Ⅲ 冰雨的风暴 Chapter68 珊莎
SANSA
上前甲板的楼梯陡峭摇晃，幸亏罗索·布伦伸手相助。罗索爵士，她提醒自己——对方已因黑水河一役中的英勇表现升为骑士，然而骑士不该穿这身打补丁的褐色马裤、拖鞋和风雨侵蚀的皮背心。他是个方脸壮汉，塌鼻子，偏灰发，很少说话，但极强壮。在他手中，珊莎觉得自己轻若鸿毛。
The ladder to the forecastle was steep and splintery, so Sansa accepted a hand up from Lothor Brune. Ser Lothor, she had to remind herself; the man had been knighted for his valor in the Battle of the Blackwater. Though no proper knight would wear those patched brown breeches and scuffed boots, nor that cracked and water-stained leather jerkin. A square-faced stocky man with a squashed nose and a mat of nappy grey hair, Brune spoke seldom. He is stronger than he looks, though. She could tell by the ease with which he lifted her, as if she weighed nothing at all.
“人鱼王号”的前面，展开一片荒凉多石的海岸，光秃秃地，没有树，寂寞而寒碜。即便如此，珊莎也感到几分欢喜，只因太久不曾见到陆地。航行初期还顺着海岸，后来来了一场大风暴，将他们刮进狭海中间，疯狂的颠簸让珊莎以为商船必沉无疑。老奥斯威尔告诉她，风暴一共夺走了两条性命，另有一人从桅杆上掉下来，摔断了脖子。
Off the bow of the Merling King stretched a bare and stony strand, windswept, treeless, and uninviting. Even so, it made a welcome sight. They had been a long while clawing their way back on course. The last storm had swept them out of sight of land, and sent such waves crashing over the sides of the galley that Sansa had been certain they were all going to drown. Two men had been swept overboard, she had heard old Oswell saying, and another had fallen from the mast and broken his neck.
她很少上甲板，属于她的小舱房则又湿又冷，所以一路都不舒服……恐惧，发烧，晕船……吃不下，睡不着。无论何时，只要闭上眼睛，就会看见撕扯衣领、抓破咽喉、挣扎呼吸的乔佛里，馅饼皮粘在嘴角，酒液则浸染上衣。每有海风吹过木板缝隙，都好似乔佛里当初所发出的那细得吓人、充满恐惧的嘶声。有时她还梦见提利昂。“他什么也没做啊。”小指头来看望她时，她对他说。
She had seldom ventured out on deck herself. Her little cabin was dank and cold, but Sansa had been sick for most of the voyage … sick with terror, sick with fever, or seasick … she could keep nothing down, and even sleep came hard. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw Joffrey tearing at his collar, clawing at the soft skin of his throat, dying with flakes of pie crust on his lips and wine stains on his doublet. And the wind keening in the lines reminded her of the terrible thin sucking sound he’d made as he fought to draw in air. Sometimes she dreamed of Tyrion as well. “He did nothing,” she told Littlefinger once, when he paid a visit to her cabin to see if she were feeling any better.
“没错，乔佛里并非侏儒所杀，可这并不意味着他就是个正派人。你知道吗，他有过老婆？”
“He did not kill Joffrey, true, but the dwarf’s hands are far from clean. He had a wife before you, did you know that?”
“他对我说过。”
“He told me.”
“是吗？他有没有告诉你，当他厌倦了那个女人后，就把她送给了父亲帐下的卫兵？你若留在他身边，早晚也是这个下场。省省吧，小姐，小恶魔不值得你流一滴眼泪。”
“And did he tell you that when he grew bored with her, he made a gift of her to his father’s guardsmen? He might have done the same to you, in time. Shed no tears for the Imp, my lady.”
咸咸的海风伸出长长的手指，挽起她的头发，令她打起颤来。即便海岸在望，摇晃的甲板仍教人惴惴不安。她好想洗个澡，换身衣服。我一定跟尸体般又憔悴又难闻。
The wind ran salty fingers through her hair, and Sansa shivered. Even this close to shore, the rolling of the ship made her tummy queasy. She desperately needed a bath and a change of clothes. I must look as haggard as a corpse, and smell of vomit.
培提尔大人走到旁边，一如既往地好心情，“早上好。带盐味的风有几分清新，对吧？我的好胃口就是这样子出来的。”他保护性地环住珊莎的肩膀，“你行吗？脸色好苍白。”
Lord Petyr came up beside her, cheerful as ever. “Good morrow. The salt air is bracing, don’t you think? It always sharpens my appetite.” He put a sympathetic arm about her shoulders. “Are you quite well? You look so pale.”
“没，一点小毛病，我……有些晕船。”
“It’s only my tummy. The seasickness.”
“喝点葡萄酒提神，应该会有助益。到得岸上，我立刻满上一杯给你。”语毕，培提尔指向阴沉的天幕底下一座古老无名的燧石塔楼，浪涛在它下方的岩石上拍打。“瞧，就是这儿，景色不错吧？不过呢，大船恐怕没法子靠过去，只能换乘小舟。”
“A little wine will be good for that. We’ll get you a cup, as soon as we’re ashore.” Petyr pointed to where an old flint tower stood outlined against a bleak grey sky, the breakers crashing on the rocks beneath it. “Cheerful, is it not? I fear there’s no safe anchorage here. We’ll put ashore in a boat.”
“这儿？”她不想留在这儿。五指半岛阴暗偏僻，眼前这座小塔楼更是孤独荒芜。“我留在船上，好不好？到白港再上岸。”
“Here?” She did not want to go ashore here. The Fingers were a dismal place, she’d heard, and there was something forlorn and desolate about the little tower. “Couldn’t I stay on the ship until we make sail for White Harbor?”
“从这儿开始，“人鱼王号”将航向布拉佛斯——你我二人当然不去。”
“From here the King turns east for Braavos. Without us.”
“可……可是，大人，您说……您说要带我回家……”
“But … my lord, you said … you said we were sailing home.”
“这就是我们的家——别嫌它寒碜，我祖父三代都居于此。它没有名字，大人物的城堡应该有名字的，你说呢？临冬城、鹰巢城、奔流城……好在如今我有了赫伦堡，而之前？之前我乃羊屎伯爵和荒塔主人，哈哈，总觉得缺了点什么。”他用灰绿色眼睛无邪地打量她，“你似乎心神不宁，难不成以为我们会去临冬城？亲爱的，临冬城已经陷落、焚毁、化为废墟，所有你认识或者喜爱的人士都已不在人世。北境有的地方被铁民奴役，有的地方在窝里斗，就连长城也遭到攻打。珊莎，临冬城是你童年的家园，但你已不是孩子了。你长大成为女人，女人需要属于自己的家。”
“And there it stands, miserable as it is. My ancestral home. It has no name, I fear. A great lord’s seat ought to have a name, wouldn’t you agree? Winterfell, the Eyrie, Riverrun, those are castles. Lord of Harrenhal now, that has a sweet ring to it, but what was I before? Lord of Sheepshit and Master of the Drearfort? It lacks a certain something.” His grey-green eyes regarded her innocently. “You look distraught. Did you think we were making for Winterfell, sweetling? Winterfell has been taken, burned, and sacked. All those you knew and loved are dead. What northmen who have not fallen to the ironmen are warring amongst themselves. Even the Wall is under attack. Winterfell was the home of your childhood, Sansa, but you are no longer a child. You’re a woman grown, and you need to make your own home.”
“但不是这里，”她惊惶地回答，“这里……”
“But not here,” she said, dismayed. “It looks so …”
“……又窄又小又难看？事实上，情况比你想象的更糟糕。五指半岛乃石头的乐土，岩崖的故乡。好啦，请放心，我们只待半月，你姨妈已在路上了，”他浅浅一笑，“我和莱莎夫人不日即将成婚。”
“… small and bleak and mean? It’s all that, and less. The Fingers are a lovely place, if you happen to be a stone. But have no fear, we shan’t stay more than a fortnight. I expect your aunt is already riding to meet us.” He smiled. “The Lady Lysa and I are to be wed.”
“成婚？”珊莎只觉头晕目眩，“你和我姨妈？”
“Wed?” Sansa was stunned. “You and my aunt?”
“赫伦堡公爵与鹰巢城夫人。”
“The Lord of Harrenhal and the Lady of the Eyrie.”
可你说我母亲是你的寄托和唯一。当然，母亲业已死去，就算她真的给过培提尔大人爱情与贞操，如今也是无足轻重了。
You said it was my mother you loved. But of course Lady Catelyn was dead, so even if she had loved Petyr secretly and given him her maidenhood, it made no matter now.
“没话说啦，小姐？”培提尔道，“总该给我点祝福吧。一个生来只配继承石头、岩崖和羊屎的男孩能娶上霍斯特·徒利的女儿和琼恩·艾林的遗孀，不值得赞许么？”
“So silent, my lady?” said Petyr. “I was certain you would wish to give me your blessing. It is a rare thing for a boy born heir to stones and sheep pellets to wed the daughter of Hoster Tully and the widow of Jon Arryn.”
“我……我祝您们举案齐眉，多福多寿，白头偕老，子孙满堂。”珊莎已有多年未和姨妈团聚。还好，她是我亲戚，为着母亲的缘故，想必会照顾我。她想起歌谣里美丽的艾林谷，宽慰自己暂避一时并非那么可怕。
“I … I pray you will have long years together, and many children, and be very happy in one another.” It had been years since Sansa last saw her mother’s sister. She will be kind to me for my mother’s sake, surely. She’s my own blood. And the Vale of Arryn was beautiful, all the songs said so. Perhaps it would not be so terrible to stay here for a time.
小舟放下，撑船的是罗索和老奥斯威尔。珊莎裹紧斗篷，蜷成一团，拉起兜帽遮挡寒风，不知前方等待着的是何种命运。仆人们走出塔楼，前来迎接，包括一名消瘦的老妪，一名肥胖的中年妇人，两名白发苍苍的男子，还有位一只眼睛长肿块的两三岁女孩。他们认出培提尔大人，纷纷在岩石间跪下，“这就是我的一家人，”小指头介绍，“不过我不认得那孩子，大概又是卡拉的杂种。她每年都要生出个崽子来。”
Lothor and old Oswell rowed them ashore. Sansa huddled in the bow under her cloak with the hood drawn up against the wind, wondering what awaited her. Servants emerged from the tower to meet them; a thin old woman and a fat middle-aged one, two ancient white-haired men, and a girl of two or three with a sty on one eye. When they recognized Lord Petyr they knelt on the rocks. “My household,” he said. “I don’t know the child. Another of Kella’s bastards, I suppose. She pops one out every few years.”
两位老人走到及腿深的水中，将珊莎抱出小舟，以免弄湿裙子。奥斯威尔、罗索和小指头三人则自行上岸。领主给了老妪一吻，又朝中年妇人微笑，“她爹是谁，卡拉？”
The two old men waded out up to their thighs to lift Sansa from the boat so she would not get her skirts wet. Oswell and Lothor splashed their way ashore, as did Littlefinger himself. He gave the old woman a kiss on the cheek and grinned at the younger one. “Who fathered this one, Kella?”
胖妇人哈哈大笑，“说不准呢，大人，我可来者不拒。”
The fat woman laughed. “I can’t rightly say, m’lord. I’m not one for telling them no.”
“好人儿，附近的小伙子真有福气。”
“And all the local lads are grateful, I am quite sure.”
“大人，欢迎您回家。”其中一位老人道。照面相看，他至少有八十岁，但还穿一身镶钉皮甲，腰挂长剑。“此次准备居住多久呢？”
“It is good to have you home, my lord,” said one old man. He looked to be at least eighty, but he wore a studded brigantine and a longsword at his side. “How long will you be in residence?”
“越短越好，拜兰，你别担心，我不会添麻烦。这地方能住吗？”
“As short a time as possible, Bryen, have no fear. Is the place habitable just now, would you say?”
“假如先知道您回来，我们定会铺上新草席，大人，”老妪道，“好在粪便不缺，生火没问题。”
“If we knew you was coming we would have laid down fresh rushes, m’lord,” said the crone. “There’s a dung fire burning.”
“粪便，啊，家园的味道，”培提尔转向珊莎，“吉赛尔从前是我奶妈，如今替我管理城堡，伍佛德则是我领地的总管，而拜兰呢——拜兰，我离开前封你做侍卫队长了，对吧？”
“Nothing says home like the smell of burning dung.” Petyr turned to Sansa. “Grisel was my wet nurse, but she keeps my castle now. Umfred’s my steward, and Bryen—didn’t I name you captain of the guard the last time I was here?”
“是的，大人。您说会带些精壮青年回来帮忙，却不守承诺，我只好领着我的狗到处巡逻。”
“You did, my lord. You said you’d be getting some more men too, but you never did. Me and the dogs stand all the watches.”
“你工作很负责任，对此我不得不表示感谢。刚才亲眼点过了，石头和羊屎半分不少，”他指指胖妇人，“卡拉照管着我的牧群。卡拉，现下我们有几只羊？”
“And very well, I’m sure. No one has made off with any of my rocks or sheep pellets, I see that plainly.” Petyr gestured toward the fat woman. “Kella minds my vast herds. How many sheep do I have at present, Kella?”
对方考虑了一会儿，“二十三只，大人。前不久有二十九只，可拜兰的狗吃了一只，我们又宰了几只，将肉腌制好过冬。”
She had to think a moment. “Three and twenty, m’lord. There was nine and twenty, but Bryen’s dogs killed one and we butchered some others and salted down the meat.”
“啊，冰冷的腌羊肉，纯正家乡口味！我明天的早餐，多半得就着海鸥蛋和海草汤吃它！”
“Ah, cold salt mutton. I must be home. When I break my fast on gulls’ eggs and seaweed soup, I’ll be certain of it.”
“希望您满意，大人。”老妪吉赛尔说。
“If you like, m’lord,” said the old woman Grisel.
培提尔公爵扮个鬼脸，“来吧，瞧瞧我的厅堂是否还有记忆中的阴暗。”他当先领大家穿越海岸，踏过海草缠绕的滑溜岩石。荒塔底，几只羊漫无目的地游荡，不时咀嚼羊圈间和茅屋顶的那点薄草。珊莎走得很小心，因为到处都是屎。
Lord Petyr made a face. “Come, let’s see if my hall is as dreary as I recall.” He led them up the strand over rocks slick with rotting seaweed. A handful of sheep were wandering about the base of the flint tower, grazing on the thin grass that grew between the sheepfold and thatched stable. Sansa had to step carefully; there were pellets everywhere.
塔楼内部窄得吓人。墙面上有一道蜿蜒敞开的螺旋梯，从地下室直通塔顶，每层楼只有一个房间。仆人们吃住都在底楼厨房，与一只巨大的斑纹獒犬和六七只牧羊犬同居。二楼是一个小厅，三楼则为卧室。厅内没有窗户，好歹楼梯间隔中开了些箭孔。壁炉顶挂着一把破损的长剑和一张击扁的橡木盾牌，其上装饰几不可辨。
Within, the tower seemed even smaller. An open stone stair wound round the inside wall, from undercroft to roof. Each floor was but a single room. The servants lived and slept in the kitchen at ground level, sharing the space with a huge brindled mastiff and a half-dozen sheep-dogs. Above that was a modest hall, and higher still the bedchamber. There were no windows, but arrowslits were embedded in the outer wall at intervals along the curve of the stair. Above the hearth hung a broken longsword and a battered oaken shield, its paint cracked and flaking.
珊莎根本不认得这个纹章：嫩绿底色上一只有凶猛眼睛的灰石脑袋。“这是我祖父的盾牌，”培提尔跟她解释，“他的父亲则是布拉佛斯佣兵。他到谷地为科布瑞大人效力，受封骑士后，选了布拉佛斯泰坦巨人的头作为纹章。”
The device painted on the shield was one Sansa did not know; a grey stone head with fiery eyes, upon a light green field. “My grandfather’s shield,” Petyr explained when he saw her gazing at it. “His own father was born in Braavos and came to the Vale as a sellsword in the hire of Lord Corbray, so my grandfather took the head of the Titan as his sigil when he was knighted.”
“看起来真威猛。”珊莎道。
“It’s very fierce,” said Sansa.
“是啊，很威猛，可惜我这后人孱弱得要命，”培提尔说，“只好挑了仿声鸟。”
“Rather too fierce, for an amiable fellow like me,” said Petyr. “I much prefer my mockingbird.”
闲话期间，奥斯威尔又往返人鱼王号两次，卸下补给，其中包括多桶葡萄酒。培提尔依约为珊莎满上一杯，“来，小姐，喝了提神。”
Oswell made two more trips out to the Merling King to offload provisions. Among the loads he brought ashore were several casks of wine. Petyr poured Sansa a cup, as promised. “Here, my lady, that should help your tummy, I would hope.”
脚踏地面，珊莎感觉好多了，但她还是乖乖地双手举杯，吮了一口。酒是好酒，青亭岛佳酿，带着橡木、水果和盛夏的味道，在口中绽放，好似艳阳下的花朵。她不禁暗暗祈祷自己别要迷醉，培提尔如此热心肠，可不能在他面前失态。
Having solid ground beneath her feet had helped already, but Sansa dutifully lifted the goblet with both hands and took a sip. The wine was very fine; an Arbor vintage, she thought. It tasted of oak and fruit and hot summer nights, the flavors blossoming in her mouth like flowers opening to the sun. She only prayed that she could keep it down. Lord Petyr was being so kind, she did not want to spoil it all by retching on him.
他边喝酒边审视她，明亮的灰绿眼睛里满是……兴致？到底是什么？珊莎不确定。“吉赛尔，”他召唤老妪，“送点吃的上来。口味别太重，小姐她不舒服。或许水果就行，奥斯威尔带了一些橙子和石榴。”
He was studying her over his own goblet, his bright grey-green eyes full of … was it amusement? Or something else? Sansa was not certain. “Grisel,” he called to the old woman, “bring some food up. Nothing too heavy, my lady has a tender tummy. Some fruit might serve, perhaps. Oswell’s brought some oranges and pomegranates from the King.”
“是，大人。”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“我可以洗个热水澡吗？”珊莎问。
“Might I have a hot bath as well?” asked Sansa.
“我这就安排卡拉去取水，小姐。”
“I’ll have Kella draw some water, m’lady.”
于是她又吮一口酒，努力思考该说点什么得体话儿。培提尔大人省了她的烦恼，吉赛尔等仆人离开后，他便开口道，“莱莎不日即至，且并非单独一人，在她抵达之前，我们必须澄清你的身份问题。”
Sansa took another sip of wine and tried to think of some polite conversation, but Lord Petyr saved her the effort. When Grisel and the other servants had gone, he said, “Lysa will not come alone. Before she arrives, we must be clear on who you are.”
“我……我不明白。”
“Who I … I don’t understand.”
“瓦里斯到处都有眼线。假如珊莎·史塔克出现在谷地，不出半月就会教他知道，这将造成许多不必要的……麻烦。安全起见，你不能再冠史塔克的姓，我们得告诉莱莎的随从你是我的庶出女儿。”
“Varys has informers everywhere. If Sansa Stark should be seen in the Vale, the eunuch will know within a moon’s turn, and that would create unfortunate … complications. It is not safe to be a Stark just now. So we shall tell Lysa’s people that you are my natural daughter.”
“庶出？”珊莎吓呆了，“您的意思是……让我当私生女？”
“Natural?” Sansa was aghast. “You mean, a bastard?”
“是啊，总不能说你是我的亲生女吧，大家都知道我没结过婚。你叫什么名字？”
“Well, you can scarcely be my trueborn daughter. I’ve never taken a wife, that’s well known. What should you be called?”
“我……我可以用母亲的名……”
“I … I could call myself after my mother …”
“凯特琳？太明显……不过倒可用我母亲的名——阿莲。你意下如何？”
“Catelyn? A bit too obvious … but after my mother, that would serve. Alayne. Do you like it?”
“阿莲是个好名字，”珊莎暗暗希望自己别要忘记才好，“可……可我就不能当您手下某位骑士的亲生女吗？他在战斗中英勇献身，因此……”
“Alayne is pretty.” Sansa hoped she would remember. “But couldn’t I be the trueborn daughter of some knight in your service? Perhaps he died gallantly in the battle, and …”
“我手下没有英勇骑士，阿莲。这个故事讲出去，别人就会跟乌鸦寻觅腐尸一样围拢探听。相反，查问私生子女却极不礼貌，”他抬起头，“告诉我，你叫什么名字？”
“I have no gallant knights in my service, Alayne. Such a tale would draw unwanted questions as a corpse draws crows. It is rude to pry into the origins of a man’s natural children, however.” He cocked his head. “So, who are you?”
“阿莲……石东，是这样么？”见他点头，珊莎续道，“那我母亲是谁？”
“Alayne … Stone, would it be?” When he nodded, she said, “But who is my mother?”
“卡拉？”
“Kella?”
“别，求求您。”她苦恼地哀告。
“Please no,” she said, mortified.
“我开玩笑呢，亲爱的。你母亲是布拉佛斯一位好人家的女儿，你外祖父则是商界巨贾。当年我在海鸥镇管理海关，与她有过一段姻缘，后来她于外地生你时因难产而死，新生儿便托付给了教会——楼上有数本祷告书，这几天用心背些格言，到时候逢人就来几句虔诚祝语，自然没人有兴趣多问了——当你有了月事以后，并不愿成为修女，因此给我写信。这是我第一次知道你的存在，”他捻捻胡须，“记全了吗？”
“I was teasing. Your mother was a gentlewoman of Braavos, daughter of a merchant prince. We met in Gulltown when I had charge of the port. She died giving you birth, and entrusted you to the Faith. I have some devotional books you can look over. Learn to quote from them. Nothing discourages unwanted questions as much as a flow of pious bleating. In any case, at your flowering you decided you did not wish to be a septa and wrote to me. That was the first I knew of your existence.” He fingered his beard. “Do you think you can remember all that?”
“应该行吧。这好像玩游戏……扮家家？”
“I hope. It will be like playing a game, won’t it?”
“没错，你喜欢玩游戏吗，阿莲？”
“Are you fond of games, Alayne?”
她还不习惯自己的新名字，“游戏？那……那得看什么游……”
The new name would take some getting used to. “Games? I … I suppose it would depend …”
他不及回答，吉赛尔就托着一个大盘子进来，放在他俩之间。盘里有许多苹果、梨子和石榴，几串干瘪的葡萄，一个大血橙，此外还有一轮面包和一坛黄油。培提尔用匕首将石榴剖成两半，示意珊莎拿一半，“吃点压惊，小姐。”
Grisel reappeared before he could say more, balancing a large platter. She set it down between them. There were apples and pears and pomegranates, some sad-looking grapes, a huge blood orange. The old woman had brought a round of bread as well, and a crock of butter. Petyr cut a pomegranate in two with his dagger, offering half to Sansa. “You should try and eat, my lady.”
“谢谢您，大人，”石榴子太小，她换成梨子，浅细精致地咬上七一口。这梨已经熟透，果汁沿着下巴流淌。
“Thank you, my lord.” Pomegranate seeds were so messy; Sansa chose a pear instead, and took a small delicate bite. It was very ripe. The juice ran down her chin.
培提尔大人用匕首挑出石榴子，“我明白，你很思念自己的亲爹，艾德大人人好，又勇敢、又诚实、又忠心……可在这场游戏里面，却是个无可救药的玩家。”他把挑着果实的匕首尖送到嘴边，“君临城内，只有两种人。要么当玩家，要么做棋子。”
Lord Petyr loosened a seed with the point of his dagger. “You must miss your father terribly, I know. Lord Eddard was a brave man, honest and loyal … but quite a hopeless player.” He brought the seed to his mouth with the knife. “In King’s Landing, there are two sorts of people. The players and the pieces.”
“而我就是一个棋子？”她很害怕答案。
“And I was a piece?” She dreaded the answer.
“没错，但你无须担忧，因为你还小。每个人都是从棋子开始做起的，男人女人都一样。有些人自以为是玩家，其实……”他咀嚼着果实，“最明显的例子是瑟曦。自以为聪明绝顶，机关算尽，其实走的每一步都不难预料。她的权力根基于她的美貌、家世和财富，实际上，除了第一点，后两者都是虚幻，而没有人能永葆青春。她渴望权力，当真正掌握了权力，却不知该如何运用。阿莲，每个人都有渴望，了解他们的渴望，就能了解对方，然后就可以操纵他。”
“Yes, but don’t let that trouble you. You’re still half a child. Every man’s a piece to start with, and every maid as well. Even some who think they are players.” He ate another seed. “Cersei, for one. She thinks herself sly, but in truth she is utterly predictable. Her strength rests on her beauty, birth, and riches. Only the first of those is truly her own, and it will soon desert her. I pity her then. She wants power, but has no notion what to do with it when she gets it. Everyone wants something, Alayne. And when you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.”
“所以你可以操纵唐托斯爵士去毒死乔佛里？”她认定这事是唐托斯干的。
“As you moved Ser Dontos to poison Joffrey?” It had to have been Dontos, she had concluded.
小指头哈哈大笑，“红骑士唐托斯爵士不过是会走路的酒袋而已，我可不敢将重担托付给他，瞧他那德行，要么搞砸，要么出卖秘密。不，唐托斯只负责将你送出城堡……以及确保你在宴会上戴着银丝发网。”
Littlefinger laughed. “Ser Dontos the Red was a skin of wine with legs. He could never have been trusted with a task of such enormity. He would have bungled it or betrayed me. No, all Dontos had to do was lead you from the castle … and make certain you wore your silver hair net.”
黑紫晶。“如果……如果不是唐托斯，那又会是谁呢？您还有其他……棋子？”
The black amethysts. “But … if not Dontos, who? Do you have other … pieces?”
“翻遍君临，你也找不到一个人胸前缝有仿声鸟纹章，可这并不意味着我培提尔在城中没有朋友，”他走到楼梯口，“上来，奥斯威尔，珊莎小姐要见你。”
“You could turn King’s Landing upside down and not find a single man with a mockingbird sewn over his heart, but that does not mean I am friendless.” Petyr went to the steps. “Oswell, come up here and let the Lady Sansa have a look at you.”
老人片刻之后登上二楼，笑嘻嘻地鞠了个躬。珊莎茫然地打量他，“这是什么意思？”
The old man appeared a few moments later, grinning and bowing. Sansa eyed him uncertainly. “What am I supposed to see?”
“你不认得他？”培提尔问。
“Do you know him?” asked Petyr.
“不认得。”
“No.”
“仔细看清楚。”
“Look closer.”
老人的面颊历经风霜，大鹰钩鼻，白头发，一双肌肉纠结的巨手。是有几分面熟，但她就是说不上来，“真的不认得。可以肯定，我上船以前没见过这位奥斯威尔大爷。”
She studied the old man’s lined windburnt face, hook nose, white hair, and huge knuckly hands. There was something familiar about him, yet Sansa had to shake her head. “I don’t. I never saw Oswell before I got into his boat, I’m certain.”
奥斯威尔咧嘴一笑，露出满嘴弯曲牙齿，“此话不假，但我那三个儿子，小姐您可是认得的。”
Oswell grinned, showing a mouth of crooked teeth. “No, but m’lady might of met my three sons.”
三个儿子……还有他的笑……“凯特布莱克！”珊莎瞪圆了眼睛，“你是个凯特布莱克！”
It was the “three sons,” and that smile too. “Kettleblack!” Sansa’s eyes went wide. “You’re a Kettleblack!”
“是的，小姐，您说得没错。”
“Aye, m’lady, as it please you.”
“瞧瞧，小姐因为回忆而喜悦着呢。”培提尔大人挥手驱走下人，继续吃石榴。“你来说说，阿莲——什么东西更危险，是手舞大刀长矛的敌人，还是神不知鬼不觉隐藏在背后的匕首？”
“She’s beside herself with joy.” Lord Petyr dismissed him with a wave, and returned to the pomegranate again as Oswell shuffled down the steps. “Tell me, Alayne—which is more dangerous, the dagger brandished by an enemy, or the hidden one pressed to your back by someone you never even see?”
“匕首。”
“The hidden dagger.”
“聪明的孩子，”他微笑赞扬，石榴子里流出的鲜红汁水，淌下细嘴唇，“当初太后的卫队被小恶魔支开后，她忙着要蓝赛尔爵士去为她招募人手。蓝赛尔找到凯特布莱克，你的小丈夫很开心，因为他早已通过波隆付钱给他们三位，”小指头咯咯发笑，“可是呢，他们三个之所以会被奥斯威尔派去君临，完全是因为我得知了波隆正四处收买佣兵的消息。你瞧，阿莲，这就是三把隐藏的匕首，完美之极。”
“There’s a clever girl.” He smiled, his thin lips bright red from the pomegranate seeds. “When the Imp sent off her guards, the queen had Ser Lancel hire sellswords for her. Lancel found her the Kettleblacks, which delighted your little lord husband, since the lads were in his pay through his man Bronn.” He chuckled. “But it was me who told Oswell to get his sons to King’s Landing when I learned that Bronn was looking for swords. Three hidden daggers, Alayne, now perfectly placed.”
“所以是凯特布莱克中的一位往小乔杯里下的毒？”记得奥斯蒙爵士整晚都在国王身边。
“So one of the Kettleblacks put the poison in Joff’s cup?” Ser Osmund had been near the king all night, she remembered.
“我可没这么说，”培提尔用匕首将血橙切为两半，并将一半递给珊莎，“这三个小伙子反复无常，怎能参与此等密谋？……尤其是奥斯蒙，加入了御林铁卫，白袍多少会改变一个人的心智，连他那样的无赖也难保不受影响。”他张开嘴巴，用手将血橙一挤，果汁便没有溅出来。“我喜欢果汁，但讨厌它们粘上手指，”他一边抱怨，一边揩手，“把手擦干净，珊莎，无论做什么，记得把手擦干净。”
“Did I say that?” Lord Petyr cut the blood orange in two with his dagger and offered half to Sansa. “The lads are far too treacherous to be part of any such scheme … and Osmund has become especially unreliable since he joined the Kingsguard. That white cloak does things to a man, I find. Even a man like him.” He tilted his chin back and squeezed the blood orange, so the juice ran down into his mouth. “I love the juice but I loathe the sticky fingers,” he complained, wiping his hands. “Clean hands, Sansa. Whatever you do, make certain your hands are clean.”
珊莎优雅地用匙子挖果肉吃，“如果既不是凯特布莱克，也不是唐托斯爵士，您……您自己不在城中，又不是提利昂……”
Sansa spooned up some juice from her own orange. “But if it wasn’t the Kettleblacks and it wasn’t Ser Dontos … you weren’t even in the city, and it couldn’t have been Tyrion …”
“猜不出来啦，亲爱的？”
“No more guesses, sweetling?”
她摇摇头，“我……”
She shook her head. “I don’t …”
培提尔微笑，“我敢肯定，那天早些时候有人感叹你乱了头发，好心地为你整理发网。”
Petyr smiled. “I will wager you that at some point during the evening someone told you that your hair net was crooked and straightened it for you.”
珊莎惊得以手掩嘴，“您是说……可她要带我去高庭，让我嫁给她……”
Sansa raised a hand to her mouth. “You cannot mean … she wanted to take me to Highgarden, to marry me to her grandson …”
“……温和、虔诚、好心肠的孙子维拉斯·提利尔。幸亏你没和他结婚，否则定然无聊至死。不过这老太婆倒泼辣得紧，连我也不得不甘拜下风。她是个可怕的泼妇，外表虚弱不过是装装样子。当初我去高庭联络玛格丽的婚事，她一面安排自己的公爵儿子来吓唬我，一面私下旁敲侧击乔佛里的情况。当然啰，我在那边大吹法螺，把小乔捧上了天……然而我的部下却在提利尔公爵的下人中间散播一些令人困扰的谣言。这场游戏就这样开始了。”
“Gentle, pious, good-hearted Willas Tyrell. Be grateful you were spared, he would have bored you spitless. The old woman is not boring, though, I’ll grant her that. A fearsome old harridan, and not near as frail as she pretends. When I came to Highgarden to dicker for Margaery’s hand, she let her lord son bluster while she asked pointed questions about Joffrey’s nature. I praised him to the skies, to be sure … whilst my men spread disturbing tales amongst Lord Tyrell’s servants. That is how the game is played.
“让洛拉斯爵士穿上白袍出自我的计谋。很明显，我不会笨到直接建议，我先要手下在席间肆意宣扬某些毛骨悚然的故事，比如暴民们如何杀害普列斯顿·格林菲尔爵士，如何强暴洛丽丝小姐等等，然后呢，高庭圈养的歌手那么多，给点银子，他们很乐意把莱安·雷德温、‘镜盾’萨文和龙骑士伊蒙王子颂扬一番。时机恰当的话，竖琴比宝剑更管用。”
“I also planted the notion of Ser Loras taking the white. Not that I suggested it, that would have been too crude. But men in my party supplied grisly tales about how the mob had killed Ser Preston Greenfield and raped the Lady Lollys, and slipped a few silvers to Lord Tyrell’s army of singers to sing of Ryam Redwyne, Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. A harp can be as dangerous as a sword, in the right hands.
“于是乎梅斯·提利尔头脑发热，以为自己想出个高招儿，坚持要在婚约条款中加上洛拉斯爵士参加御林铁卫这一条。用光鲜英勇的骑士儿子来保护宝贝女儿，不是最合适之道么？再说，这还一并省却不少麻烦，洛拉斯只是三子，将来需要领地和新娘，而他这个人……呵呵，要找对象可不容易。”
“Mace Tyrell actually thought it was his own idea to make Ser Loras’s inclusion in the Kingsguard part of the marriage contract. Who better to protect his daughter than her splendid knightly brother? And it relieved him of the difficult task of trying to find lands and a bride for a third son, never easy, and doubly difficult in Ser Loras’s case.
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