


“自那晚之后，他就開始給我送禮物，他還請我去漢普頓王宮看他。


At this time I was friendly with Thomas Seymour. He was a fine young man and I was in love with him. We talked about getting married. Then I got a letter from King Henry. He wanted to marry me. What could I do? I loved Thomas, but my family wanted me to be the Queen of England. And in the end, I had to marry Henry.'


“這時我正和托馬斯·西摩交往密切。他是個優(yōu)秀的年輕人，我和他相愛了。我們已開始談婚論嫁。這時我收到亨利國王的來信，他說他想娶我。我能怎么辦呢？我愛托馬斯，但我的家人想讓我成為英格蘭王后。最后，我不得不嫁給亨利。”


But were you happy?' asked Margaret.


“但你高興嗎？”瑪格麗特問。


Well, sometimes I was. I loved being Queen. I had beautiful clothes and expensive jewels. But it was also very difficult at times. Henry was often ill with his bad leg, and when his leg hurt, he became angry and shouted at me. Once he nearly sent me to the Tower. I said something about the Church of England, and he didn't agree with me and got very, very angry. He didn't say anything then, but a few days later his soldiers came to take me away.'


“唔，有時我很快樂。我喜歡做王后。我有漂亮的衣服，珍貴的珠寶。但有時又感覺非常不易。亨利的病腿經(jīng)常犯病，腿疼時，他就變得很暴躁，對我大喊大叫。有一次，他差點兒把我也送進倫敦塔。我說起一些關(guān)于英格蘭國教的事情，他不同意我的看法，而且非常非常生氣。當時他并沒有說什么，但幾天后他的衛(wèi)兵就要把我?guī)ё??！?br>

Oh no!' said Margaret. 'What did you do?'


“哦，不！”瑪格麗特大聲叫道，“那你怎么辦了？”


I cried and cried. I told him that I agreed with his every word, and that he was my teacher and I was only a stupid woman. And then I cried some more, and said I didn't understand anything about the church. I only talked to help him forget his bad leg.'


“我不停地哭喊著。我告訴他我贊成他的每一句話，他是我的老師，而我只是一個愚蠢的女人。然后我又哭訴著，說我對宗教一無所知，我只是想說些什么以幫他忘記自己腿部的疼痛?！?br>

And was that true?' asked Margaret.


“那是真的嗎？”瑪格麗特問道。


Of course not! But I had to say something, and after that we were friends again.'


“當然不是！但我必須說些什么，那以后我們又和好了。”


So you didn't love him.'


“那么說你并不愛他了?！?br>

No, I didn't, but I learned to like him some of the time. He was a clever and interesting man—and he was the King of England!'


“是的，我不愛他，但有時我試著去喜歡他。他是個聰明而又有趣的人——還有，他是英格蘭的國王！”


And what about his three children?'


“他的三個孩子呢？”


I felt sorry for them. They had a difficult and lonely life. I tried to be a good mother to them all. I was friendly with Princess Mary, played games with Elizabeth and young Edward, and helped them with their studies in different languages. Of course, Henry and I didn't have any children together.'


“我很同情他們，他們都過著艱難而孤獨的生活，我盡力去做他們的好母親。我對瑪麗公主很好，也和伊麗莎白和小愛德華做游戲，并幫助他們學(xué)習各國語言。當然，亨利和我并沒有我們自己的孩子?！?br>

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. 'Come in!' I called. A young man walked into the room. He was holding some beautiful red and gold flowers.


突然傳來了敲門聲。“請進！”我大聲應(yīng)道。一個年輕人走了進來，手里拿著一束漂亮的紅色和金黃色的花。


These are for Catherine Parr,' he said.


“這是給凱瑟琳·帕爾的?！彼f。


For me?' I said. 'Who are they from?'


“給我的？”我說，“誰送的？”


There's a note here.' He gave me a piece of paper, smiled, and left the room.


“這兒有張便條。”他遞給我一張紙，笑著離開了。


I read the note quickly.


我很快地看了一下便條。


Dear Catherine, you are my true love. You are my flower. I think of you every hour. I wait for you. Tom.


親愛的凱瑟琳，你是我的真愛，你是我的花朵，我時刻都在想念著你。我等你。湯姆。


What does it say?' asked Margaret.


“便條上寫了些什么？”瑪格麗特問。


I can't tell you,' I laughed.


“我不能告訴你。”我笑道。


But who are the flowers from?'


“可這些花是誰送的呢？”


Thomas Seymour.'


“托馬斯·西摩?！?br>

Oh, the young man who wanted to marry you before. Does he still love you? Are you going to marry him?'


“噢，那個以前想娶你的年輕人。他依然愛你嗎？你打算嫁給他嗎？”


I don't know, Margaret. Henry only died three weeks ago.' I was silent for a minute. and then I said, 'It's true, I still like Thomas. I often think about him. Some people say he's only interested in two things: women and money. But I don't believe them. He has enemies, you see, because he comes from a famous family. Jane Seymour was his sister, so Thomas is one of King Edward's uncles.'


“我不知道，瑪格麗特。亨利三個星期前才去世?！蔽页聊似?，然后說道，“真的，我仍然喜歡托馬斯。我經(jīng)常想起他。有人說他只對兩樣?xùn)|西感興趣：女人和金錢，但我不相信。他有敵人，你知道，因為他出身名門。簡·西摩是他姐姐，所以托馬斯是愛德華國王的一個舅舅。”


Will Edward be a good king, do you think?' asked Margaret.


“你認為愛德華會成為一個好國王嗎？”瑪格麗特問。


Yes, I think so. He's a very clever child. He often writes me letters in different languages, and he's only nine years old. But I'm worried about him because he's often ill. England needs a strong king. Henry was a bad husband, but he was a strong King of England. If Edward dies, who knows what will happen?'


“是的，我想他會的。他是個非常聰明的孩子，經(jīng)常用不同的語言給我寫信，而且他只有九歲。但我為他擔心，因為他經(jīng)常生病。英格蘭需要一個身體強壯的國王。亨利不是一個好丈夫，但他是英格蘭一個很有魄力的國王。如果愛德華死了，誰知道會發(fā)生什么事呢？”


It was dark outside now. I looked at Margaret and said, 'So, now you have heard all about King Henry and his six wives, and one day you can tell the story to your children and your grandchildren.'


現(xiàn)在外面已經(jīng)全黑了。我看著瑪格麗特說：“現(xiàn)在你已聽完了亨利國王和他六個妻子的全部故事，將來你可以把這個故事告訴給你的子孫們?！?br>

I think that people will always remember King Henry because of his six wives,' said Margaret. She opened the box and took out the letters. She looked at them, putting them back one by one into the box.


“我想人們會永遠因為亨利國王有六個妻子而記住他的?！爆敻覃愄卣f。她打開盒子，把所有的信都拿了出來。她看了看它們，又一封一封地放回到盒子里。


Divorced—beheaded—died—divorced—beheaded.' she closed the box and looked at me. 'And still alive!'


“離婚的——砍頭的——去世的——離婚的——砍頭的，”她蓋上盒子看著我，“依然活著的！”


We both laughed.


我們都笑了起來。


What are you going to do with the letters, my lady?'


“夫人，你打算把這些信怎么辦呢？”


Nothing, Margaret. It will he our secret.'


“什么也不干，瑪格麗特。這將是我們的秘密?！?br>

?　　?　　?


?　　?　　?


Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour in May 1547, a few months after Henry's death. They were married for fifteen months. Catherine had a baby girl called Mary, but six days after the baby was born, Catherine died. After her death, Thomas Seymour tried to become Princess Elizabeth's lover. He was beheaded because of this.


1547年5月，也就是亨利去世幾個月后，凱瑟琳·帕爾嫁給了托馬斯·西摩。他們的婚姻維持了15個月。凱瑟琳生了個女兒，取名瑪麗，但孩子出生六天后，凱瑟琳就去世了。她死后，托馬斯·西摩竭力想成為伊麗莎白公主的情人，他因此被處死了。


King Edward was often ill, and he died just before his sixteenth birthday. Then Mary, Katherine of Aragon's daughter, became Queen. She was Queen for five years. She married Philip of Spain, but did not have any children. Mary was a strong Catholic and she killed many people who were not Catholics.


愛德華國王經(jīng)常生病，在他16歲生日前夕不幸夭折。后來瑪麗，也就是阿拉貢的凱瑟琳的女兒，做了女王。她在位五年。她嫁給了西班牙的菲利浦，但他們從未生育。瑪麗是個狂熱的天主教徒，她殺死了很多非天主教徒。


Next, Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn's daughter, became Queen. She was Queen of England for forty-five years. This was the time of Shakespeare and Sir Walter Raleigh. Elizabeth was a very great Queen, but she never married, and had no children, Henry married six times because he wanted a son—and he wanted his son and his son's sons to be Kings of England after him. But when Queen Elizabeth died, King Henry's family came to an end, and a Scottish King became King of England.


再后來，伊麗莎白，即安妮·博倫的女兒，做了女王。她統(tǒng)治英格蘭達45年之久。這正是莎士比亞和沃爾特·雷利爵士的時代。伊麗莎白是位非常偉大的女王，但她終生未嫁，也未生育。亨利結(jié)了六次婚，就是想要個兒子——他希望他的子孫后代都能繼他之后成為英格蘭國王。但當伊麗莎白女王去世后，亨利國王的家族也走到了盡頭，一位蘇格蘭國王統(tǒng)治了英格蘭。