Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  About half an hour after the events had taken place, of which we havespoken in the last chapter, Prince Edward stood in the midst of thechamber already described, habited in a light riding suit, but armedonly with his sword. He was gazing, with a look of expectation, at thedoor, when it opened, and his young companion, Thomas de Clare, enteredin haste. "Oh yes, my lord," he said, with a well pleased smile, "hefully confirms the permission; and, indeed, William of Cantelupe,Ingelby, and Thomas de Blundel, with three or four, are already waitingin the court-yard for your coming."

  "Is my horse prepared, then?" demanded the Prince.

  "Why, the foolish grooms, my lord," replied the young nobleman, "hadbrought out the roan, alleging that grey was lean, and not like aPrince's horse, but I bade them saddle him, notwithstanding, sayingthat I had given him to your Grace, and checking them for not obeyingthe order they had received. He is, doubtless, caparisoned by thistime--but you are pale, my lord; the fever has weakened you! Were itnot as well to take a cup of wine before you ride forth?"

  Edward shook his head. "Not so!" he said; "when I strike my spur intothat horse's side, the very thought of freedom shall give me betterstrength and courage than the best wine that ever France produced.However, let me have your arm; it may be well to seem a little weakerthan I am. Do you go with me, De Clare?"

  "No, my lord," answered his companion, "I am not one of those named;and, to say the truth, I did not seek the honour, for I might butembarrass you, and I must provide for my own safety here."

  "Are you sure you can?" demanded the Prince. "You must not risk yourlife for me, De Clare!"

  "Oh, fear not--fear not!" replied the young nobleman; "give me but onehour, and I will be beyond the reach of harm."

  After a few more words, Prince Edward took his arm, and slowlydescended the stairs, at the foot of which they found a number ofgentlemen assembled, with several servants holding the horses which hadbeen prepared for their excursion. The spearmen whom De Clare hadtalked of the preceding night did not make their appearance, DeMontfort judging that seven or eight of his stanchest followers wouldbe quite sufficient to secure him against the escape of the captivePrince. Edward bowed familiarly to the various gentlemen present, andwas received with every appearance of deference and respect.

  "Good morning, Ingelby," he said; "good morning, Sir William deCantelupe. Blundel, I am glad you are here--you are a judge of horses;and De Clare has given me one, which he declares will make an excellentcharger--God speed the mark! When shall I need a charger again?--Butthere he comes; at least, I suppose so. What think you of him?"

  "Nay, no jesting, gentlemen!" cried De Clare, remarking a smile uponthe lips of the rest; "that is a horse which, when well fed andpampered highly, will do more service than a thousand sleek-coatedbeauties."

  "To the latter appellation, at least, he has no title," repliedBlundel, looking at the horse as it was led forward; "but he has goodpoints about him, nevertheless."

  "He seems quiet enough," observed the Prince; "and, to say sooth, thatis no slight matter with me to-day. I am not strong enough to ride arough-paced fiery charger. But let us mount, gentlemen, and go.Farewell, De Clare! I will not break your horse's wind."

  "I defy your Grace," answered Thomas de Clare, holding Edward'sstirrup, as he mounted slowly. "I wish you a pleasant ride."

  At the gate of the castle stood the Earl of Leicester himself, ready todo honour to Prince Edward, as he passed; and after a few words of coldcourtesy, the train proceeded on its way, and wound out of the town ofHereford.

  "This free air cheers me," said Edward, turning to one of hiscompanions, after they had passed the gates about half a mile. "Howtrue it is, that blessings, manifold blessings, are only known to besuch when we have lost them! To me this free summer wind is in itselfthe richest of enjoyments."

  "I am glad to hear it, my lord," replied the gentleman he addressed; "Ihope it may do you much good."

  "If I can obtain many such rides," continued Edward; "I shall soon bequite well. See, how proud Blundel is of his horse! and yet I would beta silver tankard against a pewter can, that Cantelupe's would beat itfor the distance of half a mile, or Ingelby's either."

  Ingelby, who was near, smiled, well pleased; and the other, to whomEdward had spoken, exclaimed--"Do you hear what the Prince says,Blundel?--that Cantelupe's horse would beat yours for half a mile!"

  "Cantelupe would not try," answered Blundel, "I should think."

  "Oh, I will try!" cried Cantelupe; "to please the Prince, I will trywith all my heart. Let us set off!"

  "Nay, nay," rejoined Edward, "let us wait till we get upon the turf, onthe higher ground. If I remember right, there is as fair a course thereas any in England. We will make matches there for you, and I will givea golden drinking cup as a prize for the horse that beats all the rest.You shall run two at a time, and the gentlemen who remain with me willbe the judges of each course."

  "Agreed, agreed!" cried the whole party.

  "I shall win the cup!" said Blundel.

  "Not you!" shouted Ingelby, in his loud, hoarse voice. "It is scarcelyfair for me, however, for I am so much heavier."

  "But you have a stronger horse," replied Edward; and thus passing thetime in light conversation, they mounted slowly the first gentle slopesin the neighbourhood of Hereford, and came upon some fine dry turf atthe top.

  As soon as they found an open space where there was grass enough,Blundel and Cantelupe put their horses into a quick pace and gallopedon, taking for the winning-post a tree that stood detached at thedistance of about half a mile. Cantelupe was the lighter man of thetwo, and he rode well; but Blundel's horse was decidedly superior,and, he had already passed the tree when his competitor was two orthree lengths behind. The Prince seemed greatly to enjoy the sport, andcheered on the men and horses with his voice and hand. Two morecompetitors speedily succeeded the first, and still the whole partykept, advancing over the wild, turfy sort of down, ever and anonchoosing an open spot for their gay pastime.

  "Now, Ingelby," said the Prince, at length, "you must try with Blundel.As you are the heavier man, you have some advantage in his horse beingrather tired. We will give you a mile's course, too, so that yourbeast's strength will tell. There, up to that gate, with the littlevillage church beyond, and if you beat him, I will fill the cup withsilver pieces. He is so proud of his beast, it makes me mad to seehim."

  Blundel patted the arching neck of, his proud charger with aself-satisfied smile, and, at the given sign, gave him his head. Awaythe two best horses in the party went, and ran the longer course beforethem with very equal speed, Blundel taking the lead at first, butIngelby's stronger beast gaining upon him afterwards. Blundel, however,was the first to reach the gate; but Ingelby dared him to try hischance back again, and away they came once more at headlong speed. Thistime, Ingelby was first, till, at the distance of about three hundredyards from the Prince, his horse stumbled, and came down with a heavyfall. The rider and the charger were both upon their feet again in amoment, but the beast had struck his knee, although not severely, andwent lame as he finished the rest of his course.

  "I know not how we must award the prize here," said the Prince; "forhad it not been for that accident----"

  "Oh, it is mine--it is mine, fairly!" cried Blundel.

  "Oh, yes, my lord, I think he has won it!" said several voices round.

  "Oh, I have won it!" reiterated Blundel; but added, laughing, "unlesshis Grace himself will ride a course with me upon his grey charger."

  "It must be but a short one, Blundel," answered Edward; "but I do notmind if I try for some hundred yards or two the mettle of the beast.What say you to that little tree?"

  "With all my heart!" replied Blundel.

  "On, then!" cried the Prince; and at the same moment he loosed therein--at which his horse had been tugging for the last half hour--andstruck his spurs into the animal's sides. Like an arrow shot from abow, the lean and bony charger darte
d forth, covering an immense spaceof ground at every stretch, and speedily leaving Blundel and hisvaunted steed behind. Spurring with all his might, the disappointedcavalier followed on Edward's track; but though the distance to thetree was certainly not more than five hundred yards, the Prince wasfull fifty in front when he passed it.

  Seeing that it was vain to make any further effort, Blundel slackenedhis speed, but to his astonishment the Prince spurred on, gaining uponhim every minute; and, at the distance of about seventy or eightyyards, feeling the immense speed and power of the horse that hebestrode, Edward turned gaily round in the saddle, and, waving hishand, exclaimed, in a loud voice, "All courteous things to my cousin DeMontfort! Tell him he shall hear from me soon."

  By this time the party, who had been slowly following, had caught sightof what was passing, and putting their chargers into a gallop, weresoon up to the spot where Blundel had halted in bewilderment andwonder.

  "He is gone!" cried Blundel. "By St. John the Evangelist, he is gone!"

  "What shall we do?" exclaimed another.

  "Follow him, follow him, at all events," said Ingelby; "it must not besaid that we did not follow him," and accordingly they spurred on attheir best speed; but it was all in vain. The poor-looking grey, thatevery one had contemned, now showed his real powers, each moment seemedto increase his speed, each stride seemed wider than the last, andevery instant Edward gained upon his pursuers.

  For some way he never turned his head to look, feeling sure that theywere left far behind; but at length, after rising another gentle slope,he paused for an instant to let his horse breathe, and gazed back overthe grassy land, which he could now see extending all the way down tothe river. At the distance of about a mile, he beheld a knot of eighthorsemen, in whom he instantly recognised the persons who had been sentto guard him. But they were no longer following upon his track, theirhorses' heads were turned towards Hereford, and thither they nowpursued their way, having soon given up all hope of overtaking thefugitive.

  "Where is my Lord of Leicester?" demanded Ingelby, the moment theyarrived in the court of the castle.

  "He is holding private council, and cannot be spoken with," replied theofficer to whom he addressed himself.

  "I must speak with him, however," rejoined Ingelby.

  "You cannot!" said the officer, sternly; "he is in close conferencewith the Earl of Oxford and Lord Ralph."

  "If the devil were with him, I must see him!" exclaimed Ingelby. "Outof my way, man! I will bear the blame." And, pushing past him, heapproached the door of the council-chamber, and knocked hard with hishand. A page, who was within, opened the door; and walking straight upto De Montfort, who sat at the head of the table, Ingelby whispered,"The Prince is gone, my lord!"

  De Montfort turned fiercely round upon him, and struck the table withhis clenched hand, exclaiming "Gone!"

  "Ay, my lord, gone!" replied the officer; "and yet none of us couldhelp it;" and he proceeded to explain how Edward had effected hisescape.

  De Montfort showed no further agitation or surprise than that which thesudden communication of such intelligence elicited at first. Itoverpowered his usual calmness for a moment; but then it was past.After hearing Ingelby's account, he muttered to himself--"The shadowthat fell upon me this morning was from this cloud. Go, boy," hecontinued, addressing the page who stood at the door, "bid theconstable of the guard seek for Thomas de Clare; and if he find him,attach him for high treason. Let some one, too, summon the Lords ofAshby hither instantly, on business of much importance. Quick boy,away!--My Lord of Oxford, I will beseech you to speed across thecountry to Pevensey at once, and instead of aiding my son to take it,as we proposed just now, bid him raise the siege, and march to join me,with all the men whom he can raise, coming by Winchester and Oxford. Weshall soon have business on our hands, and must be up and stirring.What were we saying, Sir Adam de Newfort!--oh, about bringing thetroops from Chester;" and he entered again upon the subject which theyhad before been discussing, seeming to dismiss from his mind the escapeof the Prince, as if it had been a matter of no moment.

  In about half an hour the messenger returned, whom he had sent to orderthe arrest of Thomas de Clare.

  "My lord," said the page, "they are not to be found."

  "They!" exclaimed the Earl.

  "Lord Thomas left the castle an hour ago," replied the page, "and hisservants are all gone likewise."

  "So I thought, so I thought!" said De Montfort; "'Trust not softseeming' is a good old saw. I might have been wiser than to put faithin one of the brood of Gloucester."

  "But of the Ashbys, boy--speak of the Ashbys!" cried Lord Ralph Basset."My heart is no true prophet if they play us not false likewise."

  "They went out upon the Worcester road, the people of their inndeclare," rejoined the boy, "within half an hour after they left thecastle, and ere an hour was over all their people followed them, theirsteward paying the score."

  "Let them go!" cried De Montfort, "we can afford to lose them. Anunwilling hand is always well spared from a good cause. Besides, thegreater loss puts out the less. One Edward is worth a whole shop fullof Ashbys!" and with this contemptuous observation he turned to othermatters again.