1-36

36.

Strange, after so much mourning, to just… party. But months later came the Golden Jubilee¹.

Fiftieth anniversary of Granny’s reign².

Over four days that summer of 2002, Willy and I were constantly pulling on another set ofsmart clothes, jumping into another black car, rushing to yet another venue⁴ for another party orparade, reception or gala.

Britain was intoxicated⁵. People did jigs⁶ in the streets, sang from balconies and rooftops.

Everyone wore some version of the Union Jack⁷. In a nation known for its reticence⁸, this was astartling expression of unbridled joy.

Startling to me anyway. Granny didn’t seem startled. I was startled at how unstartled she was.

It wasn’t that she felt no emotions. On the contrary, I always thought that Granny experienced allthe normal human emotions. She just knew better than the rest of us mortals how to control them.

I stood beside or behind her through much of the Golden Jubilee Weekend and I often thought:

If this can’t shake her then she’s truly earned her reputation for imperturbable⁹ serenity¹⁰. In whichcase, I thought, maybe I’m a foundling? Because I’m a nervous wreck¹¹.

There were several reasons for my nerves, but the main one was a brewing¹² scandal. Just beforethe Jubilee I’d been summoned by one of the courtiers to his little office and without much builduphe’d asked: Harry¹³—are you doing cocaine¹⁴?

Shades of my lunch with Marko.

What? Am I—? How could—? No!

Hm. Well. Could there be a photo out there? Is it possible that someone somewhere mighthave a photo of you doing cocaine?

God, no! That’s ridiculous! Why?

He explained that he’d been approached by a newspaper editor who claimed to have come intopossession of a photo showing Prince Harry snorting a line.

He’s a liar¹⁵. It’s not true.

I see. Be that as it may, this editor is willing to lock the photo into his safe forever. But inexchange he wants to sit down with you and explain that what you’re doing is very damaging. Hewants to give you some life advice.

Ah. Creepy. And devious¹⁶. Diabolical¹⁷, in fact, because if I agree to this meeting, then I’madmitting guilt¹⁸.

Right.

I told myself: After Rehabber Kooks, they all want a go at me. She’d scored a direct hit, andnow her competitors are lining¹⁹ up to be next.

When will it end?

I reassured²⁰ myself that the editor had nothing, that he was just fishing. He must’ve heard arumor and he was tracking it down. Stay the course, I told myself, and then I told the courtier tocall the journalist’s bluff²¹, vigorously refute the claim, turn down the deal. Above all, reject theproffered meeting.

I’m not going to submit to blackmail²².

The courtier nodded. Done.

Of course…I had been doing cocaine around this time. At someone’s country house, during ashooting weekend, I’d been offered a line, and I’d done a few more since. It wasn’t much fun, andit didn’t make me particularly happy, as it seemed to make everyone around me, but it did makeme feel different, and that was the main goal. Feel. Different. I was a deeply unhappy seventeen-year-old boy willing to try almost anything that would alter the status quo.

That was what I told myself anyway. Back then, I could lie to myself as effortlessly as I’d liedto that courtier.

But now I realized coke hadn’t been worth the candle. The risk far outweighed²³ the reward.

Threatened with exposure, faced with the prospect²⁴ of fouling²⁵ up Granny’s Golden Jubilee,walking a knife’s edge with the mad press—nothing was worth any of that.

On the bright side, I’d played the game well. After I’d called the journalist’s bluff, he wentsilent. As suspected, he had no photo, and when his con³ game didn’t work, he slithered off. (Or notquite. He slithered into Clarence House, and became very good friends with Camilla and Pa.) Iwas ashamed for lying. But also proud. In a tight spot, a hugely scary crisis, I hadn’t felt anyserenity, like Granny, but at least I’d managed to project it. I’d channeled some of her superpower,her heroic stoicism. I regretted giving the courtier a cock- and- bull story, but the alternativewould’ve been ten times worse.

So…job well done?

Maybe I wasn’t a foundling after all.

 

1 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

6 jigs   

n.快步舞（曲）极快地( jig的名词复数 )；夹具v.（使）上下急动( jig的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The simplest method for small volume production requires a number of jigs. 对于小规模生产，最简单方法需要几个装配架。 来自辞典例句
• So the old witch was forced to dance a jigs. 老女巫也只好跳起快步舞来。 来自辞典例句

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

9 imperturbable   

adj.镇静的

参考例句：

• Thomas,of course,was cool and aloof and imperturbable.当然，托马斯沉着、冷漠，不易激动。
• Edward was a model of good temper and his equanimity imperturbable.爱德华是个典型的好性子，他总是沉着镇定。

10 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

11 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

12 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

15 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

16 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

17 diabolical   

adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的

参考例句：

• This maneuver of his is a diabolical conspiracy.他这一手是一个居心叵测的大阴谋。
• One speaker today called the plan diabolical and sinister.今天一名发言人称该计划阴险恶毒。

18 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

19 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

20 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

22 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

23 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

24 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

25 fouling   

n.（水管、枪筒等中的）污垢v.使污秽( foul的现在分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏

参考例句：

• He was sent off for fouling the other team's goalkeeper. 他因对对方守门员犯规而被罚出场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A basketball player is allowed five personal fouls before fouling out. 篮球运动员侵人犯规五次即被罚下场。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》