She was one of the ladies at Queen Anne’s palace, so Henry knew her already. She was only eighteen. Henry fell in love with her immediately. He called her "his beautiful flower" and sent her many expensive presents—gold and jewels and fine dresses.’
I smiled. ’If the King of England wants to marry you, how do you say no? Henry was very much in love and he wanted to marry her immediately. The Howard family is an old and famous one, and they were very happy for Katherine to marry the King.’
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“他对他的新王后满意吗?”
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Was he happy with his new Queen?’
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“是的,”我说,“一开始是这样的。当初她年轻美貌,惹人喜爱,与克利夫斯的安妮截然不同。”
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Yes,’ I said. ’At first. She was young, beautiful, and exciting. Very different from Anne of Cleves.’
Who can say? But I don’t think so. Henry was forty-nine, thirty years older than her. He was very, very fat and heavy. His face was more like a potato than ever, and his eyes were always half-closed. He had a very bad leg and often couldn’t walk—and he was always angry when his leg hurt.’
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玛格丽特看着我手中的信。“我想我不会愿意嫁给一个又肥又老,且有一条腿行动不便的男人的!”她说。
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Margaret looked at the letter in my hand. ’I don’t think that I would like to marry a fat old man with a bad leg who couldn’t walk!’ she said.
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我笑道:“别忘了,国王的妻子就是英格兰的王后,也就是国家的第一夫人。”
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I laughed. ’But the King’s wife, remember, was also the Queen of England, the first lady in the country.’
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“是的,确实是这样,”玛格丽特说,“他们有儿子吗?”
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Yes, that’s true,’ said Margaret. ’And did they have a son?’
No, they didn’t. They weren’t married for very long. Before Katherine married Henry, she had lovers. Henry didn’t know this. He thought that he was Katherine’s first lover. And about six months after Katherine married Henry, she began to see another man called Thomas Culpeper. He was tall and handsome. Katherine wrote love letters to him, and they met secretly at night.’
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“做这事儿可太危险了!”玛格丽特说,“恐怕凯瑟琳不太明智。”
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What a dangerous thing to do!’ said Margaret. ’Katherine wasn’t very clever, I’m afraid.’
And people saw her and began to talk about it, and somebody told the King... One of his friends wrote it all down in a letter, and put the letter into Henry’s hand when he was in church.’
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“哦天呐,”玛格丽特叫道,“那么后来……”她已猜到后面发生的事了。
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Oh dear,’ said Margaret. ’So then...’ Already she knew what happened next.
Yes,’ I said. ’Henry was wildly angry. He talked, people say, about taking a sword and cutting off her head himself. But he sent Thomas Culpeper to prison, and soon after he sent Katherine to the Tower.’
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“和几年前安妮·博伦一样。”玛格丽特说。
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Like Anne Boleyn, years before,’ said Margaret.
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“咱们看看她信上说些什么,”我打开信说道,“信写得非常潦草——我想她写的时候一定很匆忙。”
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Let’s see what her letter says,’ I said, opening it. ’The writing is very untidy—I think she wrote this in a hurry.’
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伦敦塔
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Tower of London
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1541年2月11日
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11th February 1541
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亲爱的亨利:
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Dear Henry
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请原谅我!我没想让你不悦并惹你生气。相信我!
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Please forgive me! I didn’t want to make you unhappy and angry. Believe me!
It’s true that when I was a young girl, I was friendly with different young men. I was so young and stupid. I also spent a lot of time with Thomas Culpeper when I was your wife. But believe me, Henry, I didn’t know what I was doing. Remember, I am only twenty years old now. You are so much older than me, and you understand much more about the world.
Please, Henry, please, please help me! Don’t send me to my death! I am so afraid here in the Tower—I pray day and night that you will come and take me away. How can you kill your beautiful flower? They tell me that in two days’ time they will cut off my head... Henry, I don’t want to die! Please let me live a little longer... please! Just a few weeks... a few days... Please, Henry, please...
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你不幸的妻子
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Your unhappy wife
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凯瑟琳·霍华德
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Katherine Howard
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我读完这封信时,玛格丽特沉默了。她好像听到了凯瑟琳的哭喊,看到了她苍白的脸。
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When I finished reading the letter, Margaret was silent. Perhaps she could hear Katherine Howard’s cries and see her white face.
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我把信收了起来,玛格丽特看着我。
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I put the letter away, and Margaret looked at me.
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“没有信了,是吗?”她说。
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There aren’t any more letters, are there?’ she said.