Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603 -- Fiction; Historical fiction
"Why, I think you have fasted enough," and so he bade the lay brother to
bring there quickly wine and meat, and hot water to wash with, and clean
linen if they had any good enough. And so he bade the young lord lay
off the heavier of his garments and unbrace his clothes, for it was hot
weather. And so food and a table were brought and the lay brother
washed the feet of the lord, whilst he reclined upon the bed-foot.
Whilst he ate, little by little the religious brought the Young Lovell
to talk of how he should have arms and money for his men-at-arms and
other costs.
And the Young Lovell saw that he had still in his cap his string of
great pearls and this he pledged to the monk Francis for the sum of two
hundred pounds.
Of this sum, one hundred pounds the monk Francis had of the funds of the
monastery, and he could just make it with the twenty-eight pounds that
John Harbottle had paid him. This hundred pounds the Young Lovell
should take with him upon his adventure to Durham and the other hundred
should remain with the good monk. And this should pay for the keep of
thirty men for a fortnight, at the rate of fourpence a man, and that
would be seven pounds. And the men should have arms from the armourer of
the monastery and from the men-at-arms there until they came to arms of
their own. And if they should return those arms unbroken and unharmed
the Lord Lovell should pay for their hire at the rate of one shilling
the man per week, and all that should be matter of account out of the
hundred pounds that remained.
So the monk Francis bargained for the good of his monastery, for he held
it against his conscience to give these things for less. Moreover, he
perceived that in talking of these things the Young Lovell appeared to
come back to life. Then the Young Lovell told this news to his
men-at-arms who stood before the door.
Afterwards the Young Lovell bought of the knight of the monastery, Sir
Nicholas Ewelme, some light armour for his horse; and for himself he
bought a light helmet, a breastpiece and an axe, which were not very
fair, but sufficient to make the journey to Durham. And all these
things having taken many hours, it was decided that they should put off
their departure until the next day at dawn when the Young Lovell should
take with him ten of his men-at-arms. By that evening, the news of his
being at the monastery having spread, more than twenty more of his men,
with an esquire called Armstrong, came there and entered his employment.
IV
The Lady Margaret of Glororem had that day, near dawn, abandoned hope
that the Young Lovell, her true love, would come again, and for that
reason she rode south to Durham to set about the releasing of the Lady
Rohtraut in good earnest. She had been unwilling to do this before hope
departed of his returning, because he was her lord and might have plans
for the retaking of his Castle and the rest, and any action that she
might take might hinder these.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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