Aye, aye," and
he sighed heavily, "Jesu have pity on the child's face of some young
page or squire."
The iron door behind them swung suddenly open, and a captain of the
palace guard clanked into the donjon. The flare of a spluttering
flambeau, which he held in his hand, caused them to blink and shrink
away, beyond its yellow circle. But he thrust it close to their faces
with a cross oath. "Silence," he growled, "cease thy shrill
chatterings. What dost thou here, foul black? By what right hast thou
left thy post before the ladies' hall--before the chamber of the
king's favorite?"
"He was my friend," the eunuch faltered. "I wished to pray for him
that was my friend."
"Pray? To thy heathen gods?" Upon his coat of mail the captain thumped
a vigorous sign of the cross. "Go, get thee back, lest aught should
happen in thy absence. Thou knowest the penalty, both for thee and any
gallant that dare pass the Lady Suelva's portal. Thou know'st the
penalty," and he slapped his thigh with the flat of the halberd that
hung from his girdle.
"Hush!" Faint from across the courtyard came a voice singing, a high
fresh tenor voice.
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