"I pray God," she said, "that my brother the King will be advised for his good, and that this land may be saved from the miseries of war. But I greatly fear me that he will refuse to be bound by the Provisions of Oxford, even as our father refused to be bound by the terms of the Great Charter. If that be so, there is but one remedy for the evil--the appeal to arms; and from that your father will not shrink, if he knows his cause to be a righteous one." "And where is he now?" asked Amalric eagerly. "He is in England; but more than that I do not know. He returned from Gascony a short while since, and he has been conferring earnestly ever since with our friends in various parts of the country. I am looking for him daily now at Kenilworth. Every day that passes brings him one day nearer." CHAPTER XIV. _THE GREAT EARL._ "My father is coming! my father is coming! the watchman has sighted his approach! Come and see him arrive with his train! it will be a right goodly sight, methinks." So spoke the Demoiselle, rushing in hot haste into a great hall, which might perhaps be termed the library of the Castle, where certain books and manuscripts were stored in carved oaken presses against the wall, and where Leofric spent a portion of each day in transcribing for the little Eleanora the breviary which she was so eager to possess. The Countess, at a hint from her son, had offered this task to the young scholar, and Leofric had gratefully undertaken it. The Demoiselle took keen interest in the work, and had already established very friendly relations with her brothers friend. A child at heart, despite her graceful and self-possessed manners and queenly little ways, she delighted in listening to stories of Oxford student life, and in watching the skilful pen and brush of the young bachelor as he copied the text or the illuminations from the scrolls in the library. Little Eleanora was greatly delighted at being able to choose her favourite designs for reproduction in her own breviary, and she danced in and out the library like a veritable sprite, directing and admiring, chattering freely to the scribe as she grew intimate with him, and letting him into a great deal of the family history of the De Montforts during the years of Amalric's absence. Amalric himself was often present, and then brother and sister would converse freely and eagerly together. Leofric was treated as a friend and equal by both, and greatly enjoyed this experience of life in a nobleman's castle. It was like stepping forth into a new world or learning a new language. The arrival of the Earl of Leicester had been for some time expected. His wife knew that he was in England upon a flying visit for political reasons, and daily was he looked for at Kenilworth; but so far no definite tidings of his movements had reached her, and the household lived in a state of expectancy and impatience.