3-57

57.

We arranged a second summit with Willy and Kate.

This time on our turf.

December 10, 2018. Early evening.

We all gathered in our little front annex¹, and this time there was no small talk: Kate got things

rolling straightaway by acknowledging that these stories in the papers about Meg making her cry

were totally false. I know, Meghan, that I was the one who made you cry.

I sighed. Excellent start, I thought.

Meg appreciated the apology, but wanted to know why the papers had said this, and what was

being done to correct them? In other words: Why isn’t your office standing² up for me? Why

haven’t they phoned this execrable woman who wrote this story, and demanded a retraction³?

Kate, flustered⁴, didn’t answer, and Willy chimed in with some very supportive- sounding

evasions⁵, but I already knew the truth. No one at the Palace could phone the correspondent,

because that would invite the inevitable⁶ retort: Well, if the story’s wrong, what’s the real story?

What did happen between the two duchesses? And that door must never be opened, because it

would embarrass the future queen.

The monarchy⁷, always, at all costs, had to be protected.

We shifted from what to do about the story to where it came from. Who could’ve planted such

a thing? Who could’ve leaked it to the press in the first place? Who?

We went around and around. The list of suspects became vanishingly small.

Finally, finally, Willy leaned back and conceded that, ahem, while we’d been on tour in

Australia, he and Kate had gone to dinner with Pa and Camilla…and, alas⁸, he said sheepishly, he

might’ve let it slip that there’d been strife⁹ between the two couples…

I put a hand over my face. Meg froze. A heavy silence fell.

So now we knew.

I told Willy: You…of all people…should’ve known…

He nodded. He knew.

More silence.

It was time for them to go.

1 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

2 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。

3 retraction   

n.撤消；收回

参考例句：

• He demanded a full retraction of the allegations against him.他要求完全收回针对他的言论。
• The newspaper published a retraction of the erroneous report.那家报纸声明撤回那篇错误的报道。

4 flustered   

adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The honking of horns flustered the boy. 汽车喇叭的叫声使男孩感到慌乱。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was so flustered that she forgot her reply. 她太紧张了，都忘记了该如何作答。 来自辞典例句

5 evasions   

逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口

参考例句：

• A little overwhelmed, I began the generalized evasions which that question deserves. 我有点不知所措，就开始说一些含糊其词的话来搪塞。
• His answers to my questions were all evasions. 他对我的问题的回答均为遁词。

6 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

7 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

8 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

9 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。