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Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
page 66 of 241 (27%)
Eyry, looking down into the castle court-yard below--"I do marvel, now
that thou art 'stablished here this month and more, that my Lord doth
never have thee called to service upon household duty. Canst thou riddle
me why it is so, Myles?"

The subject was a very sore one with Myles. Until Sir James had told him
of the matter in his office that day he had never known that his father
was attainted and outlawed. He had accepted the change from their
earlier state and the bald poverty of their life at Crosbey-Holt with
the easy carelessness of boyhood, and Sir James's words were the first
to awaken him to a realization of the misfortunes of the house of
Falworth. His was a brooding nature, and in the three or four weeks
that passed he had meditated so much over what had been told him, that
by-and-by it almost seemed as if a shadow of shame rested upon his
father's fair fame, even though the attaint set upon him was unrighteous
and unjust, as Myles knew it must be. He had felt angry and resentful
at the Earl's neglect, and as days passed and he was not noticed in any
way, his heart was at times very bitter.

So now Gascoyne's innocent question touched a sore spot, and Myles spoke
with a sharp, angry pain in his voice that made the other look quickly
up. "Sooner would my Lord have yonder swineherd serve him in the
household than me," said he.

"Why may that be, Myles?" said Gascoyne.

"Because," answered Myles, with the same angry bitterness in his voice,
"either the Earl is a coward that feareth to befriend me, or else he is
a caitiff, ashamed of his own flesh and blood, and of me, the son of his
one-time comrade."
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