"
"That shall I right willingly; those who were present yesterday speak of
her as a noble lady."
They went upstairs together.
"My lady, this is Count Charles d'Estournel, who desires me to present him
to you."
"I am glad to meet you, Sir Count," Dame Margaret said, holding out her
hand, which he raised to his lips, "seeing that my esquire, Master Guy
Aylmer, was able to render you some slight service last night. This is my
daughter Agnes, and my son Charles."
"The service was by no means a slight one," the young count said,
returning a deep salute that Agnes and Charlie made to him, "unless indeed
you consider that my life is a valueless one, for assuredly without his
aid and that of your tall retainer, my father would have been childless
this morning. I was indeed in sore plight when they arrived; my arm was
tiring, and I could not have defended myself very much longer against such
odds, and as I had exasperated them by killing two of their comrades, I
should have received no mercy at their hands. In my surprise at being so
suddenly attacked I even forgot to raise a shout for the watch, though it
is hardly likely that they would have heard me had I done so; the lazy
knaves are never on the spot when they are wanted. However, we gave the
ruffians a lesson that those of them who escaped are not likely to forget
readily, for out of the fourteen who attacked me we accounted for ten, of
whom your retainer levelled no less than six with that staff of his, and I
doubt whether any of the other four came off scatheless.
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