England, just ere the decimation that they were to perpetrate on
one another.

The hall itself was vast, and newly finished in the rich
culmination of Gothic work, with a fan tracery-vaulted roof, a
triumph of architecture, each stalactite glowing with a shield
or a badge of England, France, Mortimer, and Nevil--lion or
lily, falcon and fetterlock, white rose and dun cow, all and
many others--likewise shining in the stained glass of the great
windows.

The high table was loaded with gold and silver plate, and Venice
glasses even more precious; there were carpets under the feet of
the nobler guests, and even the second and third tables were
spread with more richness and refinement than ever the sisters of
James II had known in their native land. In a gallery above,
the Duke's musicians and the choristers of his chapel were ready
to enliven the meal; and as the chief guest, the Lady Joanna of
Scotland was handed to her place by the Duke of York, who, as
she now perceived, though small in stature, was eminently
handsome and graceful, and conversed with her, not as a mere
child, but as a fair lady of full years.

Eleanor, who sat on his other hand beside the Earl of Salisbury,
was rather provoked with her sister for never asking after the
fate of her champion; but was reassured by seeing his red head
towering among the numerous squires and other retainers of the
second rank. It certainly was not his proper place, but it was
plain that he was not in disgrace; and in fact the whole affair
had been treated as a mere pardonable blunder of the rangers.