冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第922期:第四十三章 凯特琳(22)

 　　"Perhaps... Sir Helman Tallhart, do you think?" "A fine choice." “或许……让赫曼·陶哈爵士来负责，你意下如何？”“很好。”

　　"What... what did he want of us?" “他……他要我们怎么样？”

　　"If you can spare a few of your swords, I need some men to escort two of Lord Frey's grandsons north to Winterfell," she told him. “你要拨出几个手下，护送佛雷大人的两个孙子北上临冬城。”她告诉他，

　　"I have agreed to take them as wards¹. “我已经同意收他们为养子，

　　They are young boys, aged² eight years and seven. 他们年纪还小，一个七岁，一个八岁，

　　It would seem they are both named Walder. 两个都叫瓦德。

　　Your brother Bran will welcome the companionship of lads near his own age, I should think." 我想你弟弟布兰应该会很高兴有同龄人作伴。”

　　"Is that all? Two fosterlings? That's a small enough price to..." “就这样而已？两个养子？这样的代价未免也太——”

　　"Lord Frey's son Olyvar will be coming with us," she went on. “佛雷大人的儿子奥利法跟我们一起走，”她继续说，

　　"He is to serve as your personal squire³. “他将担任你的私人侍从，

　　His father would like to see him knighted, in good time." 过段时间以后，他的父亲希望能看到他被策封为骑士。”

　　"A squire." He shrugged⁴. "Fine, that's fine, if he's..." “带个侍从？”他耸耸肩，“很好，没问题，如果他——”

　　"Also, if your sister Arya is returned to us safely, “还有，假如你妹妹艾莉亚平安归来，

　　it is agreed that she will marry Lord Walder's youngest son, Elmar, when the two of them come of age." 我们同意让她嫁给瓦德大人的幼子艾尔玛，当然，等两人成年以后。”

　　Robb looked nonplussed⁵. 罗柏有些不知所措。

　　"Arya won't like that one bit." “艾莉亚不会喜欢的。”

　　"And you are to wed⁶ one of his daughters, once the fighting is done," she finished. “等战事结束，你也将迎娶他一个女儿，”她把话说完，

　　"His lordship has graciously consented to allow you to choose whichever girl you prefer.  “侯爵大人慷慨地同意你自行挑选，

　　He has a number he thinks might be suitable." 他有好些个适合的人选。”

　　To his credit, Robb did not flinch⁷. "I see." 这次，罗柏倒是眉头都没皱一下。“原来如此。”

　　"Do you consent?" “你同意吗？”

　　"Can I refuse?" “我可以拒绝吗？”

　　"Not if you wish to cross." “那你就不能渡河。”

　　"I consent," Robb said solemnly. “我同意。”罗柏郑重地说。

　　He had never seemed more manly⁸ to her than he did in that moment. 在她眼中，他从未像此时这么有成年人的样子。

　　Boys might play with swords, but it took a lord to make a marriage pact⁹, knowing what it meant. 小男孩或许也能舞刀弄剑，但只有真正的成年领主才能明白政治婚约的意涵，并坦然接受。

1 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

4 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》

5 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

7 flinch   

v.畏缩，退缩

参考例句：

• She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
• We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。

8 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。