CHAPTER XIII.
_KENILWORTH CASTLE._
The summer sun shone bravely down upon a small band of travellersjourneying leisurely along through the leafy lanes of Warwickshire.
Of this little band, two members rode ahead of the rest, sometimessilent, but often engaged in earnest conversation. One of the pair wasrichly dressed, and the horse he rode was a fine animal, fit for abattle charger; the other was well mounted, but his dress was sober, andsuggested that of an ecclesiastic, albeit the sunny locks of the riderflowed to his shoulders, and bore no sign of the tonsure. Both riderswere young, neither being over twenty years of age; but those were dayswhen youths were ranked as men at eighteen, and there were even warriorsin the battle ranks who counted less years than that, whilst fewcomparatively of those who lived a stirring life in the midst of stressand strife lived to see their hair turn grey.
The younger of the pair, he of the more knightly aspect, was none otherthan Amalric de Montfort. His companion was Leofric Wyvill, who had beenfor years his chosen comrade and friend.
The young men had just passed through a memorable period of theiracademic life, and had been invested with the cappa of the bachelor.They had successfully passed through their Responsions and theirDeterminations. They had ably disputed before a large gathering, and hadacquitted themselves to the admiration and satisfaction of all. AtAmalric's cost they had given a banquet to the Masters and scholars, andhad now attained to the status of Bachelors of Arts; and Leofric, atleast, had every intention of continuing his career at the University,and was to give a series of cursory lectures there upon his return.
But for the present he was taking, in company with Amalric, awell-earned holiday. Ever since his first arrival in Oxford, as animpecunious clerk, he had remained there, year in, year out, workinghard to support himself and carry on his studies, and this was the firsttime he had quitted the city either on business or pleasure.
One year of academic life much resembled another; and little change hadcome into Leofric's condition, save what was brought about by hisincreasing intimacy with young De Montfort. He and Jack Dugdale stilloccupied their little turret chamber, which had gradually become moreand more comfortable and habitable. Leofric had earned a steady incomeby his illuminating work upon the vellum he was enabled to purchase, andby assistance to Edmund de Kynaston in his studies. Jack kept the lardersupplied, and hung their chamber about with the dressed skins of thecreatures he had slain, thus protecting them from the winter's cold,which down in that marshy place was severe and prolonged. The life hadbeen a busy and a happy one, and Leofric found it hard to believe howfast the months and years had sped by. Looking back upon his life as aclerk, it seemed to him to have been very short indeed.
There was still a considerable interval before he could take his degreeas Master, and from that go on as inceptor in theology if he had a mindto do so; but he had already won the favourable notice of many personsin the University, and a brilliant career had been prophesied for him ifhe did but persevere, as he had every intention of doing.
The Determinations had taken place in Lent, as was always the case, andfor a while afterwards he and Amalric had remained in Oxford; but theyhad long planned a holiday together when the summer should come, and afew weeks back they had started off together to see something besidesthe inside of lecture-halls and the familiar sights of Oxford.
Amalric was determined that Leofric should see London, and their firstjourney had been to that great city, which was seething in theexcitements of that unquiet period, when the struggle betwixt the Kingand his Barons was becoming ever more and more acute, and whenfar-seeing men began to predict that the matter would never be settleduntil swords had been drawn and blood shed on both sides.
After a week spent in that place, the friends had journeyed northward.Leofric had paid a visit to his old friends and fathers the monks of St.Michael, who were delighted to see him and to learn how great successhe had achieved. Now they were on their way to the Castle of Kenilworth,Amalric's home, and the youth was growing excited at the thought ofseeing again his mother and his sister, who were certain to be there,although he was far less certain of meeting with his father andbrothers.
Just latterly the young students had been too much engrossed in theirstudies to have a very clear idea what was going on in the world around.Now, however, they began to feel a keen interest in these outsidematters, and Amalric, as was natural, strove to obtain and piecetogether every scrap of information he could gain from high or low,eagerly discussing each matter with Leofric, and growing in enthusiasmfor the cause to which his father was pledged as day by day passed on.
The arguments upon both sides were strong. The King's party urged thatthe King should be free; that he is no longer a King if he does not ruleas he pleases. He has the same right to rule the kingdom that the Baronshave to rule their own estates, and those who would interfere to make aslave of him are robbers and worse, for they are laying unholy handsupon the Lord's anointed.
The Barons' arguments were also culled from Holy Writ, and proved howdeeply the teachings of the Franciscans were working in the hearts ofthe people. The kingdom has to be protected as well as the King. If theKing listens to false counsellors, his Barons must guard him from such.Obedience to law is not slavery, and God's laws are for monarch as wellas for peasants. True freedom consists in abstaining from evil. TheKing's people are God's people, and must be ruled in His fear, not in aspirit of greed and oppression. As Christ laid open all things to Hisdisciples, so should a King consult on all weighty matters with hisnobles. If he dishonour them and oppress his people, he cannot wonder ifhe is hated and disobeyed.
These arguments sunk deeply into the minds of the people, and theylooked to De Montfort as their hope and deliverer. The past years hadbeen full of trouble and vicissitudes. The King had escaped from thetutelage and restraint imposed upon him, had made himself practicalmaster of London and even of the kingdom for a while, and had set atopen defiance the Provisions of Oxford. His son, Prince Edward, hadopposed him in this; had said that he, for his own part, could notreconcile it to his conscience to break the oath which he had sworn onthat occasion; and had in effect joined himself to the party of theBarons. This had alarmed his father, who perhaps felt that his son was abetter leader and stronger spirit than himself, and Edward had been sentoff to Gascony to his duties there. As it happened, however, the DeMontforts, his cousins, were there also at that time, and the Princespent most of his time with them, thus adding to the disquietude of hisfather.
Henry himself had been over to France carrying on the negotiations withLouis concerning his renunciation of his futile claims upon that realm;and upon his return he had asserted himself by summoning a Parliamentin the old form, quite irrespective of the Provisions of Oxford, and byseeking to obtain from the Pope a bull absolving him from the oath takenin that city under the compulsion of the Barons.
The Pope, always ready to take the part of so pious a son, and one whohad been so useful to him as a tool, was ready enough to grant thisabsolution, which was couched in characteristic terms by the wilyprelate:--
"We therefore, being willing to provide for your dignity in this matter,with our apostolical authority, in the plenitude of our power, from thistime forward entirely absolve you from your oath. If, however, thereshould be anything in those statutes concerning the advantage ofprelates, churches, and ecclesiastical persons, we do not intend to makesuch void, or in any way relax the said oath in that respect."
It was, perhaps, small wonder that the English people, with a lover offreedom and constitutional liberty at their head, should revolt from therule of a monarch who could place himself beneath the sway of a RomanPontiff, and accept at his hands such favours as these.
Of all these things and many others Amalric and Leofric spoke as theyrode through the sunny country during these long summer days. Everywherethey met the same sort of talk, the same sense of insecurity, thedistrust of the King and the enthusiasm for De Montfort which was
agitating the hearts of the people everywhere.
The nearer they approached to Kenilworth, the greater did thisenthusiasm grow; and when they were so near that the face of Amalricbecame known, he was received with open arms by all, and was eagerlyquestioned as to the doings of his noble father, and whether he alsowere coming to dwell amongst them again.
But of his father's doings at this particular juncture Amalric knewlittle. He had returned to England--so much he had heard in London--andwas doubtless busy somewhere, but whether at Kenilworth or in otherdistricts the young man could not say. It was one of those things he waseager himself to learn.
The golden light of evening was lying over the level plains and woodedslopes as the riders drew near to the Castle, and Amalric suddenly drewrein and pointed to the great tower rising bold and massive from thewaters of the lake-like moat and the surrounding park and forest land.
"See," he cried--"see, Leofric, there is my home! Is it not a lordlypile of which one may well be proud? And look at yon white sail upon thelake! that is our own sloop, wherein we have been wont to take ourpastime. Ah, happy, happy days of childhood spent within those walls! Iwonder if the future will hold anything half so sweet!"
Leofric looked in admiration and amazement at the finest building it hadbeen as yet his lot to see, save perhaps the great Tower of Londonitself.
Although Kenilworth Castle in those days was not the magnificent pilewhich it became when the Lancaster and Leicester buildings were added toit, it was yet a very majestic structure, well fitted to be the home ofthe King's sister, and of the foremost noble of the land. It was afortress as well as a castle, the walls being in many places from ten tofifteen feet thick, whilst the principal tower--Caesar's Tower, as it wascalled--was considered wellnigh impregnable. It had a double row oframparts, and the moat which lapped the walls upon the south, east, andwest sides was more of a lake than a moat, and could be carried roundthe north side if necessary. Boats were kept upon this lake, where thefamily disported themselves, and the suite of rooms used by the Earl andCountess were washed by the waters of the lake, and a boat was kept atthe water-door for their use and behoof.
The banqueting-hall was capable of seating two hundred persons; andKenilworth had, besides its innumerable suites of living-rooms, itsprison, its mill for grinding corn, its brewery for the manufacture ofbeer, its weekly market for the interchange of commodities with theneighbouring peasants, and even its courts of justice. For Kenilworthwas privileged to hold assize of bread, beer, and so forth, to regulatethe prices for these, and weights and measures for other provisions; ithad its court-baron for the recovery of debts and the punishment ofminor trespasses, and its court-leet for that of more serious crimes. Iteven had its gallows, which stood frowning upon the castle walls, readyto make an end of any unlucky wight doomed to death by the voice of thecourt. Such was the life of those days in a place as strong and asimportant as the Castle of Kenilworth.
But this evening all was sunshine and peace and beauty. Amalric pointedeagerly out to his companion objects of interest in the Castle andgrounds as they rode onwards, and eagerly scanned the approaches to theplace, if haply he might see some familiar face, or catch a glimpse ofmother or sister taking an airing outside the walls.
The gardens themselves lay within the extensive buildings and walls,which formed two immense enclosures, capable of containing, in additionto gardens and orchards, a tilt-yard and courtyard of ample dimensions.Kenilworth was in effect a small township, complete in itself; and therewas stabling for above a hundred horses, which stables were often fullto overflowing when the Earl and his retinue arrived.
But apparently he was not here to-day, for there were few signs ofactive life about the place, and even the sentry upon the wall seemedslumbering at his post, so that their approach had not yet beenobserved.
Suddenly Amalric shaded his eyes with his hand, and gazing towards thewaters of the moat, exclaimed,--
"In good sooth I am certain that yon figure in that white-sailed boat isthat of my sister Eleanora! Come, good comrade, let us leave the roadand ride up to the water's edge! Let us take her by surprise!--mypretty, dainty little sister Nell. She will not have forgotten me, Itrow, though I have not seen her for three years and more."
Spurring his horse eagerly forward, and closely followed by Leofric,Amalric galloped towards the edge of the lake, upon whose placid bosom alittle white-sailed sloop was idly rocking, the wind having scarcepower to drift it from side to side.
As they drew near they could see that the only occupant of the boat wasa young maiden of perhaps twelve summers, though she looked more, beingtall and slim, and possessed of a high-bred grace and self-possessionwhich her training had given her. She had just observed theunceremonious approach of these riders, and was about to direct hercraft towards the opposite bank as a mark of her displeasure, whensomething in Amalric's dress and bearing arrested her attention, and shegazed earnestly at him, whilst the boat drifted nearer and nearerinshore.
"Sister mine, dost know me?" cried the youth, springing from his horseand running to the very edge of the water.
She looked at him with wide eyes full of wonder, which kindled into joyas she recalled his face.
"Amalric, dear Amalric!" she cried, stretching out her arms to him; andthe next moment he had drawn the boat ashore, and had her fast in abrother-like embrace.
"Amalric! how comest thou thither? Is our father with thee? Art comewith news of him?"
"Nay, but to get news of him, and to see thee and my mother, and to takea holiday after all these years of study. Art glad to see me again,little Nell?"
"O brother, yes! I missed thee sorely when thou didst go away; and nowthou wilt be so learned I shall almost fear to talk with thee. But I toohave learned to read the Latin tongue; and my mother has given orderfor some fine vellum to be bought for me; and I am to have a breviary ofmine own when we can find some clever scribe who will transcribe it forme. But tell me now, Amalric, who is thy friend who stands thus modestlyby? for methinks he has a gentle air. He is not a servant, but a friend,I trow."
"Thou art right, sister; a friend in good sooth. It is the same as Ihave written of, if thou hast received the letters I have writ to mymother as occasion has served. I would present him to thee--my faithfulfriend and comrade, by name Leofric Wyvill. Thou wilt give him welcome,I doubt not, for my sake."
"Ay, and for his own," said the little Lady Eleanora, or, as she wasuniversally styled (probably to distinguish her from her mother), theDemoiselle. The Countess of Leicester was always spoken of in herhousehold as the Lady Eleanora; for although the sister of a King, nohigher title had as yet been accorded to the Princesses of the bloodroyal, at least in the common round of everyday life. The only daughterof the Earl and Countess, therefore, had her own distinguishing title ofDemoiselle, by which she was universally known throughout the Castle ofKenilworth.
As she spoke she held out her hand with an air of gracious dignity, andLeofric bent the knee and raised it reverently to his lips. The maidensmiled, innocently pleased with the homage, and addressed him infriendly tones.
"We have heard of you, fair sir, and you are welcome toKenilworth.--Amalric, let us give our mother a surprise. Come into theboat with me--yes, and you also, sir--and let us across to thewater-door, and enter her apartments without announcement! I trow shewill give us joyful welcome. We are looking from day to day for thearrival of our father and his retinue. Thou dost seem like a herald ofhis approach."
Leofric's skilful management of the boat drew forth the approbation ofthe Demoiselle, who permitted him, with a charming smile, to hand herashore at the wide stone landing-place, upon which opened an oakendoorway studded with brass plates and heavy bolts. The door, however,opened readily to the touch of the child's hands, and when she hadpushed aside a curtain, the trio found themselves in a vast andbeautiful apartment, so much more luxurious than anything that Leofrichad ever seen that he stood mute and spell-bound at the sight. But theDemoiselle, laughing gaily a
t his silent bewilderment, called to them tofollow, and pushing aside a rich curtain of sombre hue, she beckoned tothem to pass within into a smaller second chamber.
This room was very bright, for a western oriel window let in a flood ofglory. Seated near to this window, some fine embroidery in her hands,was a stately and dignified figure, at sight of whom Leofricinstinctively retreated a step; for he knew without any telling that hewas in the presence of the Lady Eleanora, wife of the great De Montfortand sister to the King.
Amalric and the Demoiselle sprang forward, uttering their mother's name,and the next moment Amalric had dropped upon his knees at her feet, tobe clasped in her fond arms.
Whatever faults and failings Eleanora possessed--and that she was proud,extravagant (at least in early life), and wilful no one who reads herlife can deny--in her relations as wife and mother her loyalty,tenderness, and unselfishness shine out in no dim colours. Her husbandloved and revered her; her children almost worshipped her. She hadalways a warm and loving welcome for them, and was never so happy aswhen she could gather them about her, albeit in those troubled timesthese opportunities were growing rarer and more rare.
Leofric, standing just within the curtain, could not but gaze withadmiring eyes at the queenly woman before him. Although the Countess wasvery plainly habited in a russet robe with no other trimming than whitelamb's wool, and had no ornament upon her person save a golden clasp toher girdle, there was yet in her aspect such dignity and high-born gracethat he could not take his eyes from her beautiful face, and the storyof her romantic secret marriage with De Montfort (which Amalric hadoften told to him) came flashing into his mind, and he could not wonderthat the Earl had dared so much to win that noble woman for his wife.
The Lady Eleanora's face was thin and worn with anxiety, and her eyeshad that peculiar light which bespeaks a life of anxious watching. Herlife had not been a smooth one, for she had shared in all things herhusband's cares and troubles. Yet with all that she had not lost thegracious sweetness of manner which had been hers from girlhood, and whenat last she beheld Leofric standing mute and shrinking just beside thedoor, she made her son present him, receiving him with a gentle courtesyand kindness which put him at once at his ease, and made him her devotedservant from that time forward.
She would not dismiss him to the quarters of the retainers, albeit hisrank was humble. She treated him as the friend and equal of her son, andthe fact of his having been of much assistance to Amalric during hiscourse of study gave him a standing at once. For the Lady Eleanora had agreat respect for learning, and all her children were well educated forthe times they lived in. Her sons had all received instruction from suchcelebrated men as Robert Grostete and Adam Marisco, and scholars, evenif humble by birth, were always well treated within the walls ofKenilworth.
So when refreshment was served for Amalric in a neighbouring chamber,Leofric was made to sit at table with him, and was given a room close bythat of his comrade. He made one of the little party that gathered inthe small oriel room after the more formal supper had been eaten in thehall below, and he listened with the keenest interest whilst theCountess related to her son the events of the past years and months, andthe condition of public affairs as they now stood.
"I pray God," she said, "that my brother the King will be advised forhis good, and that this land may be saved from the miseries of war. ButI greatly fear me that he will refuse to be bound by the Provisions ofOxford, even as our father refused to be bound by the terms of the GreatCharter. If that be so, there is but one remedy for the evil--the appealto arms; and from that your father will not shrink, if he knows hiscause to be a righteous one."
"And where is he now?" asked Amalric eagerly.
"He is in England; but more than that I do not know. He returned fromGascony a short while since, and he has been conferring earnestly eversince with our friends in various parts of the country. I am looking forhim daily now at Kenilworth. Every day that passes brings him one daynearer."