BLACK was the mouth of Twynham Castle, though a pair of torchesburning at the further end of the gateway cast a red glare overthe outer bailey, and sent a dim, ruddy flicker through therough-hewn arch, rising and falling with fitful brightness. Overthe door the travellers could discern the escutcheon of theMontacutes, a roebuck gules on a field argent, flanked on eitherside by smaller shields which bore the red roses of the veteranconstable. As they passed over the drawbridge, Alleyne markedthe gleam of arms in the embrasures to right and left, and theyhad scarce set foot upon the causeway ere a hoarse blare burstfrom a bugle, and, with screech of hinge and clank of chain, theponderous bridge swung up into the air, drawn by unseen hands.At the same instant the huge portcullis came rattling down fromabove, and shut off the last fading light of day. Sir Nigel andhis lady walked on in deep talk, while a fat under-steward tookcharge of the three comrades, and led them to the buttery, wherebeef, bread, and beer were kept ever in readiness for thewayfarer. After a hearty meal and a dip in the trough to washthe dust from them, they strolled forth into the bailey, wherethe bowman peered about through the darkness at wall and at keep,with the carping eyes of one who has seen something of sieges,and is not likely to be satisfied. To Alleyne and to John,however, it appeared to be as great and as stout a fortress ascould be built by the hands of man.

Erected by Sir Balwin de Redvers in the old fighting days of thetwelfth century, when men thought much of war and little ofcomfort, Castle Twynham had been designed as a stronghold pureand simple, unlike those later and more magnificent structureswhere warlike strength had been combined with the magnificence ofa palace. From the time of the Edwards such buildings as Conwayor Caernarvon castles, to say nothing of Royal Windsor, had shownthat it was possible to secure luxury in peace as well assecurity in times of trouble. Sir Nigel's trust, however, stillfrowned above the smooth-flowing waters of the Avon, very much asthe stern race of early Anglo-Normans had designed it. Therewere the broad outer and inner bailies, not paved, but sown withgrass to nourish the sheep and cattle which might be driven in onsign of danger. All round were high and turreted walls, with atthe corner a bare square-faced keep, gaunt and windowless,rearing up from a lofty mound, which made it almost inaccessibleto an assailant.

Against the bailey-walls were rows of frail wooden houses andleaning sheds, which gave shelter to the archers and men-at-armswho formed the garrison. The doors of these humble dwellingswere mostly open, and against the yellow glare from withinAlleyne could see the bearded fellows cleaning their harness,while their wives would come out for a gossip, with theirneedlework in their hands, and their long black shadows streamingacross the yard. The air was full of the clack of their voicesand the merry prattling of children, in strange contrast to theflash of arms and constant warlike challenge from the wallsabove.

"Methinks a company of school lads could hold this place againstan army," quoth John.

"And so say I," said Alleyne.

"Nay, there you are wide of the clout," the bowman said gravely."By my hilt! I have seen a stronger fortalice carried in a summerevening. I remember such a one in Picardy, with a name as longas a Gascon's pedigree. It was when I served under Sir RobertKnolles, before the days of the Company; and we came by goodplunder at the sacking of it. I had myself a great silver bowl,with two goblets, and a plastron of Spanish steel. Pasques Dieu!there are some fine women over yonder! Mort de ma vie! see tothat one in the doorway! I will go speak to her. But whom havewe here?"

"Is there an archer here hight Sam Aylward?" asked a gaunt man-at-arms, clanking up to them across the courtyard.

"My name, friend," quoth the bowman.

"Then sure I have no need to tell thee mine," said the other.

"By the rood! if it is not Black Simon of Norwich!" criedAylward. "A mon coeur, camarade, a mon coeur! Ah, but I amblithe to see thee!" The two fell upon each other and huggedlike bears.

"And where from, old blood and bones?" asked the bowman.

"I am in service here. Tell me, comrade, is it sooth that weshall have another fling at these Frenchmen? It is so rumored inthe guard-room, and that Sir Nigel will take the field oncemore."

"It is like enough, mon gar., as things go."

"Now may the Lord be praised!" cried the other. "This very nightwill I set apart a golden ouche to be offered on the shrine of myname-saint. I have pined for this, Aylward, as a young maidpines for her lover."

"Art so set on plunder then? Is the purse so light that there isnot enough for a rouse? I have a bag at my belt, camarade, andyou have but to put your fist into it for what you want. It wasever share and share between us."

"Nay, friend, it is not the Frenchman's gold, but the Frenchman'sblood that I would have. I should not rest quiet in the grave,coz, if I had not another turn at them. For with us in France ithas ever been fair and honest war--a shut fist for the man, but abended knee for the woman. But how was it at Winchelsea whentheir galleys came down upon it some few years back? I had anold mother there, lad, who had come down thither from theMidlands to be the nearer her son. They found her afterwards byher own hearthstone, thrust through by a Frenchman's bill. Mysecond sister, my brother's wife, and her two children, theywere but ash-heaps in the smoking ruins of their house. I willnot say that we have not wrought great scath upon France, butwomen and children have been safe from us. And so, old friend,my heart is hot within me, and I long to hear the old battle-cryagain, and, by God's truth I if Sir Nigel unfurls his pennon,here is one who will be right glad to feel the saddle-flaps underhis knees."

"We have seen good work together, old war-dog," quoth Aylward;"and, by my hilt! we may hope to see more ere we die. But we aremore like to hawk at the Spanish woodcock than at the Frenchheron, though certes it is rumored that Du Guesclin with all thebest lances of France have taken service under the lions andtowers of Castile. But, comrade, it is in my mind that there issome small matter of dispute still open between us."

" 'Fore God, it is sooth!" cried the other; "I had forgot it.The provost-marshal and his men tore us apart when last we met."

"On which, friend, we vowed that we should settle the point whennext we came together. Hast thy sword, I see, and the moonthrows glimmer enough for such old night-birds as we. On guard,mon gar.! I have not heard clink of steel this month or more."

"Out from the shadow then," said the other, drawing his sword."A vow is a vow, and not lightly to be broken."

"A vow to the saints," cried Alleyne, "is indeed not to be setaside; but this is a devil's vow, and, simple clerk as I am, I amyet the mouthpiece of the true church when I say that it weremortal sin to fight on such a quarrel. What! shall two grown mencarry malice for years, and fly like snarling curs at eachother's throats?"

"No malice, my young clerk, no malice," quoth Black Simon, "Ihave not a bitter drop in my heart for mine old comrade; but thequarrel, as he hath told you, is still open and unsettled. Fallon, Aylward!"

"Not whilst I can stand between you," cried Alleyne, springingbefore the bowman. "It is shame and sin to see two ChristianEnglishmen turn swords against each other like the frenziedbloodthirsty paynim."

"And, what is more," said Hordle John, suddenly appearing out ofthe buttery with the huge board upon which the pastry was rolled,"if either raise sword I shall flatten him like a Shrovetidepancake. By the black rood! I shall drive him into the earth,like a nail into a door, rather than see you do scath to eachother."

" 'Fore God, this is a strange way of preaching peace," criedBlack Simon. "You may find the scath yourself, my lusty friend,if you raise your great cudgel to me. I had as lief have thecastle drawbridge drop upon my pate."

"Tell me, Aylward," said Alleyne earnestly, with his handsoutstretched to keep the pair asunder, "what is the cause ofquarrel, that we may see whether honorable settlement may not bearrived at?"

The bowman looked down at his feet and then up at the moons"Parbleu!" he cried, "the cause of quarrel? Why, mon petit, itwas years ago in Limousin, and how can I bear in mind what wasthe cause of it? Simon there hath it at the end of his tongue."

"Not I, in troth," replied the other; "I have had other things tothink of. There was some sort of bickering over dice, or wine,or was it a woman, coz?"

"Pasques Dieu! but you have nicked it," cried Aylward. "It wasindeed about a woman; and the quarrel must go forward, for I amstill of the same mind as before."

"What of the woman, then?" asked Simon. "May the murrain strikeme if I can call to mind aught about her."

"It was La Blanche Rose, maid at the sign of the 'Trois Corbeaux'at Limoges. Bless her pretty heart! Why, mon gar., I lovedher."

"So did a many,"quoth Simon. "I call her to mind now. On thevery day that we fought over the little hussy, she went off withEvan ap Price, a long-legged Welsh dagsman. They have a hostelof their own now, somewhere on the banks of the Garonne, wherethe landlord drinks so much of the liquor that there is littleleft for the customers."

"So ends our quarrel, then," said Aylward, sheathing his sword."A Welsh dagsman, i' faith! C'etait mauvais goot, camarade, andthe more so when she had a jolly archer and a lusty man-at-armsto choose from."

"True, old lad. And it is as well that we can compose ourdifferences honorably, for Sir Nigel had been out at the firstclash of steel; and he hath sworn that if there be quarrelling inthe garrison he would smite the right hand from the broilers.You know him of old, and that he is like to be as good as hisword."

"Mort-Dieu! yes. But there are ale, mead, and wine in thebuttery, and the steward a merry rogue, who will not haggle overa quart or two. Buvons, mon gar., for it is not every day thattwo old friends come together."

The old soldiers and Hordle John strode off together in all goodfellowship. Alleyne had turned to follow them, when he felt atouch upon his shoulder, and found a young page by his side.

"The Lord Loring commands," said the boy, "that you will followme to the great chamber, and await him there."

"But my comrades?"

"His commands were for you alone."

Alleyne followed the messenger to the east end of the courtyard,where a broad flight of steps led up to the doorway of the mainhall, the outer wall of which is washed by the waters of theAvon. As designed at first, no dwelling had been allotted to thelord of the castle and his family but the dark and dismalbasement storey of the keep. A more civilized or more effeminategeneration, however, had refused to be pent up in such a cellar,and the hall with its neighboring chambers had been added fortheir accommodation. Up the broad steps Alleyne went, stillfollowing his boyish guide, until at the folding oak doors thelatter paused, and ushered him into the main hall of the castle.

On entering the room the clerk looked round; but, seeing no one,he continued to stand, his cap in his hand, examining with thegreatest interest a chamber which was so different to any towhich he was accustomed. The days had gone by when a nobleman'shall was but a barn-like, rush-strewn enclosure, the commonlounge and eating-room of every inmate of the castle. TheCrusaders had brought back with them experiences of domesticluxuries, of Damascus carpets and rugs of Aleppo, which made themimpatient of the hideous bareness and want of privacy which theyfound in their ancestral strongholds. Still stronger, however,had been the influence of the great French war; for, however wellmatched the nations might be in martial exercises, there could beno question but that our neighbors were infinitely superior to usin the arts of peace. A stream of returning knights, of woundedsoldiers, and of unransomed French noblemen, had been for aquarter of a century continually pouring into England, every oneof whom exerted an influence in the direction of greater domesticrefinement, while shiploads of French furniture from Calais,Rouen, and other plundered towns, had supplied our own artizanswith models on which to shape their work. Hence, in most Englishcastles, and in Castle Twynham among the rest, chambers were tobe found which would seem to be not wanting either in beauty orin comfort.

In the great stone fireplace a log fire was spurting andcrackling, throwing out a ruddy glare which, with the fourbracket-lamps which stood at each corner of the room, gave abright and lightsome air to the whole apartment. Above was awreath-work of blazonry, extending up to the carved and cornicedoaken roof; while on either side stood the high canopied chairsplaced for the master of the house and for his most honoredguest. The walls were hung all round with most elaborate andbrightly colored tapestry, representing the achievements of SirBevis of Hampton, and behind this convenient screen were storedthe tables dormant and benches which would be needed for banquetor high festivity. The floor was of polished tiles, with asquare of red and black diapered Flemish carpet in the centre;and many settees, cushions, folding chairs, and carved bancalslittered all over it. At the further end was a long black buffetor dresser, thickly covered with gold cups, silver salvers, andother such valuables. All this Alleyne examined with curiouseyes; but most interesting of all to him was a small ebony tableat his very side, on which, by the side of a chess-board and thescattered chessmen, there lay an open manuscript written in aright clerkly hand, and set forth with brave flourishes anddevices along the margins. In vain Alleyne bethought him ofwhere he was, and of those laws of good breeding and decorumwhich should restrain him: those colored capitals and black evenlines drew his hand down to them, as the loadstone draws theneedle, until, almost before he knew it, he was standing with theromance of Garin de Montglane before his eyes, so absorbed in itscontents as to be completely oblivious both of where he was andwhy he had come there.

He was brought back to himself, however, by a sudden littleripple of quick feminine laughter. Aghast, he dropped themanuscript among the chessmen and stared in bewilderment roundthe room. It was as empty and as still as ever. Again hestretched his hand out to the romance, and again came thatroguish burst of merriment. He looked up at the ceiling, back atthe closed door, and round at the stiff folds of motionlesstapestry. Of a sudden, however, he caught a quick shimmer fromthe corner of a high-backed bancal in front of him, and, shiftinga pace or two to the side, saw a white slender hand, which held amirror of polished silver in such a way that the concealedobserver could see without being seen. He stood irresolute,uncertain whether to advance or to take no notice; but, even ashe hesitated, the mirror was whipped in, and a tall and statelyyoung lady swept out from behind the oaken screen, with a dancinglight of mischief in her eyes. Alleyne started with astonishmentas he recognized the very maiden who had suffered from hisbrother's violence in the forest. She no longer wore her gayriding-dress, however, but was attired in a long sweeping robe ofblack velvet of Bruges, with delicate tracery of white lace atneck and at wrist, scarce to be seen against her ivory skin.Beautiful as she had seemed to him before, the lithe charm of herfigure and the proud, free grace of her bearing were enhanced nowby the rich simplicity of her attire.

"Ah, you start," said she, with the same sidelong look ofmischief, "and I cannot marvel at it. Didst not look to see thedistressed damosel again. Oh that I were a minstrel, that Imight put it into rhyme, with the whole romance--the lucklessmaid, the wicked socman, and the virtuous clerk! So might ourfame have gone down together for all time, and you be numberedwith Sir Percival or Sir Galahad, or all the other rescuers ofoppressed ladies."

"What I did," said Alleyne, "was too small a thing for thanks;and yet, if I may say it without offence, it was too grave andnear a matter for mirth and raillery. I had counted on mybrother's love, but God has willed that it should be otherwise.It is a joy to me to see you again, lady, and to know that youhave reached home in safety, if this be indeed your home."

"Yes, in sooth, Castle Twynham is my home, and Sir Nigel Loringmy father, I should have told you so this morning, but you saidthat you were coming thither, so I bethought me that I might holdit back as a surprise to you. Oh dear, but it was brave to seeyou!" she cried, bursting out a-laughing once more, and standingwith her hand pressed to her side, and her half-closed eyestwinkling with amusement. "You drew back and came forward withyour eyes upon my book there, like the mouse who sniffs thecheese and yet dreads the trap."

"I take shame," said Alleyne, "that I should have touched it."

"Nay, it warmed my very heart to see it. So glad was I, that Ilaughed for very pleasure. My fine preacher can himself betempted then, thought I; he is not made of another clay to therest of us."

"God help me! I am the weakest of the weak," groaned Alleyne."I pray that I may have more strength."

"And to what end?" she asked sharply. "If you are, as Iunderstand, to shut yourself forever in your cell within the fourwalls of an abbey, then of what use would it be were your prayerto be answered?"

"The use of my own salvation."

She turned from him with a pretty shrug and wave. "Is that all?"she said. "Then you are no better than Father Christopher andthe rest of them. Your own, your own, ever your own! My fatheris the king's man, and when he rides into the press of fight heis not thinking ever of the saving of his own poor body; he reckslittle enough if he leave it on the field. Why then should you,who are soldiers of the Spirit, be ever moping or hiding in cellor in cave, with minds full of your own concerns, while theworld, which you should be mending, is going on its way, andneither sees nor hears you? Were ye all as thoughtless of yourown souls as the soldier is of his body, ye would be of moreavail to the souls of others."

"There is sooth in what you say, lady," Alleyne answered; "andyet I scarce can see what you would have the clergy and thechurch to do."

"I would have them live as others and do men's work in the world,preaching by their lives rather than their words. I would havethem come forth from their lonely places, mix with the borelfolks, feel the pains and the pleasures, the cares and therewards, the temptings and the stirrings of the common people.Let them toil and swinken, and labor, and plough the land, andtake wives to themselves----"

"Alas! alas!" cried Alleyne aghast, "you have surely sucked thispoison from the man Wicliffe, of whom I have heard such evilthings."

"Nay, I know him not. I have learned it by looking from my ownchamber window and marking these poor monks of the priory, theirweary life, their profitless round. I have asked myself if thebest which can be done with virtue is to shut it within highwalls as though it were some savage creature. If the good willlock themselves up, and if the wicked will still wander free,then alas for the world!"

Alleyne looked at her in astonishment, for her cheek was flushed,her eyes gleaming, and her whole pose full of eloquence andconviction. Yet in an instant she had changed again to her oldexpression of merriment leavened with mischief.

"Wilt do what I ask?" said she.

"What is it, lady?"

"Oh, most ungallant clerk! A true knight would never have asked,but would have vowed upon the instant. 'Tis but to bear me outin what I say to my father."

"In what?"

"In saying, if he ask, that it was south of the Christchurch roadthat I met you. I shall be shut up with the tire-women else, andhave a week of spindle and bodkin, when I would fain be gallopingTroubadour up Wilverly Walk, or loosing little Roland at theVinney Ridge herons."

"I shall not answer him if he ask."

"Not answer! But he will have an answer. Nay, but you must notfail me, or it will go ill with me."

"But, lady," cried poor Alleyne in great distress, "how can I saythat it was to the south of the road when I know well that it wasfour miles to the north."

"You will not say it?"

"Surely you will not, too, when you know that it is not so?"

"Oh, I weary of your preaching!" she cried, and swept away with atoss of her beautiful head, leaving Alleyne as cast down andashamed as though he had himself proposed some infamous thing.She was back again in an instant, however, in another of hervarying moods.

"Look at that, my friend!" said she. "If you had been shut up inabbey or in cell this day you could not have taught a waywardmaiden to abide by the truth. Is it not so? What avail is theshepherd if he leaves his sheep."

"A sorry shepherd!" said Alleyne humbly. "But here is your noblefather."

"And you shall see how worthy a pupil I am. Father, I am muchbeholden to this young clerk, who was of service to me and helpedme this very morning in Minstead Woods, four miles to the northof the Christchurch road, where I had no call to be, you havingordered it otherwise." All this she reeled off in a loud voice,and then glanced with sidelong, questioning eyes at Alleyne forhis approval.

Sir Nigel, who had entered the room with a silvery-haired oldlady upon his arm, stared aghast at this sudden outburst ofcandor.

"Maude, Maude!" said he, shaking his head, "it is more hard forme to gain obedience from you than from the ten score drunkenarchers who followed me to Guienne. Yet, hush! little one, foryour fair lady-mother will be here anon, and there is no needthat she should know it. We will keep you from the provost-marshal this journey. Away to your chamber, sweeting, and keep ablithe face, for she who confesses is shriven. And now, fairmother," he continued, when his daughter had gone, "sit you hereby the fire, for your blood runs colder than it did. AlleyneEdricson, I would have a word with you, for I would fain that youshould take service under me. And here in good time comes mylady, without whose counsel it is not my wont to decide aught ofimport; but, indeed, it was her own thought that you shouldcome."

"For I have formed a good opinion of you, and can see that youare one who may be trusted," said the Lady Loring. "And in goodsooth my dear lord hath need of such a one by his side, for herecks so little of himself that there should be one there to lookto his needs and meet his wants. You have seen the cloisters; itwere well that you should see the world too, ere you make choicefor life between them."

"It was for that very reason that my father willed that I shouldcome forth into the world at my twentieth year," said Alleyne.

"Then your father was a man of good counsel," said she, "and youcannot carry out his will better than by going on this path,where all that is noble and gallant in England will be yourcompanions."

"You can ride?" asked Sir Nigel, looking at the youth withpuckered eyes.

"Yes, I have ridden much at the abbey."

"Yet there is a difference betwixt a friar's hack and a warrior'sdestrier. You can sing and play?"

"On citole, flute and rebeck."

"Good! You can read blazonry?"

"Indifferent well."

"Then read this," quoth Sir Nigel, pointing upwards to one of themany quarterings which adorned the wall over the fireplace.

"Argent," Alleyne answered, "a fess azure charged with threelozenges dividing three mullets sable. Over all, on anescutcheon of the first, a jambe gules."

"A jambe gules erased," said Sir Nigel, shaking his headsolemnly. "Yet it is not amiss for a monk-bred man. I trustthat you are lowly and serviceable?"

"I have served all my life, my lord."

"Canst carve too?"

"I have carved two days a week for the brethren."

"A model truly! Wilt make a squire of squires. But tell me, Ipray, canst curl hair?"

"No, my lord, but I could learn."

"It is of import," said he, "for I love to keep my hair wellordered, seeing that the weight of my helmet for thirty yearshath in some degree frayed it upon the top." He pulled off hisvelvet cap of maintenance as he spoke, and displayed a pate whichwas as bald as an egg, and shone bravely in the firelight. "Yousee," said he, whisking round, and showing one little strip wherea line of scattered hairs, like the last survivors in some fatalfield, still barely held their own against the fate which hadfallen upon their comrades; "these locks need some little oilingand curling, for I doubt not that if you look slantwise at myhead, when the light is good, you will yourself perceive thatthere are places where the hair is sparse."

"It is for you also to bear the purse," said the lady; "for mysweet lord is of so free and gracious a temper that he would giveit gayly to the first who asked alms of him. All these things,with some knowledge of venerie, and of the management of horse,hawk and hound, with the grace and hardihood and courtesy whichare proper to your age, will make you a fit squire for Sir NigelLoring."

"Alas! lady," Alleyne answered, "I know well the great honor thatyou have done me in deeming me worthy to wait upon so renowned aknight, yet I am so conscious of my own weakness that I scarcedare incur duties which I might be so ill-fitted to fulfil."

"Modesty and a humble mind," said she, "are the very first andrarest gifts in page or squire. Your words prove that you havethese, and all the rest is but the work of use and time. Butthere is no call for haste. Rest upon it for the night, and letyour orisons ask for guidance in the matter. We knew your fatherwell, and would fain help his son, though we have small cause tolove your brother the Socman, who is forever stirring up strifein the county."

"We can scare hope," said Nigel, "to have all ready for our startbefore the feast of St. Luke, for there is much to be done in thetime. You will have leisure, therefore, if it please you to takeservice under me, in which to learn your devoir. Bertrand, mydaughter's page, is hot to go; but in sooth he is over young forsuch rough work as may be before us."

"And I have one favor to crave from you," added the lady of thecastle, as Alleyne turned to leave their presence. "You have, asI understand, much learning which you have acquired at Beaulieu."

"Little enough, lady, compared with those who were my teachers."

"Yet enough for my purpose, I doubt not. For I would have yougive an hour or two a day whilst you are with us in discoursingwith my daughter, the Lady Maude; for she is somewhat backward, Ifear, and hath no love for letters, save for these poor fondromances, which do but fill her empty head with dreams ofenchanted maidens and of errant cavaliers. Father Christophercomes over after nones from the priory, but he is stricken withyears and slow of speech, so that she gets small profit from histeaching. I would have you do what you can with her, and withAgatha my young tire-woman, and with Dorothy Pierpont."

And so Alleyne found himself not only chosen as squire to aknight but also as squire to three damosels, which was evenfurther from the part which he had thought to play in the world.Yet he could but agree to do what he might, and so went forthfrom the castle hall with his face flushed and his head in awhirl at the thought of the strange and perilous paths which hisfeet were destined to tread.