《能言馬與男孩》第44期:在蒂斯羅克的密室裏(4)

"And how if the Splendour Hyaline is at Cair Paravel before you?"
"I do not look for that with these winds, O my father."
"And lastly, O my resourceful son," said the Tisroc, "you have made clear how all this might give you the barbarian woman, but not how it helps me to the over-throwing of Narnia."
"O my father, can it have escaped you that though I and my horsemen will come and go through Narnia like an arrow from a bow, yet we shall have Anvard for ever? And when you hold Anvard you sit in the very gate of Narnia, and your garrison in Anvard can be increased by little and little till it is a great host."
"It is spoken with understanding and foresight. But how do I draw back my arm if all this miscarries?"
"You shall say that I, did it without your knowledge and against your will, and without your blessing, being constrained by the violence of my love and the impetuosity of youth."
"And how if the High King then demands that we send back the barbarian woman, his sister?"
"O my father, be assured that he will not. For though the fancy of a woman has rejected this marriage, the High King Peter is a man of prudence and understanding who will in no way wish to lose the high honour and advantage of being allied to our House and seeing his nephew and grand nephew on the throne of Calormen."
"He will not see that if I live for ever as is no doubt your wish," said the Tisroc in an even drier voice than usual.
"And also, O my father and O the delight of my eyes," said the Prince, after a moment of awkward silence, "we shall write letters as if from the Queen to say that she loves me and has no desire to return to Narnia. For it is well known that women are as changeable as weathercocks. And even if they do not wholly believe the letters, they will not dare to come to Tashbaan in arms to fetch her."
"O enlightened Vizier," said the Tisroc, "bestow your wisdom upon us concerning this strange proposal."

“如果'燦爛晶瑩'號比你先到達凱爾帕拉維爾，那又怎麼辦呢?”
“父親啊，按照風的情況，我看這船早到不了。”
“我的足智多謀的兒子啊，最後一個問題是，”蒂斯羅克說”你已經講清楚了，這一切行動將如何給你搞到那個女人，可如何幫助我戰勝納尼亞王國，你並沒有講清楚啊。
“我的父親啊，這可逃不過你的眼睛:儘管我和我的入馬，像一支從弓上射出的箭，在納尼亞境內飛速來去，然而我們將永遠佔領安瓦德。佔領了安瓦德，你就是穩坐在納尼亞的大門口了，你的守衛部隊可以逐漸增加，形成巨大的優勢。”
“說得很有眼光和見地。然而，如果這一切都失算和失敗了，我怎樣縮回我那伸出去的手臂呢?”
“你可以說是我擅自乾的，你毫不知情，也違背了你的心願，並沒有得到你的批准，是強烈的愛情和年少氣盛把我逼到這個地步的。”
“如果至尊王那時要求我們把那個外邦女人，他的摘親妹妹送回去，又怎麼辦呢?”
“我的父親啊，管保他不會提這種要求的。雖然女人的幻想曾拒絕這樁婚姻，但至尊王彼得是個謹慎而又明白事理的人，他是無論如何不肯喪失同我們這種王室聯姻的光榮和利益的，他還要看到他的外甥和外孫坐上卡樂門的王位哩。”
“如果我真的萬壽無疆(正如你毫無疑問地願望的那樣)，他就看不到這種局面了。”蒂斯羅克用一種甚至比平常還要乾巴巴的語調說道。
“我的父親，我眼中的喜悅，還有，”經過了片刻尷尬的沉默以後，王子說道，”我們要寫信去彷彿是女王說她愛我，不想回納尼亞了。因爲，大家都知道的，女人善變，像風信雞隨風變換方向一樣。哪怕他們並不完全相信這些信件，他們也不敢武裝來到塔什班城，奪她回去。”
“開明多智的首相啊，”蒂斯羅克說道，”對於這個新奇的建議，請發表高見指教吧。”