《能言馬與男孩》第37期:阿拉維斯在塔什班城(3)

The bearers had stopped and the litter was being lowered. When the curtains had been drawn Aravis found that she was in a courtyard-garden very like the one that Shasta had been taken into a few minutes earlier in another part of the city. Lasaraleen would have gone indoors at once but Aravis reminded her in a frantic whisper to say something to the slaves about not telling anyone of their mistress's strange visitor.

"Sorry, darling, it had gone right out of my head," said Lasareleen. "Here. All of you. And you, doorkeeper. No one is to be let out of the house today. And anyone I catch talking about this young lady will be first beaten to death and then burned alive and after that be kept on bread and water for six weeks. There."

Although Lasaraleen had said she was dying to hear Aravis's story, she showed no sign of really wanting to hear it at all. She was, in fact, much better at talking than at listening. She insisted on Aravis having a long and luxurious bath (Calormene baths are famous) and then dressing her up in the finest clothes before she would let her explain anything. The fuss she made about choosing the dresses nearly drove Aravis mad. She remembered now that Lasaraleen had always been like that, interested in clothes and parties and gossip. Aravis had always been more interested in bows and arrows and horses and dogs and swimming. You will guess that each thought the other silly. But when at last they were both seated after a meal (it was chiefly of the whipped cream and jelly and fruit and ice sort) in a beautiful pillared room (which Aravis would have liked better if Lasaraleen's spoiled pet monkey hadn't been climbing about it all the time) Lasaraleen at last asked her why she was running away from home.

When Aravis had finished telling her story, Lasaraleen said, "But, darling, why don't you marry Ahoshta Tarkaan? Everyone's crazy about him. My husband says he is beginning to be one of the greatest men in Calormen. He has just been made Grand Vizier now old Axartha has died. Didn't you know?"

"I don't care. I can't stand the sight of him," said Aravis.

"But, darling, only think! Three palaces, and one of them that beautiful one down on the lake at Ilkeen. Positively ropes of pearls, I'm told. Baths of asses' milk. And you'd see such a lot of me."

"He can keep his pearls and palaces as far as I'm concerned," said Aravis.

"You always were a queer girl, Aravis," said Lasaraleen. "What more do you want?"

In the end, however, Aravis managed to make her friend believe that she was in earnest and even to discuss plans. There would be no difficulty now about getting the two horses out of the North gate and then on to the Tombs. No one would stop or question a groom in fine clothes leading a war horse and a lady's saddle horse down to the river, and Lasaraleen had plenty of grooms to send. It wasn't so easy to decide what to do about Aravis herself. She suggested that she could be carried out in the litter with the curtains drawn. But Lasaraleen told her that litters were only used in the city and the sight of one going out through the gate would be certain to lead to questions.

轎伕停下步來，放下轎子。轎簾拉開時，阿拉維斯發現自己已在一個庭院裏了，就跟幾分鐘前在城市的另一個地方沙斯塔被帶進去的那個院子差不多。拉斯阿拉莉恩本來立刻就要走進門去，但阿拉維斯用瘋瘋癲癲的低語提醒她要對奴隸們囑咐幾句，別跟任何人提起女主人的怪客。

“對不起，寶貝兒，我完全忘記了。”拉斯阿拉莉恩說道，”聽着，你們大家，還有你，門房。不論誰講起這位年輕女士，如果被我逮住了，首先就要打得半死不活，其次就要活活焚燒，然後是接連六個星期不給麪包吃，不給水喝。就這樣。”

雖然拉斯阿拉莉恩說過，她很想聽阿拉維斯的不幸故事，卻壓根兒沒有表露出確實想聽的跡象。事實上，聽和說相比，她說起來要勝任愉快得多。她堅持要阿拉維斯洗個漫長而奢侈的澡(卡樂門的洗澡是世界聞名的)，用最好的衣服把她打扮起來，然後才容許她解釋點兒什麼事情。在選擇衣服上的小題大做，幾乎把阿拉維斯搞得惱火了。這時她記起來了，拉斯阿拉莉恩始終是這個樣子的：對衣着打扮、社交聚會和閒談聊天感興趣。阿拉維斯始終對弓、箭、犬、馬和游泳更感興趣。但當她們吃過飯(主要是摜油、果子凍、冰水果之類)，兩個人一起坐在美麗的圓柱房間裏(如果被拉斯阿拉莉恩寵壞了的猴子不是始終在爬來爬去，阿拉維斯會更加喜歡這房間的)，拉斯阿拉莉恩終於問她爲什麼從家裏逃出來了。

向拉維斯講完她的故事，拉斯阿拉莉恩說道”可是，寶貝兒，你幹嗎不嫁給泰坎阿霍什塔呢?誰都在爲他發瘋着迷哩。我的丈夫說，他將成爲卡樂門最偉大的人物。如今老阿克薩沙死了，他剛剛榮升首相，你知道嗎?”

“我可不在乎。我看到他就受不了。”阿拉維斯說道。

“可是，寶貝兒，你倒考慮考慮！三個府邸，其中一個美麗極了，就在伊爾基茵的湖濱。我聽人家說，確實是珍珠大串大串的。用驢乳洗澡。而且你可以經常遇見我。”

“他不妨留着他的珍珠和府邸吧，這些東西跟我可不相干。”阿拉維斯說。

“阿拉維斯，你始終是個古怪的姑娘，”拉斯阿拉莉恩說道，”你還要求什麼東西呢?”

可是，說到後來，阿拉維斯還是設法使她的朋友相信她是認真的，甚至討論起計劃來了。現在兩匹馬兒要出北城城門趕到墳場去，是不會有什麼困難的了。沒有人會阻擋或盤問一個衣服華麗的侍從帶着一匹戰馬和一位女士的坐騎到河濱去的，拉斯阿拉莉恩家有許多侍從可以隨意差遣。不容易決定的事情是阿拉維斯本人該怎麼辦。她提議她可以坐在轎子裏，拉下轎簾，讓人擡出城去。但拉斯阿拉莉恩告訴她，轎子只在城裏使用，看到一頂轎子出城門而去，一定會引起人們的疑問。