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The big wench rose to her feet.
大個子妞兒站了起來。
“I serve Lady Stark.”
“我所做的一切，全是為史塔克夫人效命。”
“And I the King in the North.
“我的主君是北境之王——
Or the King Who Lost the North, as some now call him.
或者像某些人說的那樣，‘失去北境之王’。
Who never wished to trade Ser Jaime back to the Lannisters.”
陛下不希望把詹姆爵士送回給蘭尼斯特家。”
“Sit down and eat, Brienne,”
“坐下來好好吃，布蕾妮，”
Jaime urged, as Elmar placed a slice of roast before him, dark and bloody.
詹姆勸道。艾爾瑪在他的餐盤里放下一片烤肉。焦黑多血。
“If Bolton meant to kill us, he wouldn’t be wasting his precious prunes on us, at such peril to his bowels.”
“波頓大人想殺我們，就不會浪費寶貝的李子脯啦，不如留著補自個兒腸胃。”
He stared at the meat and realized there was no way to cut it, one-handed.
他瞪著烤肉，終于承認自己無法單手進食。
I am worth less than a girl now, he thought.
如今的我，甚至值不了一個女孩，他盤算，
The goat’s evened the trade, though I doubt Lady Catelyn will thank him when Cersei returns her whelps in like condition.
外加山羊才能完成交易。而那女孩回去的方式，凱特琳夫人是肯定不會喜歡的。
The thought made him grimace.
想到這，他做個鬼臉。
I will get the blame for that as well, I’ll wager.
不用說，到頭來一切都會怪到我頭上。
Roose Bolton cut his meat methodically, the blood running across his plate.
盧斯·波頓有條不紊地切肉，鮮血流下餐盤。
“Lady Brienne, will you sit if I tell you that I hope to send Ser Jaime on, just as you and Lady Stark desire?”
“布蕾妮小姐，如果我告訴您，我愿意放詹姆爵士上路，愿意達成您和史塔克夫人的心愿，您可會坐下來好好吃？”
“I … you’d send us on?”
“我……您愿意放我們走？”
The wench sounded wary, but she sat.
妞兒警戒地說，但她坐了下來。
“That is good, my lord.”
“謝謝您，大人。”
“It is.
“沒關系。
However, Lord Vargo has created me one small … difficulty.”
其實問題在于，瓦格大人給我帶來了一點……小麻煩。”
He turned his pale eyes on Jaime.
他將淡色的眼睛轉向詹姆。
“Do you know why Hoat cut off your hand?”
“你知道山羊為何砍你的手？”
“He enjoys cutting off hands.”
“他喜歡讓人斷手。”
The linen that covered Jaime’s stump was spotted with blood and wine.
斷肢上的亞麻布為血和酒所浸染，
“He enjoys cutting off feet as well.
“他也喜歡讓人缺腳。”
He doesn’t seem to need a reason.”
“無需什么理由。”
“Nonetheless, he had one.
“不，他有目的。
Hoat is more cunning than he appears.
山羊比看上去機靈得多。
No man commands a company such as the Brave Companions for long unless he has some wits about him.”
長期統率勇士團那樣的隊伍，需要的是腦子。”
Bolton stabbed a chunk of meat with the point of his dagger, put it in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, swallowed.
波頓用匕首叉起一大片肉，送到嘴里，仔細咀嚼，然后吞下。
“Lord Vargo abandoned House Lannister because I offered him Harrenhal,
“我以赫倫堡作賄賂，瓦格大人方才背叛蘭尼斯特家，
a reward a thousand times greater than any he could hope to have from Lord Tywin.
因為他知道，這高出你父親能開出的任何價碼一千倍之多。
As a stranger to Westeros, he did not know the prize was poisoned.”
但反過來，身為異鄉人，他不明白這份獎品是有毒的。”
“The curse of Harren the Black?” mocked Jaime.
“黑心赫倫的詛咒？”詹姆笑道。
“The curse of Tywin Lannister.”
“泰溫·蘭尼斯特的詛咒。”
Bolton held out his goblet and Elmar refilled it silently.
波頓伸出酒杯，艾爾瑪連忙斟滿。
“Our goat should have consulted the Tarbecks or the Reynes.
“我的山羊不認識塔貝克家或雷耶斯家的人，
They might have warned him how your lord father deals with betrayal.”
不知道你父親大人對付叛徒的手段。”
“There are no Tarbecks or Reynes,” said Jaime.
“早就沒有塔貝克家或雷耶斯家的人了。”詹姆道。
“My point precisely.
“這點我相信。
Lord Vargo doubtless hoped that Lord Stannis would triumph at King’s Landing,
瓦格大人顯然一門心思寄望史坦尼斯在君臨高奏凱歌，
and thence confirm him in his possession of this castle in gratitude for his small part in the downfall of House Lannister.”
接著為他反抗蘭尼斯特出了一份綿薄之力的緣故，正式承認他的封地。”
He gave a dry chuckle.
他干笑一聲。
“He knows little of Stannis Baratheon either, I fear.
“不錯，只怕他也不了解史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩。
That one might have given him Harrenhal for his service …
那家伙或許會給他赫倫堡……
but he would have given him a noose for his crimes as well.”
同時也會給他一條繩子。”
“A noose is kinder than what he’ll get from my father.”
“一條繩子與我父親將要他付出的代價相比，太輕。”詹姆道。
“By now he has come to the same realization.
“這點他和你達成共識。
With Stannis broken and Renly dead, only a Stark victory can save him from Lord Tywin’s vengeance,
眼下史坦尼斯大敗，藍禮喪命，只有史塔克家能保他免遭泰溫大人的報復，
but the chances of that grow perishingly slim.”
可惜連這個機會也越來越渺茫。”
“King Robb has won every battle,”
“羅柏國王戰無不勝。”
Brienne said stoutly, as stubbornly loyal of speech as she was of deed.
布蕾妮堅決地說，一如既往地頑固。
“Won every battle, while losing the Freys, the Karstarks, Winterfell, and the north.
“是啊，戰無不勝，卻接連丟掉佛雷家族、卡史塔克家族、臨冬城與整個北境。
A pity the wolf is so young.
遺憾哪，少狼主只有十六歲，
Boys of sixteen always believe they are immortal and invincible.
他這個年紀的孩子總以為自己強大而不朽。
An older man would bend the knee, I’d think.
就我看來，老成的做法是找機會屈膝。
After a war there is always a peace, and with peace there are pardons … for the Robb Starks, at least.
戰爭的結局總歸是和平，和平的前提是寬恕……至少，羅柏·史塔克能保住爵祿，
Not for the likes of Vargo Hoat.”
瓦格·赫特這樣的人就難了。”
Bolton gave him a small smile.
波頓給他一個極輕微的笑。
“Both sides have made use of him, but neither will shed a tear at his passing.
“兩邊都在利用他，但兩邊都不會為他的下場流一滴眼淚。
The Brave Companions did not fight in the Battle of the Blackwater, yet they died there all the same.”
勇士團沒有參加黑水河之戰，但他們的死刑已在那里判決。”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t mourn?”
“你能原諒我的喜形于色吧。”
“You have no pity for our wretched doomed goat?
“呵，你就不為我那可憐的、遭天譴的山羊感到一點遺憾么？
Ah, but the gods must … else why deliver you into his hands?”
噢，可諸神終究是……不然又為何把‘你’交到他手里？”
Bolton chewed another chunk of meat.
波頓咀嚼起另一片肉。
“Karhold is smaller and meaner than Harrenhal, but it lies well beyond the reach of the lion’s claws.
“卡霍城無論從面積或影響上論，都遠不及赫倫堡，好在位于獅爪可觸及的范圍之外。
