Several days after Norman of Torn's visit to the castle of Leicester, ayoung knight appeared before the Earl's gates demanding admittance to havespeech with Simon de Montfort. The Earl received him, and as the young manentered his presence, Simon de Montfort, sprang to his feet inastonishment.

"My Lord Prince," he cried. "What do ye here, and alone ?"

The young man smiled.

"I be no prince, My Lord," he said, "though some have said that I favor theKing's son. I be Roger de Conde, whom it may have pleased your graciousdaughter to mention. I have come to pay homage to Bertrade de Montfort."

"Ah," said De Montfort, rising to greet the young knight cordially, "an yoube that Roger de Conde who rescued my daughter from the fellows of Peter ofColfax, the arms of the De Montforts are open to you.

"Bertrade has had your name upon her tongue many times since her return.She will be glad indeed to receive you, as is her father. She has told usof your valiant espousal of her cause, and the thanks of her brothers andmother await you, Roger de Conde.

"She also told us of your strange likeness to Prince Edward, but until Isaw you, I could not believe two men could be born of different mothers andyet be so identical. Come, we will seek out my daughter and her mother."

De Montfort led the young man to a small chamber where they were greeted byPrincess Eleanor, his wife, and by Bertrade de Montfort. The girl wasfrankly glad to see him once more and laughingly chide him because he hadallowed another to usurp his prerogative and rescue her from Peter ofColfax.

"And to think," she cried, "that it should have been Norman of Torn whofulfilled your duties for you. But he did not capture Sir Peter's head, myfriend; that is still at large to be brought to me upon a golden dish."

"I have not forgotten, Lady Bertrade," said Roger de Conde. "Peter ofColfax will return."

The girl glanced at him quickly.

"The very words of the Outlaw of Torn," she said. "How many men be ye,Roger de Conde ? With raised visor, you could pass in the King's court forthe King's son; and in manner, and form, and swordsmanship, and your visorlowered, you might easily be hanged for Norman of Torn."

"And which would it please ye most that I be ?" he laughed.

"Neither," she answered, "I be satisfied with my friend, Roger de Conde."

"So ye like not the Devil of Torn ?" he asked.

"He has done me a great service, and I be under monstrous obligations tohim, but he be, nathless, the Outlaw of Torn and I the daughter of an earland a king's sister."

"A most unbridgeable gulf indeed," commented Roger de Conde, drily. "Noteven gratitude could lead a king's niece to receive Norman of Torn on afooting of equality."

"He has my friendship, always," said the girl, "but I doubt me if Norman ofTorn be the man to impose upon it."

"One can never tell," said Roger de Conde, "what manner of fool a man maybe. When a man's head be filled with a pretty face, what room be there forreason ?"

"Soon thou wilt be a courtier, if thou keep long at this turning of prettycompliments," said the girl coldly; "and I like not courtiers, nor theirempty, hypocritical chatter."

The man laughed.

"If I turned a compliment, I did not know it," he said. "What I think, Isay. It may not be a courtly speech or it may. I know nothing of courtsand care less, but be it man or maid to whom I speak, I say what is in mymind or I say nothing. I did not, in so many words, say that you arebeautiful, but I think it nevertheless, and ye cannot be angry with my pooreyes if they deceive me into believing that no fairer woman breathes theair of England. Nor can you chide my sinful brain that it gladly believeswhat mine eyes tell it. No, you may not be angry so long as I do not tellyou all this."

Bertrade de Montfort did not know how to answer so ridiculous a sophistry;and, truth to tell, she was more than pleased to hear from the lips ofRoger de Conde what bored her on the tongues of other men.

De Conde was the guest of the Earl of Leicester for several days, andbefore his visit was terminated, the young man had so won his way into thegood graces of the family that they were loath to see him leave.

Although denied the society of such as these throughout his entire life,yet it seemed that he fell as naturally into the ways of their kind asthough he had always been among them. His starved soul, groping throughthe darkness of the empty past, yearned toward the feasting and the lightof friendship, and urged him to turn his back upon the old life, and remainever with these people, for Simon de Montfort had offered the young man aposition of trust and honor in his retinue.

"Why refused you the offer of my father ?" said Bertrade to him as he wascome to bid her farewell. "Simon de Montfort is as great a man in Englandas the King himself, and your future were assured did you attach your selfto his person. But what am I saying ! Did Roger de Conde not wish to beelsewhere, he had accepted and, as he did not accept, it is proof positivethat he does not wish to bide among the De Montforts."

"I would give my soul to the devil," said Norman of Torn, "would it buy methe right to remain ever at the feet of Bertrade Montfort."

He raised her hand to his lips in farewell as he started to speak, butsomething -- was it an almost imperceptible pressure of her little fingers,a quickening of her breath or a swaying of her body toward him ? -- causedhim to pause and raise his eyes to hers.

For an instant they stood thus, the eyes of the man sinking deep into theeyes of the maid, and then hers closed and with a little sigh that was halfgasp, she swayed toward him, and the Devil of Torn folded the King's niecein his mighty arms and his lips placed the seal of a great love upon thosethat were upturned to him.

The touch of those pure lips brought the man to himself.

"Ah, Bertrade, my Bertrade," he cried, "what is this thing that I havedone ! Forgive me, and let the greatness and the purity of my love for youplead in extenuation of my act."

She looked up into his face in surprise, and then placing her strong whitehands upon his shoulders, she whispered:

"See, Roger, I am not angry. It is not wrong that we love; tell me it isnot, Roger."

"You must not say that you love me, Bertrade. I am a coward, a cravenpoltroon; but, God, how I love you."

"But," said the girl, "I do love -- "

"Stop," he cried, "not yet, not yet. Do not say it till I come again. Youknow nothing of me, you do not know even who I be; but when next I come, Ipromise that ye shall know as much of me as I myself know, and then,Bertrade, my Bertrade, if you can then say, 'I love you' no power on earth,or in heaven above, or hell below shall keep you from being mine !"

"I will wait, Roger, for I believe in you and trust you. I do notunderstand, but I know that you must have some good reason, though it allseems very strange to me. If I, a De Montfort, am willing to acknowledgemy love for any man, there can be no reason why I should not do so,unless," and she started at the sudden thought, wide-eyed and paling,"unless there be another woman, a -- a -- wife ?"

"There is no other woman, Bertrade," said Norman of Torn. "I have no wife;nor within the limits of my memory have my lips ever before touched thelips of another, for I do not remember my mother."

She sighed a happy little sigh of relief, and laughing lightly, said:

"It is some old woman's bugaboo that you are haling out of a dark corner ofyour imagination to frighten yourself with. I do not fear, since I knowthat you must be all good. There be no line of vice or deception upon yourface and you are very brave. So brave and noble a man, Roger, has a heartof pure gold."

"Don't," he said, bitterly. "I cannot endure it. Wait until I come againand then, oh my flower of all England, if you have it in your heart tospeak as you are speaking now, the sun of my happiness will be at zenith.Then, but not before, shall I speak to the Earl, thy father. Farewell,Bertrade, in a few days I return."

"If you would speak to the Earl on such a subject, you insolent youngpuppy, you may save your breath," thundered an angry voice, and Simon deMontfort strode, scowling, into the room.

The girl paled, but not from fear of her father, for the fighting blood ofthe De Montforts was as strong in her as in her sire. She faced him withas brave and resolute a face as did the young man, who turned slowly,fixing De Montfort with level gaze.

"I heard enough of your words as I was passing through the corridor,"continued the latter, "to readily guess what had gone before. So it is forthis that you have wormed your sneaking way into my home ? And thought youthat Simon de Montfort would throw his daughter at the head of the firstpassing rogue ? Who be ye, but a nameless rascal ? For aught we know,some low born lackey. Get ye hence, and be only thankful that I do not aidyou with the toe of my boot where it would do the most good."

"Stop !" cried the girl. "Stop, father, hast forgot that but for Roger deConde ye might have seen your daughter a corpse ere now, or, worse, herselfbefouled and dishonored ?"

"I do not forget," replied the Earl, "and. it is because I remember thatmy sword remains in its scabbard. The fellow has been amply repaid by thefriendship of De Montfort, but now this act of perfidy has wiped clean thescore. An' you would go in peace, sirrah, go quickly, ere I lose mytemper."

"There has been some misunderstanding on your part, My Lord," spoke Normanof Torn, quietly and without apparent anger or excitement. "Your daughterhas not told me that she loves me, nor did I contemplate asking you for herhand. When next I come, first shall I see her and if she will have me, MyLord, I shall come to you to tell you that I shall wed her. Norm -- Rogerde Conde asks permission of no man to do what he would do."

Simon de Montfort was fairly bursting with rage but he managed to controlhimself to say,

"My daughter weds whom I select, and even now I have practically closednegotiations for her betrothal to Prince Philip, nephew of King Louis ofFrance. And as for you, sir, I would as lief see her the wife of theOutlaw of Torn. He, at least, has wealth and power, and a name that beknown outside his own armor. But enough of this; get you gone, nor let mesee your face again within the walls of Leicester's castle."

"You are right, My Lord, it were foolish and idle for us to be quarrelingwith words," said the outlaw. "Farewell, My Lady. I shall return as Ipromised, and your word shall be law." And with a profound bow to DeMontfort, Norman of Torn left the apartment, and in a few minutes wasriding through the courtyard of the castle toward the main portals.

As he passed beneath a window in the castle wall, a voice called to himfrom above, and drawing in his horse, he looked up into the eyes ofBertrade de Montfort.

"Take this, Roger de Conde," she whispered, dropping a tiny parcel to him,"and wear it ever, for my sake. We may never meet again, for the Earl myfather, is a mighty man, not easily turned from his decisions; therefore Ishall say to you, Roger de Conde, what you forbid my saying. I love you,and be ye prince or scullion, you may have me, if you can find the means totake me."

"Wait, my lady, until I return, then shall you decide, and if ye be of thesame mind as today, never fear but that I shall take ye. Again, farewell."And with a brave smile that hid a sad heart, Norman of Torn passed out ofthe castle yard.

When he undid the parcel which Bertrade had tossed to him, he found that itcontained a beautifully wrought ring set with a single opal.

The Outlaw of Torn raised the little circlet to his lips, and then slippedit upon the third finger of his left hand.