"My most noble lord and king," said Sir Launcelot, "ye may say what ye will, for ye wot well with yourself I will not strive, but there as ye say I have slain your good knights, I wot well that I have done so, and that me sore repenteth, but I was enforced to do battle with them, in saving of my life, or else I must have suffered them to have slain me. And as for my lady Queen Guenever, ofttimes, my lord, ye have consented that she should be burnt and destroyed in your heat, and then it fortuned me to do battle for her, and or I departed from her adversary they confessed their untruth, and she full worshipfully excused. And at such times, my lord Arthur," said Sir Launcelot, "ye loved me, and thanked me when I saved your queen from the fire, and then ye promised me for ever to be my good lord, and now me thinketh ye reward me full ill. For sithence I have done battles for your queen in other quarrels than in mine own, me seemeth now I had more right to do battle for her in a right quarrel. And therefore my good and gracious lord," said Sir Launcelot, "take your queen unto your good grace, for she is both fair, true, and good." "Fie on thee, false recreant knight," said Sir Gawaine, "I let thee to wit that my lord mine uncle King Arthur shall have his queen and thee maugre [_in spite of_] thy visage, and slay you both whereas it shall please him." "It may well be," said Sir Launcelot; "but wit ye well, my lord Sir Gawaine, and me list to come out of this castle, ye should win me and the queen more harder than ever ye won a strong battle." "Fie upon thy proud words," said Sir Gawaine, "as for my lady the queen, I will never say of her shame. Ah! thou false recreant knight," said Sir Gawaine, "what cause hadst thou to slay my good brother Sir Gareth, that loved thee more than all thy kin? Alas! thou madest him knight with thine own hands, why slewest thou him that loved thee so well?" "For to excuse me," said Sir Launcelot, "it helpeth me not. But, by Jesu," said Sir Launcelot, "and by the faith that I owe unto the high order of knighthood, I should with as good a will have slain my nephew Sir Bors de Ganis at that time. But alas! that ever I was so unhappy," said Sir Launcelot, "that I had not seen Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris." "Thou liest, false recreant knight," said Sir Gawaine, "thou slewest him in despite of me, and therefore wit thou well that I shall make war unto thee all the while that I may live." "That me sore repenteth," said Sir Launcelot, "for well I understand that it helpeth me not to seek for none accordment whiles that ye, Sir Gawaine, are so mischievously set; and if ye were not, I would not doubt to have the good grace of my lord King Arthur." [Then Sir Launcelot's kinsmen besought him that he would go out and do battle for the slanders that Sir Gawaine and his knights did put upon him.] "Alas!" said Sir Launcelot, "for to ride out of this castle and do battle, I am full loth to do it."