'"
Guy thanked Sir Eustace for having so spoken of him to the English king,
and asked: "What do you think he meant by those last words, my lord?"
"That I cannot say, Guy; but it may well be that he thinks that this
marriage which has been so long talked of may not take place, and that the
negotiations have been continued solely for the purpose of keeping him
quiet while France was busied with her own troubles. Moreover, I know that
the king has been already enlisting men, that he is impatient at having
been put off so often with soft words, and that embassy is intended to
bring matters to a head; therefore if, as I gathered from some of my
friends at his court, he is eager for fighting, it may be that his
ambassadors will demand conditions which he is sure beforehand the King of
France will not grant. At any rate I shall ride with Dorset to Paris;
whatever the sentiments of the Burgundians or Orleanists may be towards me
will matter nothing, riding as I shall do in the train of the earl. I am
going to take you with me, as well as John Harpen, for I must do as well
as others, and have had to lay out a goodly sum in garments fit for the
occasion, for the king is bent upon his embassy making a brave show. Your
father will be castellan here in my absence. I shall also take with me
Long Tom and four of his archers, and five French men-at-arms. I have
brought some Lincoln-green cloth to make fresh suits for the archers, and
also material for those for the men-at-arms.
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