"and is it true that our lord and lady sail next week for their estate in france?"

"ay, it is true enough, and more is the pity; it was a sad day for us all when the king gave the hand of his ward, our lady, to this baron of artois."

"they say she was willing enough, peter."

"ay, ay, all say she loved him, and, being a favourite with the queen, she got her to ask the king to accede to the knight's suit; and no wonder, he is as proper a man as eyes can want to look on—tall and stately, and they say brave. his father and grandfather both were edward's men, and held their castle for us; his father was a great friend of the black prince, and he, too, took a wife from england. since then things have not gone well with us in france, and they say that our lord has had difficulty in keeping clear of the quarrels that are always going on out there between the great french lords; and, seeing that we have but little power in artois, he has to hold himself discreetly, and to keep aloof as far as he can from the strife there, and bide his time until the king sends an army to win back his own again. but i doubt not that, although our lady's wishes and the queen's favour may have gone some way with him, the king thought more of the advantage of keeping this french noble,—whose fathers have always been faithful vassals of the crown, and who was himself english on his mother's side,—faithful to us, ready for the time when the royal banner will flutter in the wind again, and blood will flow as it did at cressy and poitiers.

"the example of a good knight like sir eustace taking the field for us with his retainers might lead others to follow his example; besides, there were several suitors for our lady's hand, and, by giving her to this french baron, there would be less offence and heart-burning than if he had chosen one among her english suitors. and, indeed, i know not that we have suffered much from its being so; it is true that our lord and lady live much on their estates abroad, but at least they are here part of their time, and their castellan does not press us more heavily during their absence than does our lord when at home."

"he is a goodly knight, is sir aylmer, a just man and kindly, and, being a cousin of our lady's, they do wisely and well in placing all things in his hands during their absence."

"ay, we have nought to grumble at, for we might have done worse if we had had an english lord for our master, who might have called us into the field when he chose, and have pressed us to the utmost of his rights whenever he needed money."

the speakers were a man and woman, who were standing looking on at a party of men practising at the butts on the village green at summerley, one of the hamlets on the estates of sir eustace de villeroy, in hampshire.

"well shot!" the man exclaimed, as an archer pierced a white wand at a distance of eighty yards. "they are good shots all, and if our lord and lady have fears of troubles in france, they do right well in taking a band of rare archers with them. there are but five-and-twenty of them, but they are all of the best. when they offered prizes here a month since for the bowmen of hants and sussex and dorset, methought they had some good reason why they should give such high prizes as to bring hither the best men from all three counties, and we were all proud that four of our own men should have held their own so well in such company, and especially that tom, the miller's son, should have beaten the best of them. he is captain of the band, you know, but almost all the others shoot nigh as well; there is not one of them who cannot send an arrow straight into the face of a foe at a hundred and twenty yards. there were some others as good who would fain have been of the party, but our lady said she would take no married men, and she was right. they go for five years certain, and methinks a man fights all the better when he knows there is no one in england praying for his return, and that if he falls, there is no widow or children to bewail his loss. there are as many stout men-at-arms going too; so the castle of villeroy will be a hard nut for anyone to crack, for i hear they can put a hundred and fifty of their vassals there in the field."

"we shall miss sir aylmer's son guy," the woman said; "he is ever down at the village green when there are sports going on. there is not one of his age who can send an arrow so straight to the mark, and not many of the men; and he can hold his own with a quarter-staff too."

"ay, dame; he is a stout lad, and a hearty one. they say that at the castle he is ever practising with arms, and that though scarce sixteen he can wield a sword and heavy battle-axe as well as any man-at-arms there."

"he is gentle too," the woman said. "since his mother's death he often comes down with wine and other goodies if anyone is ill, and he speaks as softly as a girl. there is not one on the estate but has a good word for him, nor doubts that he will grow up as worthy a knight as his father, though gentler perhaps in his manner, and less grave in face, for he was ever a merry lad. since the death of his lady mother two years ago he has gone about sadly, still of late he has gotten over his loss somewhat, and he can laugh heartily again. i wonder his father can bear to part with him."

"sir eustace knows well enough that he cannot always keep the boy by his side, dame; and that if a falcon is to soar well, he must try his wings early. he goes as page, does he not?"

"ay, but more, methinks, as companion to young henry, who has, they say, been sickly from a child, and, though better now, has scarce the making of a stalwart knight in him. his young brother charles is a sturdy little chap, and bids fair to take after his father; and little lady agnes, who comes between them, is full of fire and spirit.

"yes; methinks guy will have a pleasant time of it out there; that is, if there are no fresh troubles. i doubt not that in two or three years he will be one of our lord's esquires, and if he has a chance of displaying his courage and skill, may be back among us a dubbed knight before many years have passed over our heads. france is a rare place for gaining honours, and so it may well be, for i see not that we gain much else by our king's possessions there."

"there was plenty of spoil brought over, dame, after cressy and poitiers."

"ay, but it soon goes; easy come, easy go, you know; and though they say that each man that fought there brought home a goodly share of spoil, i will warrant me the best part went down their throats ere many months had passed."

"'tis ever so, dame; but i agree with you, and deem that it would be better for england if we did not hold a foot of ground in france, and if english kings and nobles were content to live quietly among their people. we have spent more money than ever we made in these wars, and even were our kings to become indeed, as they claim, kings of france as well as england, the ill would be much greater, as far as i can see, for us all. still there may be things, dame, that we country folks don't understand, and i suppose that it must be so, else parliament would not be so willing to vote money always when the kings want it for wars with france. the wars in france don't affect us as much as those with scotland and wales. when our kings go to france to fight they take with them only such as are willing to go, men-at-arms and archers; but when we have troubles such as took place but five or six years ago, when douglas and percy and the welsh all joined against us, then the lords call out their vassals and the sheriffs the militia of the county, and we have to go to fight willy-nilly. our lord had a hundred of us with him to fight for the king at shrewsbury. nigh thirty never came back again. that is worse than the french wars, dame."

"don't i know it, for wasn't my second boy one of those who never came back. ay, ay, they had better be fighting in france, perhaps, for that lets out the hot blood that might otherwise bring on fighting at home."

"that is so, dame, things are all for the best, though one does not always see it."

a week later all the tenantry gathered in front of the castle to wish god-speed to their lord and lady, and to watch the following by which they were accompanied. first there passed half a dozen mounted men-at-arms, who were to accompany the party but half a day's march and then to return with sir aylmer. next to these rode sir eustace and lady margaret, still a beautiful woman, a worthy mate of her noble-looking husband. on her other side rode sir aylmer; then came john harpen, sir eustace's esquire; beside whom trotted agnes, a bright, merry-faced girl of twelve. guy rode with the two boys; then came twenty-four men-at-arms, many of whom had fought well and stoutly at shrewsbury; while tom, the miller's son, or, as he was generally called, long tom, strode along at the head of twenty-four bowmen, each of whom carried the long english bow and quiver full of cloth-yard arrows, and, in addition, a heavy axe at his leathern girdle.

behind these were some servitors leading horses carrying provisions for the journey, and valises with the clothes of sir eustace, his wife, and children, and a heavy cart drawn by four strong horses with the bundles of extra garments for the men-at-arms and archers, and several large sheaves of spare arrows. the men-at-arms wore iron caps, as also breast and back pieces. on the shoulders and arms of their leathern jerkins iron rings were sewn thickly, forming a sort of chain armour, while permitting perfect freedom of the limbs. the archers also wore steel caps, which, like those of the men-at-arms, came low down on the neck and temples. they had on tough leathern frocks, girded in at the waist, and falling to the knee; some of them had also iron rings sewn on the shoulders. english archers were often clad in green cloth, but sir eustace had furnished the garments, and had chosen leather, both as being far more durable, and as offering a certain amount of defence.

the frocks were sleeveless, and each man wore cloth sleeves of a colour according to his fancy. the band was in all respects a well-appointed one. as sir eustace wished to avoid exciting comment among his neighbours, he had abstained from taking a larger body of men; and it was partly for this reason that he had decided not to dress the archers in green. but every man had been carefully picked; the men-at-arms were all powerful fellows who had seen service; the archers were little inferior in physique, for strength as well as skill was required in archery, and in choosing the men sir eustace had, when there was no great difference in point of skill, selected the most powerful among those who were willing to take service with him.

guy enjoyed the two days' ride to southampton greatly. it was the first time that he had been away from home, and his spirits were high at thus starting on a career that would, he hoped, bring him fame and honour. henry and his brother and sister were also in good glee, although the journey was no novelty to them, for they had made it twice previously. beyond liking change, as was natural at their age, they cared not whether they were at their english or at their french home, as they spoke both languages with equal fluency, and their life at one castle differed but little from that at the other.

embarking at portsmouth in a ship that was carrying military stores to calais, they coasted along the shores of sussex and of kent as far as dungeness, and then made across to calais. it was early in april, the weather was exceptionally favourable, and they encountered no rough seas whatever. on the way sir eustace related to guy and his sons the events that had taken place in france, and had led up to the civil war that was raging so furiously there.

"in 1392, the king of france being seized with madness, the dukes of burgundy and orleans in a very short time wrested the power of the state from the hands of his faithful councillors, the constable de clisson, la riviere, and others. de clisson retired to his estate and castle at montelhery, the two others were seized and thrown into prison. de clisson was prosecuted before parliament as a false and wicked traitor; but the king, acting on the advice of orleans, who had not then broken with the dukes of burgundy and berri, had, after la riviere and another had been in prison for a year, stopped the prosecution, and restored their estates to them. until 1402 the dukes of burgundy and berri were all-powerful, and in 1396 a great number of knights and nobles, led by john, count of nevers, the eldest son of the duke of burgundy, went to the assistance of the king of hungary, which country was being invaded by the turks. they were, however, on the 28th of september, utterly defeated. the greater portion of them were killed; nevers and the rest were ransomed and brought home.

"in 1402 the king, influenced by his wife, isobel, and his brother, the duke of orleans, who were on terms of the closest alliance, placed the entire government in the hands of the latter, who at once began to abuse it to such an extent, by imposing enormous taxes upon the clergy and the people, that he paved the way for the return of his uncle of burgundy to power. on the 27th of april, 1404, philip the bold of burgundy died. he was undoubtedly ambitious, but he was also valiant and able, and he had the good of france at heart. he was succeeded by his son john, called the fearless, from the bravery that he had displayed in the unfortunate hungarian campaign. the change was disastrous for france. john was violent and utterly unscrupulous, and capable of any deed to gratify either his passions, jealousies, or hatreds. at first he cloaked his designs against orleans by an appearance of friendship, paid him a visit at his castle near vincennes, where he was at the time lying ill. when he recovered, the two princes went to mass together, dined at their uncle's, the duke of berri, and together entered paris; and the parisians fondly hoped that there was an end of the rivalry that had done so much harm. it was, however, but a very short time afterwards that, on the 23d of november, 1407, as the duke of orleans was returning from having dined with the queen, and was riding with only two esquires and four or five men on foot carrying torches, twenty armed men sprang out from behind a house and rushed upon him.

"'i am the duke of orleans,' the prince cried; but they hurled him from his mule, and as he tried to rise to his feet one blow struck off the hand he raised to protect his head, other blows rained down upon him from axe and sword, and in less than a minute the duke lay dead. the duke of burgundy at first affected grief and indignation, but at the council the next day he boldly avowed that orleans had been killed by his orders. he at once took horse and rode to the frontier of flanders, which he reached safely, though hotly chased by a party of the duke of orleans' knights. the duke's widow, who was in the country at the time, hastened up to paris with her children, and appealed for justice to the king, who declared that he regarded the deed done to his brother as done to himself. the dukes of berri and bourbon, the constable and chancellor, all assured her that she should have justice; but there was no force that could hope to cope with that which burgundy could bring into the field, and when, two months later, burgundy entered paris at the head of a thousand men-at-arms, no attempt was made at resistance, and the murderer was received with acclamations by the fickle populace.

"the king at the time was suffering from one of his terrible fits of insanity, but a great assembly was held, at which princes, councillors, lords, doctors of law, and prominent citizens were present. a monk of the cordeliers, named john petit, then spoke for five hours in justification of the duke, and the result was that the poor insane king was induced to sign letters cancelling the penalty of the crime. for four months the duke remained absolute master of paris, disposing of all posts and honours, and sparing no efforts to render himself popular with the burghers. a serious rebellion breaking out at liege, and the troops sent against the town being repulsed, he was obliged to leave paris to put down the revolt. as soon as he had left, the queen and the partisans of orleans prepared to take advantage of his absence, and two months later queen isobel marched with the dauphin, now some thirteen years old, from melun with three thousand men.

"the parisians received her with applause, and as soon as she had taken up her quarters at the louvre, the dukes of berri, bourbon, and brittany, the constable, and all the great officers of the court rallied round her. two days later the duchess of orleans arrived with a long train of mourning coaches. a great assembly was held, and the king's advocate announced to them the intention of the king to confer the government upon the queen during his illness, and produced a document signed by the king to that effect. the duchess of orleans then came forward, and kneeling before the dauphin, begged for justice for the death of her husband, and that she might be granted an opportunity of refuting the calumnies that john petit had heaped on the memory of her husband. a week later another great assembly was held, and the justification of the duke was read, refuting all these imputations, and the duchess's advocate demanded that the duke should be forced to make public reparation, and then to be exiled for twenty years. the dauphin replied that he and all the princes of blood royal present held that the charges against the duke of orleans had been amply refuted, and that the demands with reference to the duke of burgundy should be provided for in course of justice.

"scarcely had the assembly broken up when it became known that burgundy and his army was on the way back to paris. resistance was out of the question; therefore, taking the young dauphin with her, and accompanied by all the members of the royal family, the queen retired to tours. burgundy, unscrupulous as he was, finding that although he might remain master of paris, he could not hope to rule france, except when acting under the pretence of the king's authority, soon sent an embassy to tours to endeavour to arrange matters. he was able to effect this with the less difficulty, that the duchess of orleans had just died from grief at her husband's death, and at the hopelessness of obtaining vengeance on his murderer. the queen was won to the cause of burgundy by secret proposals submitted to her for a close league between them, and in march a treaty was concluded, and a meeting took place at chartres, at which the duke, the king, the queen, the royal princes, and the young duke of orleans and his adherents were present.

"the king declared that he pardoned the duke, and the princes of orleans consented to obey his orders and to lay aside all hatred and thoughts of vengeance, and shortly afterwards paris welcomed with shouts of joy the return of the king and queen and the apparent reconciliation of all parties. but the truce was a brief one; for the princes and adherents of orleans might bend before circumstances at the moment, but their feelings were unchanged.

"a head of the party was needed, and the young duke married the daughter of count bernard d'armagnac, one of the most powerful and ambitious nobles of the south of france, who at once,—in concert with the dukes of berri and brittany and other lords,—put himself at the head of the orleans party. on the 10th of july, 1411, the three princes of orleans sent a long letter to the king, complaining that no reparation whatever had been made for the murder of their father, and begging him that, as what was done at chartres was contrary to every principle of law, equity, reason, and justice, the case should be reopened again. they also made complaints against the duke of burgundy for his conduct and abuse of power.

"as the king was surrounded by burgundy's creatures no favourable reply was returned, and a formal challenge or declaration of war was, on the 18th of july, sent by the princes to the duke of burgundy, and both parties began at once to make preparation for war.

"now for my own view of this quarrel. king henry sent for me a year since, and asked for whom i should hold my castle if orleans and burgundy came to blows, adding that burgundy would be viewed by him with most favour.

"'my father and grandfather ever fought faithfully in the service of england,' i said; 'but for years past now, the line betwixt your majesty's possessions and those of france has been drawn in, and my estates and castle of villeroy now lie beyond the line, and i am therefore a vassal of france as well as of your majesty. it being known to all men that even before i became lord of summerley, on my marriage with your majesty's ward, mistress margaret, i, like my father, held myself to be the liege man of the king of england. i am therefore viewed with much hostility by my neighbours, and right gladly would they seize upon any excuse to lay complaint against me before the king, in order that i might be deprived of my fief and castle.

"'this i would fain hold always for your majesty; and, seeing how it is situated but a few miles across the frontier, it is, i would humbly submit to you, of importance to your majesty that it should be held by one faithful to you—since its possession in the hands of an enemy would greatly hinder any english army marching out from calais to the invasion of france. it is a place of some strength now; but were it in french hands it might be made very much stronger, and would cost much time and loss of men to besiege. at present your majesty is in alliance with burgundy, but none can say how the war will go, or what changes will take place; and should the orleanists gain the upper hand, they will be quick to take advantage of my having fought for burgundy, and would confiscate my estates and hand them over to one who might be hostile to england, and pledged to make the castle a stronghold that would greatly hinder and bar the advance of an english army upon paris. therefore, sire, i would, not for my own sake but for the sake of your majesty's self and your successors, pray you to let me for a while remain quietly at summerley until the course of events in france is determined.'

"the king was pleased to see the force of what i urged. as far as i had inclinations in the case, they were towards the cause, not of burgundy himself, whose murder of orleans was alike treacherous and indefensible, but of his cause, seeing that flanders is wholly under his authority, and that in artois he is well-nigh paramount at present. on the other hand, amiens and ponthieu, which lie but a short distance to the south of me, are strongly orleanist, and i have therefore every motive for standing aloof. so far the fortune of war has been so changeable that one cannot say that the chances incline towards one faction more than the other. even the church has failed to bring about the end of the troubles. the orleanists have been formally placed under interdicts, and cursed by book, bell, and candle. the king's commands have been laid upon all to put aside their quarrels, but both the ban of the church and the king's commands have been ineffectual. i am as anxious as ever to abstain from taking any part in the trouble, the more so as the alliance between our king and burgundy has cooled somewhat. but i have received such urgent prayers from my vassals at villeroy to come among them, since they are now being plundered by both parties, that i feel it is time for me to take up my abode there. when the king stayed at winchester, a month since, i laid the matter before him. he was pleased to say that what i had urged a year ago had turned out to be as i foretold, and that he would give me leave to go over and establish myself at villeroy, and to hold myself aloof from both parties until the matter should further ripen. what will come of it i cannot say. the english king seemed to me to be ailing, and i fear that it may not be long before young henry comes to the throne. he is a wild young prince, but has already shown himself in the northern war to be full of spirit and courage, and methinks that when he comes to the throne he will not long observe the peaceful policy of his father, but that we shall see the royal standard once again spread to the winds of france."

"but, sir eustace," guy said, when he had concluded, "how do these matters affect you? i thought that by the treaty the west part of artois was english."

"ay, lad, it was so settled; but at that time the strength of france had been broken at poitiers, and the black prince and his army were so feared that his terms were willingly accepted in order to secure peace. much has happened since then: war has been constantly going on, sometimes hotly, sometimes sluggishly; france has had her own troubles, and as the english kings have been more pacific, and england has become weary of bearing the heavy expenses of the war, the treaty has become a dead letter. gascony, in which province armagnac is the greatest lord, is altogether lost to england, as is the greater part of guienne. a great proportion of the people there were always bitterly opposed to the change, and, as you know, even in the time of the black prince himself there were great rebellions and troubles; since then town after town and castle after castle has declared for france, and no real efforts have ever been made by the english to win them back again. i, who in england am an english baron, and—so long as things go on as at present—a french noble while in france, am in a perilous position between my two suzerains. were an english army to land, i should join them, for i still hold myself to be a vassal of the king of england, as we have been for three generations. as to the french disputes, i fear that sooner or later i shall have to declare in favour of one party or the other, for it will be difficult to stand altogether aloof from these conflicts, because all men, at least all men of condition, are well-nigh forced to take one side or the other. the plea that i am a baron of england will be of no avail, for both sides would turn against me and be glad of an excuse for pillaging and confiscating my estate. at present, then, i must regard myself solely as a french noble, for villeroy has passed into the hands of france, just as for a while it passed into the hands of england, and if this war goes on we shall have to take a side."

"and to which side do your thoughts incline, sir eustace, if i may ask you?"

"i love not either side, guy, and would fain, if it could be so, that my sword should remain in its sheath. i fear that i shall have to go with burgundy, for he is all-powerful in artois; but had i been altogether free to choose, i should have sided with orleans. in the first place, it is certain that the last duke was foully murdered by burgundy, who thereby laid the foundation for the present troubles. there were jealousies before, as there have always been between the great nobles, but that act forced almost all to take sides. the dukes of berri and brittany, who had been of the party of the late duke of burgundy, were driven by this foul act of his son to range themselves with orleans. armagnac is very powerful in the south, berri's dukedom is in the north, that of orleans to the north-east. burgundy's strength lies in his own dukedom,—which has ever been all but independent of france,—in flanders, in artois, and in paris; thus, generally, it is the north and east of france against the south and west. this is broadly the case, but in a civil war provinces and countships, neighbours, ay, and families, become split up into factions, as interest, or family ties, or the desire to increase an estate by annexing another next to it, may influence the minds of men.

"so long as it is but a war between the great dukes and princes of france we smaller men may hope to hold aloof, but, as it goes on, and evil deeds are done on both sides, men's passions become heated, the spirit spreads until every man's hand is against his neighbour, and he who joins not against one or the other finds both ready to oppress and rob him. i should not have cared to bring out an english following with me had we been forced to march any distance through france; but as villeroy is but a few miles from the frontier, and of that distance well-nigh half is through my own estates, we can reach the castle almost unnoticed. once there, the fact that i have strengthened my garrison will keep me from attack, for either party would be chary in attacking one who can defend himself stoutly. i was minded to leave your lady and the two younger children in england, but in truth she begged so hard to accompany me that i could not say her nay."

the castle of villeroy was somewhat larger than the one in which guy had been born and brought up. the plan, however, was very similar: there was the central keep, but, whereas at home this was the dwelling-house of the family, it was here used as a storehouse, and the apartments of the count and countess were in the range of buildings that formed an inner court round the keep. in point of luxury the french were in advance of the english, and they had already begun to combine comfort with strength in their buildings. the apartments struck guy as being wonderfully spacious in comparison to those with which he was accustomed. on the ground floor of one side of the square was the banqueting-hall. its walls were decorated with arms and armour, the joists that supported the floor above were carved, the windows large and spacious, for, looking as they did into the inner court, there was no occasion for their being mere loopholes. above the banqueting-hall was a room where lady margaret sat with her maids engaged in working at tapestry; here the priest gave such slight instruction as was then considered necessary to agnes and charles; henry had already passed out of his hands.

next to this room was the knight's sleeping apartment, or closet as it was then called, a room which would now be considered of ridiculously straitened dimensions; and close to it were the still smaller closets of the children. beyond were a series of guest-chambers. another side of the court-yard contained the apartments of the castellan, jean bouvard, a sturdy soldier of long experience, and those of the other officers of the household; the other two sides were occupied by the chapel, the kitchens, and the offices of the servants and retainers. all these rooms were loopholed on the side looking into the outer court. this was considerably wider and more extensive than the one surrounding the keep. here were the stables, storehouses for grain and forage, and a building, just erected, for the lodging of the english garrison. all these buildings stood against the outer wall, so that they would afford no shelter to an enemy who had obtained possession of the first defences and was making an attack against the second line. the outer wall was twelve feet in thickness, and thirty feet above the court; outside the height was considerably greater, as there was a moat faced with stone fifteen feet deep entirely surrounding it, and containing seven or eight feet of water.

walls ran half across the outer court, and, from the end of these, light wooden bridges formed a communication with the wall of the inner court, so that in the event of the outer wall being stormed or the gates being carried by assault, the defenders could retire to the inner defences. the ends of these bridges rested upon irons projecting from the wall, and so arranged that they could be instantly withdrawn when the last of the defenders had crossed over, when the bridges would at once fall into the court-yard below. the inner wall was twelve feet higher than the outer one, and, like it, was provided with a crenellated battlement four feet high; there were projecting turrets at each corner, and one in the middle of each side.

the keep rose twenty feet higher than the wall of the inner court. the lower portions of the cross walls of the outer court were carried on as far as the inner wall, thereby dividing the space into four; strong gates gave communication from one to the other. into these could be driven the cattle of the tenantry, and one of them contained a number of huts in which the tenants themselves would be lodged. the court-yard facing the entrance was the largest of the areas into which the space between the outer and inner walls was divided, extending the whole width between the outer walls. here the military exercises were carried on. along the wall, at each side of the gate, were a range of stables for the use of the horses of guests, with rooms over them for the use of their retainers. there was a strong exterior work defending the approach to the drawbridge on the other side of the moat, and in all respects the castle was well appointed, and to guy it seemed almost impossible that it could be carried by assault, however numerous the foe.