It was a Saturday evening in March 1566. I was in Edin－burgh with some friends. David Riccio was there， with six or seven other people. We were in a small room， but there was a good dinner on the table， and we were happy. It was dark outside， but inside it was warm and friendly.

Suddenly， a door opened behind me. In the door was Henry Darnley，my husband. I stood up and smiled.

‘Good evening， my lord，'I said. ‘Please come in. Would you like something to eat？'

‘No， thank you，'he said. ‘I'm not hungry. But I want to sit next to you， wife. Please tell that man to move. '

A man got out of the chair next to me and Darnley sat beside me. Then he put his arms round me. I did not like it. His face was hot， and his eyes looked unhappy. But I smiled and said，‘I'm happy to see you， my lord. '

‘Are you， Mary？'He laughed. ‘Are you really？'

‘Yes， of course， my lord. But—'

Then the second door opened and his friend， Lord Ruthven，stood there. He had a knife in his hand. His face was red， and he looked very angry.

Af first no one moved. Then Ruthven said，‘Your Majesty，send David Riccio out of this room， now！ I want him！'

I looked at Riccio. He was afraid. ‘Why？'I said. ‘Why do you want him？'

‘He is a bad， wicked man！'Ruthven said. ‘Send him out！'

‘No！'I said. ‘You want to kill him. David Riccio is my friend！ He stays here， with me！'

‘He goes out， woman！'Lord Ruthven said. ‘ King Henry，hold your wife， please！'

I stood up， but Darnley held my arms and I could not move. David Riccio ran behind me and held my dress. My friends in the room stood up too， and moved towards Ruthven angrily. But he had a knife in his hand.

‘Get back！'he said angrily. ‘Don't touch me！'

Then five men with knives ran into the little room， and there was a fight. One man held a knife in my face， and an－other man hit David Riccio， behind me. Then they pulled him out of the room.

‘Help me！'he screamed. ‘Help me， my Queen—please！They're going to kill me！Don't—aaaaaargh！'

I couldn't help him， because Darnley had me in his arms. But I could hear David Riccio's screams. I think he fell down the stairs， and he screamed for two or three minutes. Then it was quiet.

‘What are you doing？'I asked Darnley angrily. ‘Riccio is a good man—why are you doing this？'

Darnley laughed. ‘You are my wife， Mary—not David Ric－cio's！'he said. ‘so why are you with him every evening？You never talk to me！'

‘I don't talk to you because you are never here！'I said. ‘You are always drinking with your friends！ You aren't a king， you're a stupid boy！'

He laughed again. It was not a nice laugh. ‘Well，'he said. ‘Perhaps I am a boy， but that is better than David Riccio，now. Do you want to go and see him？'

I did see him， five minutes after that. He was very dead，and there was blood all over the floor. Poor David Riccio. He sings to God now， not me.

I looked at Henry Darnley， my husband. He had a stupid smile on his face. But I think he was afraid of me. I looked at him a long time， and the smile went away.

‘Remember this night，husband，'I said to him. ‘Remem－ber it well. Think about it when you look into my eyes， and before you go to sleep. David Riccio was my friend， and you killed him in front of me. I'm never going to forget that，Henry Darnley. Never！'

译文

4 达维·里奇奥之死

1566年 3月的一个星期六晚上。我和一些朋友呆在爱丁堡。达维·里奇奥也在那里，另外还有六、七个人。我们在一间小屋子里，桌上摆着丰盛的菜肴，我们都很高兴。虽然外面夜幕笼罩，但屋子里充满了温暖和友好的气氛。

突然，我身后的门被打开了，门口站着我的丈夫亨利·达恩利。我站起来朝他笑。

“晚上好，我的丈夫，”我说道，“请进来吧，你想吃点什么吗？”

“不，谢谢，”他说。“我不饿。但我想坐在你身边，我的妻子。请叫那个人走开。”

一人从我身旁的座位上站起来，达恩利坐到了我身边。然后他伸出手环抱着我。我不喜欢这样。他的脸很热，他的眼神看起来很不高兴。但我还是笑着对他说。“很高兴见到你，我的丈夫。”

“是吗，玛丽？”他笑道。“是真的吗？”

“是的，当然是的，我的丈夫。不过——”

接着，第二扇门打开了，他的朋友——鲁斯温勋爵站在那儿。他手里拿着一把刀。他的脸红红的，满脸怒容。

起初，谁也没有动。然后鲁斯温说道，“陛下，把达维·里奇奥从这房间里赶出去，马上！我要他！”

我看着里奇奥，他显得很害怕。“为什么？”我问，“你为什么要他？”

“他是个不道德的坏人！”鲁斯温说。“把他赶出去！”

“不！”我说。“你想杀他。达维·里奇奥是我的朋友！他呆在这里，和我在一起！”

“他得出来，女人！”鲁斯温勋爵说。“亨利亲王，抓住你的妻子，快点！”

我站了起来，可是达恩利抓住我的胳膊，我不能动弹。达维·里奇奥跑到我身后抓住我的衣服。我房间里的朋友们也站了起来，愤怒地向鲁斯温逼近，但是鲁斯温手里拿着刀。

“回去！”他怒吼。“不要过来！”

接着，五个拿刀的男人冲进了这间小屋。一场冲突开始了。一个男人把刀架在我面前，另一个人去攻击躲在我身后的达维·里奇奥。然后他们把他拖出了房间。

“救命！”他尖叫道。“救救我，我的女王——请救救我！他们要杀我！不要！——啊！”

我帮不了他，因为达恩利紧紧抓着我。可是我能听到达维·里奇奥的尖叫声。我想他是从楼梯上摔了下去，尖叫持续了二三分钟后。一切归于平静。

“你在干什么？”我愤怒地责问达恩利。“里奇奥是个好人——你为什么要这样做？”

达恩利笑道。“你是我的妻子，玛丽——不是达维·里奇奥的！”他说。“所以你为什么要每晚和他呆在一起？你从没对我说过！”

“我没有对你说是因为你从来不在这里！”我说。“你总是和你的朋友们不停地喝酒！你不是个亲王，你是个愚蠢的小男孩！”

他又一次笑了，那是个不带好意的笑。“好吧，”他说。“也许我只是个男孩，但也比达维·里奇奥强。你想去看看他吗？

五分钟后，我看到了他。他已经死了，地上到处是血。可怜的达维·里奇奥，他现在给上帝唱歌了，而不再为我。

我看着亨利·达恩利——我的丈夫。他脸上带着愚蠢的微笑。但我认为他还是怕我的。我盯着他看了很久，他脸上的笑容渐渐消失了。

“记住今天晚上，丈夫，”我对他说。“好好记住。在你看着我的眼睛的时候，在你上床睡觉之前，好好想一想这件事。达维·里奇奥是我的朋友，而你却当着我的面杀死了他。对此我永远都不会原谅，亨利·达恩利，永远不！”