G. Henty - At Agincourt

“I have heard of the attack, lady, and of the gallant and successful defence made by Sir Eustace, and the king was greatly pleased to hear of the heavy check thus inflicted upon the men who had raised the banner of revolt, and were harassing His Majesty's faithful subjects.”

“That being so, my lord duke,” Margaret said, “'tis strange, after my lord had shown how ready and well prepared he was to protect his castle against ill-doers, that he should have been asked to admit a garrison of strangers to aid him to hold it. Sir Eustace has no desire to meddle with the troubles of the times; he holds his castle as a fief directly from the crown, as his ancestors have held it for two hundred years; he wishes only to dwell in peace and in loyal service to the king.”

[Illustration: THE LADY MARGARET MAKES HER OBEISANCE TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY.]

“Such we have always understood, madam, and gladly would the king have seen Sir Eustace himself at his court. The king will, I trust, shortly be recovered from his malady; until he. is so I have—for I was made acquainted with your coming by messenger sent forward by Monjoie—arranged for you to be lodged in all honour at the house of Master Leroux, one of the most worshipful of the citizens of Paris, and provost of the guild of silversmiths. My chamberlain will at once conduct you thither.”

“I thank you, my lord duke,” Margaret said with a stately reverence, “and trust that when I am received by my lord the king I shall be able to prove to him that Sir Eustace is his faithful vassal, and can be trusted to hold his castle for him against all comers.”

“I doubt it not, lady,” the duke said courteously. “Sir Victor Pierrepoint, I pray you to see this lady to the entrance. Sir Hugo will already be waiting her there.”

CHAPTER VI. IN PARIS

“A bold dame and a fair one,” John of Burgundy said to the gentlemen round him when Margaret left the chamber. “Methinks that she would be able to hold Villeroy even should Sir Eustace be away.”

“That would she,” one of the knights said with a laugh. “I doubt not that she would buckle on armour if need were. But we must make some allowance for her heat; it is no pleasant thing to be taken away from her castle and brought hither as a hostage, to be held for how long a time she knows not.”

“It was the safest way of securing the castle,” the duke said. “Can one doubt that, with her by his side, her husband would open his gates to the English, should they appear before it? He himself is a vassal both of England and France, and should the balance be placed before him, there can be little doubt that her weight would incline him to England. How well these English women keep their youth! One might believe her to be but a few years past twenty, and yet she is the mother of that girl, who is well-nigh as tall as herself.”

“And who bids to be as fair, my lord duke.”

“And as English, De Porcelet. She would be a difficult eaglet to tame, if I mistake not; and had she been the spokeswoman, methinks she would have answered as haughtily as did her mother. But it might be no bad plan to mate her to a Frenchman. It is true that there is the boy, but the fief might well be bestowed upon her if so mated, on the ground that the boy would likely take after his father and mother and hold Villeroy for England rather than for France. However, she is young yet; in a couple of years, De Porcelet, it will be time for you to urge your suit, if so inclined.”

There was a general smile from the circle standing round, but the young knight said gravely, “When the time comes, my lord duke, I may remind you of what you have said. 'Tis a fair young face, honest and good, though at present she must naturally feel with her mother at being thus haled away from her home.”

Sir Victor escorted Margaret to the court-yard. As they appeared at the entrance a knight came up and saluted her.

“I am intrusted by the duke with the honour of escorting you to your lodgings,” he said; “I am Hugo de Chamfort, the duke's chamberlain.”

After assisting her into the saddle he mounted a horse which an attendant brought up and placed himself by her side. Two men-at-arms with their surtouts embroidered with the cognizance of Burgundy led the way, and the rest of the party followed in the same order in which they had come. The distance was short, and beyond a few questions by the knight as to the journey and how she had been cared for on the way, and Margaret's replies, little was said until they reached the house of the provost of the silversmiths. As they rode up to the door Maitre Leroux himself came out from the house.

“Welcome, lady,” he said, “to my abode. My wife will do all that she can to make you comfortable.”

“I am sorry indeed, good sir,” Margaret said, “to be thus forced upon your hospitality, and regret the trouble that my stay will impose upon you.”

“Say not so, lady,” he said, “we deem it an honour that his grace the Duke of Burgundy should have selected us for the honour of entertaining you. The house is large, and we have no family. Chambers are already prepared for yourself, your daughter, and son, while there are others at your disposal for your following.”

“I would not trespass too much upon you,” she said. “My daughter can sleep with me, and I am sure that my esquire here, Master Guy Aylmer, will gladly share a room with my boy. I can obtain lodgings for my four followers without.”

“You will grieve me much if you propose it, lady. There is a large room upstairs unoccupied, and I will place pallets for them there; and as for their meals they can have them apart.”

By this time they had mounted a fine flight of stairs, at the top of which Dame Leroux was standing to receive her guests. She was a kindly-looking woman between thirty and forty years of age.

“Welcome, Lady Margaret,” she said with a cordiality that made Margaret feel at once that her visit was not regarded as an infliction. “We are quiet people, but will do our best to render your stay here a pleasant one.”

“Thanks indeed, mistress!” Margaret replied. “I feared much that my presence would be felt as a burden, and had hardly hoped for so kind a welcome. This is my daughter Agnes, and my son Charles.” Then she turned to Sir Hugo: “I pray you to give my thanks to his grace the Duke of Burgundy, and to thank him for having so well bestowed me. I thank you also for your courtesy for having conducted me here.”

“I will convey your message to the duke,” he said, “who will, I am sure, be pleased to hear of your contentment.”

Maitre Leroux accompanied the knight downstairs again, and when he had mounted and ridden off he called two servitors, and bade one carry the luggage upstairs, and the other conduct the men to the stables he had taken for the horses.

“After you have seen to their comfort,” he said to Robert Picard, “you will return hither; you will find a meal prepared for you, and will be bestowed together in a chamber upstairs.”

In the meantime his wife had ushered Dame Margaret into a very handsomely furnished apartment. “This is at your entire service, Lady Margaret,” she said. “The bedroom behind it is for yourself, the one next to it for your daughter, unless you would prefer that she should sleep with you.”

“I thank you. I was telling your husband that I should prefer that; and my son and esquire can therefore occupy the second room. But I fear greatly that I am disturbing yourself and your husband.”

“No, indeed; our sitting-room and bedroom are on the other side of the landing. These are our regular guest-chambers, and your being here will make no change whatever in our arrangements. I only regret that the apartments are not larger.”