The Life And Death Of Richard Yea And Nay Volume 91 by Maurice Hewlett (best books to read all time TXT) 📖
- Author: Maurice Hewlett
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Of Grace! Tell Me Now, Richard, Have You Raimon Of Toulouse In That
Company? Have You Béziers?'
'No, Sire,' Said Richard, Looking Serenely Down At The Working Face.
'Nor Ever Will Have,' Snarled The King. 'Have You The Knight Of Béarn?'
'I Have, Sire.'
'Ill Company, Richard. It Is A White-Faced, Lying Beast, With A Most
Goatish Beard. Have You Your Singing Monk?'
'I Have, Sire.'
'Shameful Company. Have You Adhémar Of Limoges?'
'Yes, Sire.'
'Silly Company. Leave Him With His Women. Have You Your Abbot Milo?'
'Yes.'
'Sick Company.' His Head Sank Into His Breast; He Found Himself Suddenly
Tired, Even Of Reviling, And Had To Sit Down Again. Richard Felt A Tide
Of Pity; Looking Down At The Huddled Old Man, He Held Out His Hand.
'Let Us Not Quarrel, Father,' He Said; But That Brought Up The King's
Head, Like A Call To Arms.
'A Last Question, Richard. Have You Dared Bring Here Bertran De Born?'
He Was On His Feet Again For The Reply, And The Two Men Faced Each
Other. Everybody Knew How Serious The Question Was. It Sobered The
Count, But Drove The Pity Out Of Him.
'Dare Is Not A Word For Anjou, Sire,' He Replied, Picking His Phrases;
'But Bertran Is Not With Me.' Before The Old Man Could Break Again Into
Volume 91 Book 1 (The Book Of Yea) Chapter 3 (In What Harbour They Found The Old Lion) Pg 16Savagery He Went On To His Main Purpose. 'Sire, Short Speeches Are Best.
You Seek To Draw My Ill-Humours, But You Shall Not Draw Them. As Son And
Servant Of Your Grace I Came In, And So Will Go Out. As A Son I Have
Knelt To The King My Father, As Servant I Am Ready To Obey Him. Let That
Marriage, Designed In The Cradle By The French King And You, Go On. I
Will Do My Part If Madame Alois Will Do Hers.'
Richard Folded His Arms; The King Sat Down Again. A Queer Exchange Of
Glances Had Passed Between His Father And Brother At The Mention Of That
Lady's Name. Richard, Who Saw It, Got The Feeling Of Some Secret Between
Them, The Feeling Of Being In A Trap; But He Said Nothing. The King
Began His Old Harping.
'Attend To Me Now, Richard,' He Said, With Much Work Of The Eyebrows;
'If That Ill-Gotten Beast Bertran Had Been Of Your Meinie Our Last Words
Had Been Said. Beast! He Is A Toothed Snake, That Crawled Into My Boy's
Bed And Bit Passion Into Him. Lord Jesus, If Ever Again I Meet Bertran,
Help Thou Me To Redden His Face! But As It Is, I Am Content. Rest You
Here With Me, If So Rough A Lodging May Content Your Nobility. As For
Madame Alois, She Shall Be Sent For; But I Think I Will Not Meet Your
Bevy Of Joglars From The South. I Have A Proud Stomach O' These Days; I
Doubt Pastry From Languedoc Would Turn Me Sour; And Liking Monks Little
Enough As It Is, Your Throstle-Cock Of Montauban Might Cause Me To
Blaspheme. See Them Entertained, Drago; Or Better, Let Them Entertain
Each Other--With Singing Games, Holy God! Go You, Bohun'--And He
Turned--'Fetch In Madame Alois.' Bohun Went Through A Curtain Behind
Him, And The King Sat In Thought, Biting His Thumbs.
Madame Alois Of France Came Out Of The Inner Tent, A Slinking, Thin
Girl, With The White And Tragic Face Of The Fool In A Comedy Set In
Black Hair. Richard Thought She Was Mad By The Way She Stared About Her
From One Man To Another; But He Went Down On His Knee In A Moment.
Prince John Turned Stiff, The Old King Bent His Brows To Watch Richard.
The Lady, Who Was Dressed In Black, And Looked To Be Half Fainting,
Shrank In An Odd Way Towards The Wall, As If To Avoid A Whip. 'Too Long
In England, Poor Soul,' Richard Thought; 'But Why Did She Come From The
King's Tent?'
It Was Not A Cheerful Meeting, Nor Did The King Show Any Desire To Make
It Better. When By Roundabout And Furtive Ways Madame Alois At Last
Stood Drooping By His Chair, He Began To Talk To Her In English, A
Language Unknown To Richard, Though Familiar Enough, He Saw, To His
Father And Brother. 'It Seems To Be His Grace's Desire To Make Me
Ridiculous,' He Went On To Say To Himself: 'What A Dead-Level Of Grim
Words! In English, It Appears, You Do Not Talk. You Stab With The
Tongue.' In Truth, There Was No Conversation. The King Or The Prince
Spoke, And Madame Alois Moistened Her Lips; She Looked Nowhere But At
The Old Tyrant, Not At His Eyes, But Above Them, At His Forehead, And
With A Trepitant Gaze, Like A Watched Hare's. 'The King Has Her In
Thrall, Soul And Body,' Richard Considered. Then His Knee Began To Ache,
And He Released It. 'Fair Sire,' He Began In His Own Tongue. Madame
Alois Gave A Start, And 'Ha, Richard,' Says The King, 'Art Thou Still
There, Man?'
'Where Else, My Lord?' Asked The Son. The Father Looked At Alois.
'Deign To Recognise In This Baron, Madame,' He Said, 'My Son The Count
Of Poictou. Let Him Salute, Madame, That Which He Has Sought From So
Far, And With Such Humility, Pardieu; Your White Hand, Alois.' The
Strange Girl Quivered, Then Put Her Hand Out. Richard, Kissing It, Found
It Horribly Cold.
'Lady,' He Said, 'I Pray We May Be Better Acquainted; But I Must Tell
Volume 91 Book 1 (The Book Of Yea) Chapter 3 (In What Harbour They Found The Old Lion) Pg 17You That I Have No English. Let Me Hope That In This Good Land You May
Recover Your French.' He Got No Answer From The Lady, But, By Heaven, He
Made His Father Angry.
'We Hope, Richard, That You Will Teach Madame Better Things Than That,'
Sniffed The Old Man, Nosing About For Battle.
'I Pray That I May Teach Her No Worse, My Lord,' Replied The Other. 'You
Will Perhaps Allow That For A Daughter Of France The Tongue May Have Its
Uses.'
'As English, Count, For The Son Of England!' Cried His Father; 'Or For
His Wife, By The Mass, If He Is Fit To Have One.'
'Of That, Sire, We Must Talk At Your Grace's Leisure,' Said Richard
Slowly. 'Jesus!' He Asked Himself, 'Will He Put Me To A Block Of Ice?
What Is The Matter With This Woman?' The King Put An End To His
Questions By Dismissing Madame Alois, Breaking Up The Assembly, And
Himself Retiring. He Was Dreadfully Fatigued, Quite White And
Breathless. Richard Saw Him Follow The Lady Through The Inner Curtain,
And Again Was Uncomfortably Suspicious. But When His Brother John Made
To Slip In Also He Thought There Must Be An End Of It. He Tapped The
Young Man On The Shoulder.
'Brother, A Word With You,' Says He; And John Came Twittering Back. The
Two Were Alone In The Tent.
This John--Sansterre, Landlos, Lackland, So They Variously Called
Him--Was A Timid Copy Of His Brother, A Wry-Necked Reedy Richard With A
Sniff. Not So Tall, Yet More Spare, With Blue Eyes More Pallid Than His
Brother's, And Protruding Where Richard's Were Inset, The Difference Lay
More In Degree Than Kind. Richard Was Of Heroic Build, But A Well-Knit,
Well-Shaped Hero; In John The Arms Were Too Long, The Head Too Small,
The Brow Too Narrow. Richard's Eyes Were Perhaps Too Wide Apart; No
Doubt John's Were Too Near Together. Richard Twitched His Fingers When
He Was Moved, John Bit His Cheek. Richard Stooped From The Neck, John
From The Shoulders. When Richard Threw Up His Head You Saw The Lion;
John At Bay Reminded You Of A Wolf In A Corner. John Snarled At Such
Times, Richard Breathed Through His Nose. John Showed His Teeth When He
Was Crossed, Richard When He Was Merry. So Many Thousand Points Of
Unlikeness Might Be Named, All Small: The Lord Knows Here Are Enough.
The Angevin Cat-And-Dog Nature Was Fairly Divided Between These Two.
Richard Had The Sufficiency Of The Cat, John The Dependence Of A Dog;
John Had The Cat's Secretiveness, Richard The Dog's Dash. At Heart John
Was A Thief.
He Feared And Hated His Brother; So When Richard Said, 'Brother, A Word
With You,' John Tried To Disguise Apprehension In Disgust. The Result
Was A Very Sick Smile.
'Willingly, Dear Brother, And The More So--' He Began; But Richard Cut
Him Short.
'What Under The Light Of The Sky Is The Matter With That Lady?' He Asked
Him.
John Had Been Preparing For That. He Raised His Eyebrows And Splayed Out
Both His Hands. 'Can You Ask? Eh, Our Lord! Emotion--A Stranger In A
Strange Land--An Access Of The Shudders--Who Knows Women? So Long From
France-Dreadful Of Her Brother--Dreadful Of You--So Many Things! A Silly
Mind--Ah, My Brother!'
Richard Checked Him Testily. 'Put A Point, Put A Point, You Drown Me In
Volume 91 Book 1 (The Book Of Yea) Chapter 3 (In What Harbour They Found The Old Lion) Pg 18Phrases; Your Explanations Explain Nothing. One More Word. What In The
Devil's Name Is She Doing In There?' He Had A Short Way. John Began To
Stammer.
'A Second Father--A Tender Guardian--'
'Pish!' Said Count Richard, And Turned To Leave The Pavilion. Prince
John Slipped Through The Curtains, And At That Moment Richard Heard A
Little Fretful Cry Within, Not The Cry Of Mortal Lady. 'What Under
Heaven Have They Got In There, This Family?' He Asked Himself.
Shrugging, He Went Out Into The Fresh Air.
The Abbot Notes That His Lord And Master Came Running Into His Quarters,
'And Tumbled Upon Me, Like A Lover Who Finds His Mistress After Many
Days. "Milo, Milo, Milo," He Began To Cry, Three Times Over, As If The
Name Helped Him, "Thou Wilt Live To See A Puddock Upon The Throne Of
England!" Thus He Strangely Said.'
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