Runnymede and Lincoln Fair : $b A story of the Great CharterEdgar, John G. (John George)
History
Runnymede and Lincoln Fair : $b A story of the Great Charter
Edgar, John G. (John George)
Great Britain -- History -- John, 1199-1216 -- Fiction
“Well,” continued the squire, “the servants who sleep in his chamber to
watch him on hearing him rise go to him, and next morning tell him what
he has been doing, but he forgets all about it, and cries out that they
lie. Sometimes they leave neither sword nor arms in his chamber, but
when he rises and finds them gone he makes such a noise as if all the
fiends were there. They therefore think it best to leave his sword and
arms, and sometimes he remains quietly in his bed, but only sometimes.
Seldom a night passes without a scene.”
“Ha!” exclaimed De Moreville, thoughtfully, “I little expected such
tidings, and it behoves me to hasten my return to England and put
matters on a better footing at Chas-Chateil. It is no time for a man who
has lost his senses to be in command of a fortress.”
However, in the thirteenth century the time required to pass from the
banks of the Seine to the banks of the Kennet was considerable, and
April was speeding on without De Moreville having appeared at the castle
or giving any intimation that he was likely to come; and Sir Anthony
became worse rather than better, declaring that nothing soothed him but
the music of Pedro the page, and insisting more strongly than ever that
Pedro had been sent to him by St. Anthony and St. Hubert at the very
instant he had cried out to them for protection.
By this time Pedro’s equestrian feat was all but forgotten. It had been
a nine days’ wonder and nothing more. Yet one person had neither
forgotten nor forgiven--namely, Clem the Bold Rider. In fact, Clem,
feeling certain that there was some mystery in the business, and blaming
Pedro for his mishap, had, under the influence of mortified vanity,
vowed revenge, and continued to watch Pedro wherever he went when
outside the castle as a cat watches a mouse it has destined as a victim.
No matter at what hour he went forth or in what direction he turned, he
was sure to meet Clem hanging about the courtyard, or the stable-yard,
or the drawbridge talking the slang of the age to one person or another,
but never without a sharp eye on Pedro’s movements. This was, doubtless,
annoying. Pedro certainly looked much too innocent to have any evil
intention. Still, one likes not to be watched every time he moves out to
take the air.
Now Pedro, since his reception into Chas-Chateil, had been quite free to
go about wherever he liked. But there was one place from which he was
strictly excluded, and that place was “the ladies’ walk,” which was
strictly guarded by a sentinel. It was wonderful, by-the-bye, how this
fact used to slip out of Pedro’s memory, and how many efforts he made by
hook or by crook to reach that battlement. But his efforts were
unavailing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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