and the
prince were fain to join. sir nigel blinked mildly from one to
the other, until at last perceiving a stout black-bearded knight
at his elbow, whose laugh rang somewhat louder than the others,
he touched him lightly upon the sleeve.
"perchance, my fair sir," he whispered, "there is some small vow
of which i may relieve you. might we not have some honorable
debate upon the matter. your gentle courtesy may perhaps grant
me an exchange of thrusts."
"nay, nay, sir nigel," cried the prince, "fasten not the offence
upon sir robert briquet, for we are one and all bogged in the
same mire. truth to say, our ears have just been vexed by the
doings of the same company, and i have even now made vow to hang
the man who held the rank of captain over it. i little thought
to find him among the bravest of my own chosen chieftains. but
the vow is now nought, for, as you have never seen your company,
it would be a fool's act to blame you for their doings."
"my liege," said sir nigel, "it is a very small matter that i
should be hanged, albeit the manner of death is somewhat more
ignoble than i had hoped for. on the other hand, it would be a
very grievous thing that you, the prince of england and the
flower of knighthood, should make a vow, whether in ignorance or
no, and fail to bring it to fulfilment."
"vex not your mind on that," the prince answered, smiling. "we
have had a citizen from montauban here this very day, who told us
such a tale of sack and murder and pillage that it moved our
blood; but our wrath was turned upon the man who was in authority
over them."
"my dear and honored master," cried nigel, in great anxiety, "i
fear me much that in your gentleness of heart you are straining
this vow which you have taken. if there be so much as a shadow
of a doubt as to the form of it, it were a thousand times best---
-"
"peace! peace!" cried the prince impatiently. "i am very well
able to look to my own vows and their performance. we hope to
see you both in the banquet-hall anon. meanwhile you will attend
upon us with our train." he bowed, and chandos, plucking sir
oliver by the sleeve, led them both away to the back of the press
of courtiers.
"why, little coz," he whispered, "you are very eager to have your
neck in a noose. by my soul! had you asked as much from our new
ally don pedro, he had not baulked you. between friends, there
is overmuch of the hangman in him, and too little of the prince.
but indeed this white company is a rough band, and may take some
handling ere you find yourself safe in your captaincy."
"i doubt not, with the help of st. paul, that i shall bring them
to some order," sir nigel answered. "but there are many faces
here which are new to me, though others have been before me since
first i waited upon my dear master, sir walter. i pray you to
tell me, sir john, who are these priests upon the dais?"
"the one is the archbishop of bordeaux, nigel, and the other the
bishop of agen."
"and the dark knight with gray-streaked beard? by my troth, he
seems to be a man of much wisdom and valor."
"he is sir william fenton, who, with my unworthy self, is the
chief counsellor of the prince, he being high steward and i the
seneschal of aquitaine."
"and the knights upon the right, beside von pedro?"
"they are cavaliers of spain who have followed him in his exile.
the one at his elbow is fernando de castro, who is as brave and
true a man as heart could wish. in front to the right are the
gascon lords. you may well tell them by their clouded brows, for
there hath been some ill-will of late betwixt the prince and
them. the tall and burly man is the captal de buch, whom i doubt
not that you know, for a braver knight never laid lance in rest.
that heavy-faced cavalier who plucks his skirts and whispers in
his ear is lord oliver de clisson, known also as the butcher. he
it is who stirs up strife, and forever blows the dying embers
into flame. the man with the mole upon his cheek is the lord
pommers, and his two brothers stand behind him, with the lord
lesparre, lord de rosem, lord de mucident, sir perducas d'albret,
the souldich de la trane, and others. further back are knights
from quercy, limousin, saintonge, poitou, and aquitaine, with the
valiant sir guiscard d'angle. that is he in the rose-colored
doublet with the ermine."
"and the knights upon this side?"
"they are all englishmen, some of the household and others who
like yourself, are captains of companies. there is lord neville,
sir stephen cossington, and sir matthew gourney, with sir walter
huet, sir thomas banaster, and sir thomas felton, who is the
brother of the high steward. mark well the man with the high
nose and flaxen beard who hath placed his hand upon the shoulder
of the dark hard-faced cavalier in the rust-stained
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