Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XXV.

  In one of the ante-rooms of the palace at Eltham, on the morningfollowing, sat five gentlemen, dressed with extravagant gaudiness,their hair curled, and in some instances plaited like that of women,and their persons adorned with innumerable rings and trinkets.

  "Out upon it!--bear a blow?" cried one of them. "I will have revenge!"

  "How will you seek it, De Margan?" asked another. "With a bodkin?"

  "Nay, nay, let him alone," said the third, "he is a man of spirit, andwill dare this proud knight to the field."

  "Who will crack him there," rejoined the second speaker, "as the Kingcracks a crawfish!"

  "How is that?" inquired the first.

  "Between his finger and thumb," replied the other.

  "This is all nonsense," joined in one who had not yet spoken."Monthermer is a prisoner and cannot underlie a defiance."

  "De Margan will do better than defy him," said the fifth personage. "Heknows that there are shrewder means of revenge in his power than that.Tell them, De Margan--tell them! and we will all go in with you andbear it out!"

  "Ay!" cried Sir Guy de Margan, "those two fair lovers would, I ratherfancy, give each a finger of their right hand rather than have the Earlof Ashby know their secret moonlight meeting in the cloister. Neitherwould the good Earl much like to have the tale told of his fairdaughter showering such favours on this good Lord Hugh; and Alured deAshby, I have heard, hates these Monthermers worse than a cat hatesoil."

  "A goodly mess of venom if you stir it properly!" observed one of hiscompanions.

  "That will I do most certainly," said the first. "I wait but theopening of the King's doors to tell the noble Earl before the wholecourt that his daughter was somewhat less niggardly of her presencelast night to Hugh de Monthermer than he dreamt of. Then, you see, theold lord will chafe, the King will frown, and Alured de Ashby will besent for----"

  "To do what Guy de Margan does not dare himself," said one of thegentlemen.

  What might have been the reply is difficult to say; for, although thepersonage he spoke to, had so much of the better part of valour as torefrain from measuring his strength against a man so much superior tohimself as Hugh de Monthermer, yet he was by no means without couragewhere it was at all prudent to display it. But his answer, which seemedlikely to be a fierce one, was stopped on his very lips; for the doorof the King's chamber opened at that moment, and the well-known Williamde Valence, Earl of Pembroke, came forth, bearing two or three sealedletters in his hand.

  "Sir Guy de Margan," he said, presenting him with a packet, "I amdirected by the King to command you immediately to set out forMonmouth, where you will open these orders, execute them, and rejointhe court at Nottingham. You, Sir Thomas le Strange, will proceed on asimilar mission to Chester; and you, Sir Roger de Leiburn, will go onbefore with these to Derby. Speed, gentlemen, speed!--there is no timeto be lost. We have tidings of a threatened rising in the north, andthe whole court sets out within two hours."

  "Cannot I have audience of the King, my lord," said Guy de Margan; "ifbut for a moment, or with the Earl de Ashby?"

  "Impossible!" replied William de Valence; "the King, with the Earls ofAshby, Mortimer, and Gloucester, and the noble Lord of Audley, isarranging with the Prince the measures which are to be pursued. It isimpossible, Sir Guy! So quick away with you, gentlemen, and see whosespur is sharpest."

  All was bustle, hurry, and confusion at the court of Eltham during therest of the morning. The threatened rising in Northumberland wasindeed, not of a very serious nature, and Edward was of opinion, thatthe few nobles who were about the court, with such troops as he couldmuster rapidly by the way, would be sufficient to overawe themalcontents, and nip the revolt in the bud. Henry, however, ever fondof excitement and display, seized the pretext for making a royalprogress into the north, knowing well that every great noble as hepassed, especially at that particular period, would vie with hisneighbour in entertaining his Sovereign with luxury and splendour.

  Edward looked grave, and evidently disapproved; but he did not ventureto offer any opposition to his father's wishes; and towards two of theclock, in a fine day of the early autumn, preceded and followed by astrong band of soldiery, the whole court, comprising all who happenedto be at Eltham at the time, set out on its way towards Nottingham.

  Although there was indeed more than one horse-litter in the train, yetall the principal personages proceeded on their journey, as usual, uponhorseback; and, even in their robes of travel, they formed a bright andglittering train, as ever was seen, comprising nearly two hundredpersons. Laughing, talking, jesting, they rode along, keeping no verycompact order, and each person choosing his companions as hisinclination prompted, or circumstances admitted.

  Hugh de Monthermer, as may well be supposed, sought the side of Lucy deAshby; and it luckily so happened that an old knight of her father'shousehold, so deaf that the blast of a trumpet was the only thing hecould hear, took upon himself to act as esquire to the lady. In thiscapacity he occupied the post upon her left hand, talking all thewhile, and, with the fruitful imagination, which many deaf people have,fancying the replies that were never spoken. Immediately behind, camethe gay girls who waited upon their fair lady, with two or three pagesand squires, all occupied with the usual subjects, which engrossed theattention of pages, squires, and handmaidens in those days.

  The Earl of Ashby himself kept near the presence of the King; but heseemed to entertain no objection to the attentions which Hugh wasevidently showing to his daughter; and throughout the whole of theprogress, the princess Eleanor, with that sympathy which a kind-heartedwoman always feels for woman's love, favoured the lovers withopportunity, not indeed with bustling eagerness, not indeed evenapparently, but with the calm and quiet tact of a refined mind, as wellas a gentle heart.

  Edward, too, though more occupied with other things than Eleanor,showed every kindness to Hugh de Monthermer, and once or twice, inpassing him while he was conversing with Lucy de Ashby, marked with asmile, the brightness of the lover's eye, and certainly gave nodiscouragement to his hopes.

  At Huntingdon, the young knight was joined by a number of his ownservants, and one or two of those who had been attached to his uncle.Amongst the latter, was the stout yeoman, Tom Blawket; and uponquestioning him, Hugh discovered that all the tenants and retainers ofthe old Earl were ignorant that their lord had survived the battle. Thegood fellow was evidently so deeply grieved at the supposed death ofhis noble master, that Hugh felt a strong inclination to impart to himthe fact of the Earl being safe, and very reluctantly refrained, in thebelief that it might be contrary to his uncle's wishes, so to do. Moneyand horses reached him at the same time, and he was now enabled, in allthings, to resume the appearance of his rank and station.

  Health, too, and strength, were every day coming back more and more;and, though the Prince's surgeon at Eltham had shaken his head andprognosticated that the wound on his breast would never heal completelytill he could obtain perfect repose, a certain balm that Hugh carriedwith him--the balm of happiness--had closed it before he reachedHuntingdon, and had left nothing to be desired but the recovery of hisformer vigour.

  Thus, as the reader may believe, the progress to Nottingham was ajoyful one to Hugh de Monthermer. He bore his sunshine with him, andmingled willingly in all the sports and pleasures prepared for theroyal entertainment.

  It would be tedious to tell all the little incidents of the journey, todescribe the pageant at this castle, the banquet at the other, thetournament that was prepared in one town, the grand procession that metthe monarch at the gates of another city.

  Suffice it, that all was feasting and revelry, merry-making, andrejoicing; and the populace, even in many of the places which had moststrongly adhered to De Montfort, during his days of prosperity, now metthe Monarch, whose oppression and exactions he had risen to curb, andthe Prince, before whose sword he had fallen, with the loudest shouts,and most cheerful acclamations. Such is popularit
y!--he who counts uponit for an hour will find that he has trusted it too long, and he whorelies upon it for support will learn that a bulrush is an oak to it.

  Long before the royal party reached the North, the news of the King'smarch, and of the gathering together of considerable forces, ran onbefore, and, as Edward had supposed, the very rumour crushed theinsurrection in the egg. But Henry still resolved to advance as far asNottingham, and promised the Earl of Ashby to spend some time with himat his castle of Lindwell.

  The Earl sent on messengers to prepare everything for the monarch'sreception, and two days before the time named for enteringNottinghamshire, the party of the King halted in the fair little townof Mountsorrel. The castle was then in ruins; but in the priory below,the King, the Prince, and several of the chief nobles in attendance onthem, found lodging for the night, while the rest of the court werescattered in the houses round about.

  The good monks of Mountsorrel, who since the beginning of of thecentury, when the castle was destroyed, had managed matters their ownway, were celebrated for the excellence of their cheer; and theirrefectory certainly displayed, for the Monarch's entertainment, arepast that night, which, in point of excellence of materials and skillin cookery, excelled all that he had met with on the road.

  The hour was late when the King arrived; and Henry, who loved thepleasures of the table, sat long, tasting all the exquisitemeats--partridges, which had been kept in a mew, and crammed with aspoon to make them fat--peacocks the flesh of which had been renderedas white as driven snow, by the method of feeding them--fish broughtacross the country from the sea, and others which had tenanted foryears the tanks of the priory, nourished with especial care, andtreated with a stream of running water conducted from the Soar river tothe pond, to render them fresh and healthy, together with a thousandother dainties under which the table groaned. Nor did the King merelycontinue at the table himself, but he contrived to keep all his gueststhere likewise, conversing between the dishes with the prior, who knewwell how to season meat with merriment, and had many a light andjesting tale for the Monarch's not very scrupulous ear.

  While such things were proceeding at the Priory, however, the rest ofthe royal party, broken into bodies of five or six, occupied, as wehave said, three or four neighbouring houses, besides the smallhostelry, making themselves as merry and as much at ease as men can dowho care nothing for the comfort of their host, or the report he willmake of them when their backs are turned.

  It was about ten o'clock at night when, in the best room of the inn,three gentlemen were sitting with the relics of their supper stillbefore them--a fat capon and a venison pasty remaining almostuninjured, the one only having lost a leg in the conflict, and theother having a breach in its wall of not more than a couple of inchesin diameter. This fact, however, did not by any means evince that theparty had wanted appetite, but merely that various dishes had gonebefore, leaving no room for anything but wine in the stomachs of thewell-fed guests. The red juice of the Bordeaux grape was flowingprofusely amongst them, and great was the merriment and uproar goingon, when the sound of several horses' feet, coming rapidly down thestreet, and then stopping at the door, called their attention. Whoeverwere the riders, nothing more was known of their proceedings forseveral minutes, at the end of which time a step was heard descendingthe little flight of stairs that led from the road into the parlourwhich was somewhat sunk below the level, of the ground.

  "We can have no more here," cried one of the gentlemen, starting up,resolved to defend the inviolability of their dining chamber--"whoeverit is, must find a lodging elsewhere."

  But just as he spoke, the door, which was fastened with the happy oldcontrivance of a pulley and weight, was pushed sharply open, and a man,dressed in a riding costume, and muffled in a large loose gabardineabove his pourpoint, appeared before them. The one who had beenspeaking, prepared, in a somewhat sharp tone, to enforce his objectionsto the admission of a new guest; but suddenly he seemed to recognisethe new comer, and holding out his hand to him, he exclaimed--"Richardde Ashby, as I live! Why who thought to see you here? We fancied thatyou were with your cousin, Alured, keeping down the men ofWestmoreland. At all events, you are welcome, though, by my life, youwill find the supper we have left you but scanty, and the wine barrelnot so full as when we began."

  Richard de Ashby declared that there would be quite enough of both forhim, and summoning the host to provide him with fresh wine, heproceeded with his meal, from time to time asking such questions asmight best lead his companions to tell him all they knew of what wastaking place at the English Court.

  "Gay doings, I find," he said,--"gay doings, I find, between Eltham andLeicester. Why, the whole country rings with it!"

  "Well may it ring," replied the other gentlemen; "well may it ring, andrejoice too, to see such sights. I have never beheld the like, since Ifollowed the Court of England. But during all that time, it is true, wehave had nothing but civil wars, or the rule of grim De Montfort; so itis no wonder things have gone sadly."

  "They will be merrier now, I trust," said Richard de Ashby. "It is hightime, however, that my own affairs should go a little more merrily; andsurely I have every right to expect it, for to me the Prince owes hisliberty. Ay! and to me, they owe the first seeds of dissension sownamongst De Montfort's people. It is but fair that my claim should beheard."

  "On my life," cried the gentleman to whom he spoke, while Richard deAshby filled himself a cup of wine and drained it off; "on my life, ourgood King and Prince seem fonder of their enemies than their friends.Here is this young Monthermer, one of the chief favourites of theCourt."

  A malevolent scowl passed over the dark face of Richard de Ashby, butas the host was coming in at that moment with more wine, he remainedsilent, hewing the meat before him with his knife, but without tastingit. When the landlord was gone, however, he composed his countenance,and exclaimed, with an affected laugh--"A pretty favourite,indeed!--But tell me what bright ladies follow the Court? I hear therenever was a fairer train."

  "You have heard true, Sir Richard," said the same gentleman who hadhitherto spoken to him, the others being busily engaged in aconversation of their own--"you have heard true; a bevy of lovelierdames has seldom been seen. There is the Countess of Pembroke, andMortimer's wife; but she is ugly enough, Heaven knows! Then there isthe young lady, De Veux, and Lord Audley's daughter; and chief of all,Hugh de Monthermer's lady-love, your fair cousin, Lucy de Ashby."

  There was a certain touch of malice in his tone as he spoke, for it iswonderful how soon men discover any weak point in their fellow-men, andstill more extraordinary how much pleasure they derive from sayingthings that may give pain to others, without producing the slightestbenefit whatever to themselves. Perhaps the courtier, Sir Harry Grey,who now spoke with Richard de Ashby, had in view to provoke him to oneof those outbursts of passion which to our corrupt hearts generallyafford matter of merriment rather than commiseration; but if he did so,he was disappointed.

  A momentary expression of intense wrath convulsed the features ofRichard de Ashby, but he uttered not a word in reply. He pausedthoughtfully, filled another cup of wine, but did not drink it, gazeddown upon the edge of his knife, and then turning round to hiscompanion, said, "How warm it is! How can you all sit here with thecasement closed?"

  "The boys of the village were staring in," answered Sir Harry Grey,"looking at us like wild beasts in a cage, so we were forced to closethe casement and draw the curtain. They are gone now--you can openit.--But you do not tell me what you think of this coming alliance. Heis very wealthy, handsome, renowned; we all think it will answer verywell.

  "Do you?" said Richard de Ashby, drily. "Why, I rather think, SirHarry, it is no business either of yours or mine; although, to speakthe truth, I believe you are mistaken, and that there is no suchalliance toward."

  "Oh, but it is the talk of the whole court!" cried the other. "He isever with her, or with the Lord of Ashby, and besides, the Earl hasbeen known to say--" and he went on to repeat some twenty
rumours of theday concerning the marriage of Hugh de Monthermer and Lucy de Ashby,not one of which contained a word of truth.

  Still, however, Richard de Ashby remained unmoved--at least, to allappearance; and after merely asking who else was at the court, andreceiving a somewhat lengthened answer, giving him the names of fifteenor sixteen ladies in whom he had no interest whatsoever, he arose,saying, "I must to bed, for I depart at daybreak to-morrow."

  "What! do you not visit the King?" demanded one of the other gentlemen,who had not yet spoken.

  "No, no," replied he, "I go on to Nottingham to meet him. I havebusiness of importance. Good night--good night;" and he left the room.

  "You galled him, Grey," said Sir Andrew Geary--"You galled him hardabout that marriage."

  "I know I did," answered Sir Harry Grey; "once let me know a man'sfolly, and I will pink you him to the quick, if his skin be as thickand hard as a German gambesoon.--Not that he thinks of marrying fairLucy himself; but it is his hatred to the Monthermers touches him."

  "Faith, you're mistaken," rejoined Sir Andrew Geary, who was one ofthose keen-sighted men who seem intuitively to see into men's motives,under whatsoever specious disguises they may endeavour to concealthem--"faith, you are mistaken. This Richard de Ashby is one of moreambition than you believe. He knows right well, that in the manyaccidents of the day the good Lord Alured may find his way to thekingdom of Heaven, and then--though he be now but the poor kinsman,treated not so well as many a worthy retainer of the house--he becomesheir presumptive to the title, though to none of the lands, except thesmall estate of Ashby. It would suit him but little to see Hugh ofMonthermer, as the husband of the heiress, sweep up the whole wealth ofthe house. What he will try," added Sir Andrew, musing, "I do not know;but be sure he will do something to break the marriage--if there be anytruth in the story at all."

  "Then Monthermer will cut his throat," replied Sir Harry Grey, "andthere will be an end of it. But now what say you to the dice, Geary?let us try a cast or two."

  "Not I," answered Sir Andrew Geary; "I am not in the mood. I am notwell to-night, and shall betake me to my rest."

  "I will throw with you, Grey," cried a young man from the other side ofthe room. "Geary's wings are drooping like a sick hen's. Don't you see?So let him go and carry himself to the isle of pipkins, and seek somestewed prunes for his queasy stomach. I am with you till cock crow, ifyour purse be long enough, and the wine good."