3-15

15.

Meg came back to London a week later.

October 2016.

We lunched with Marko and his family, and I introduced her to a few other close mates. All

good. Everyone loved her.

Emboldened¹, I felt the time had come for her to meet my family.

She agreed.

First stop, Royal Lodge². To meet Fergie, because Meg already knew Fergie’s daughter Euge,

and Jack³, so this seemed a logical baby step. But as we neared Royal Lodge I got word on my

phone.

Granny was there.

She’d popped in.

On her way from church back to the castle.

Meg said: Fun! I love grandmas.

I asked if she knew how to curtsy. She said she thought so. But she also couldn’t tell if I was

serious.

You’re about to meet the Queen.

I know, but it’s your grandma.

But she’s the Queen.

We pulled into the driveway, drove across the gravel⁴, parked next to the big green box hedge.

Fergie came outside, somewhat aflutter, and said: Do you know how to curtsy?

Meg shook her head.

Fergie demonstrated once. Meg imitated her.

There wasn’t time for a more advanced tutorial. We couldn’t keep Granny waiting.

As we walked towards the door Fergie and I both leaned into Meg, whispering quick

reminders⁵. When you first meet the Queen it’s Your Majesty⁶. Thereafter it’s just Ma’am. Rhymes

with ham.

Just, whatever you do, don’t talk over her, we both said, talking over each other.

We entered the large front sitting room and there she was. Granny. The monarch⁷. Queen

Elizabeth II. Standing⁸ in the middle of the room. She turned slightly. Meg went straight to her and

dropped a deep, flawless curtsy.

Your Majesty. Pleasure to meet you.

Euge and Jack were near Granny and they almost seemed to pretend not to know Meg. They

were very quiet, very proper. Each gave Meg a quick kiss on the cheek, but it was pure royal. Pure

British.

There was some bloke standing to the other side of Granny and I thought: Bogey⁹ at twelve

o’clock. Meg looked to me for a clue as to his identity, but I couldn’t help—I’d never seen him

before. Euge whispered into my ear that he was a friend of her mum’s. Ah, OK. I looked at him

hard: Brilliant. Congratulations on being present for one of the most consequential¹⁰ moments of my

life.

Granny was dressed for church: a brightly colored dress and matching hat. I can’t recall the

color, I wish I could, but it was bright. Fancy. I could see Meg regretting her jeans and black

sweater.

I was also regretting my shabby trousers. We didn’t plan, I wanted to tell Granny, but she was

busy asking about Meg’s visit.

Great, we said. Wonderful.

We asked about the church service.

Lovely.

It was all very pleasant. Granny even asked Meg what she thought of Donald Trump¹¹. (This

was just before the November 2016 election, so everyone in the world seemed to be thinking and

talking about the Republican candidate.) Meg thought politics a no-win game, so she changed the

subject to Canada.

Granny squinted¹². I thought you were American.

I am, but I’ve been living in Canada for seven years for work.

Granny looked pleased. Commonwealth¹³. Good, fine.

After twenty minutes Granny announced she had to be going. My uncle Andrew, seated beside

her, holding her handbag, began to escort her out. Euge went with her too. Before reaching the

door Granny looked back to say goodbye to Jack, and to Fergie’s friend.

She locked eyes with Meg, gave a wave and a warm smile. Bye.

Bye. Lovely to meet you, Ma’am, as she dipped into a curtsy again.

Everyone flooded into the room after she’d driven away. The whole vibe changed. Euge and

Jack were their old selves, and someone suggested drinks.

Yes, please.

Everyone complimented Meg on her curtsy. So good! So deep!

After a moment Meg asked me something about the Queen’s assistant.

I asked who she was talking about.

That man holding the purse. That man who walked her to the door.

That wasn’t her assistant.

Who was it?

That was her second son. Andrew.

She definitely hadn’t googled us.

1 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

5 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

6 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

7 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 bogey   

n.令人谈之变色之物；妖怪，幽灵

参考例句：

• The universal bogey is AIDS.艾滋病是所有人唯恐避之不及的东西。
• Age is another bogey for actresses.年龄是另一个让女演员头疼的问题。

10 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

13 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。