Then Sir Mordred made no immediate answer, but when he was come to a place apart from those three, he said to Sir Agravaine, “Sir Launcelot is guilty of thou knowest what treason against the King. Now I told Gawaine that we would arrest him and bring him to the King. What I really purpose is this: that we assault Sir Launcelot in the Queen’s apartments, and that we slay him. For once he is dead the King will quickly forgive us and will believe the Queen to have been guilty, but if Sir Launcelot is alive he will never forgive us. Hah, brother, a dead lion is a less dangerous enemy to a man than a living fox. So it were best that Sir Launcelot died.” In this Sir Agravaine agreed with him; so after that they set watch upon Sir Launcelot to take him when next he should visit the Queen. But Sir Launcelot was warned by one who overheard them, and for that while he did not visit the Queen in her apartments. [Sidenote: _Sir Mordred betrayeth Sir Launcelot._] So one night Sir Mordred called to him a page of the Queen’s court when the page was passing, and he said to him, “Lanadel” (for such was the page’s name)--“Lanadel, go you to Sir Launcelot of the Lake and tell him that the Queen would fain speak with him in her bower.” Thereupon the page, suspecting no evil, went to Sir Launcelot, and delivered that message to him, and Sir Launcelot, suspecting no evil, fulfilled the terms of that message, and went secretly thither to the Queen’s apartments. [Sidenote: _Sir Launcelot goeth to the Queen’s bower._] Finding the Queen there, Sir Launcelot said to her, “Lady, what is it thou wouldst say to me?” She looked upon him in astonishment and said, “Sir, I did not send for you to say anything to you.” Sir Launcelot said, “How is this? Your page, Lanadel, came to me and brought it to me as a message that you would speak to me at this place.” She said, “Launcelot, I sent no such message as that to thee. Yet, in very truth, it hath been long since thou hast been hither to speak to me. Art thou affronted with me, Launcelot?” He said to her, “Lady, thou knowest that I am not affronted with thee. But there is this: I must consider thine honor and reputation as I do mine own. But, Lady, touching this message of late delivered to me, here is treachery of some sort, for certes that message came to me as from thee, wherefore I know that some treachery is brewing against us, though I know not what that treachery is.”