"And now," Dame Vernon went on, "will you thank your five comrades for
their service in the matter, and give them each two gold pieces to spend as
they will."

"He is a noble lad," Dame Vernon had said to herself when Walter had taken
his leave. "Would he had been the son of one of the nobles of the court! It
might have been then, if he distinguished himself in war, as he would
surely do, that the king might have assigned Edith to him. As her lord and
guardian he is certain to give her hand as a reward for valour in the
field, and it may well be to a man with whom she would be less happy than
with this 'prentice lad; but there, I need not be troubling myself about a
matter which is five or six years distant yet. Still the thought that Edith
is a ward of the crown, and that her hand must go where the king wills,
often troubles me. However, I have a good friend in the queen, who will, I
know, exert what influence she has in getting me a good husband for my
child. But even for myself I have some fears, since the king hinted, when
last he saw me, that it was time I looked out for another mate, for that
the vassal of Westerham and Hyde needed a lord to lead them in the field.
However, I hope that my answer that they were always at his service under
the leading of my cousin James will suffice for him. Now, what am I to do
in that matter? Who would have thought that he so coveted my lands that he
would have slain me and Edith to possess himself of them? His own lands a
thrice as broad as mine, though men say that he has dipped deeply into them
and owes much money to the Jews. He is powerful and has many friends, and
although Earl Talbot would stand by me, yet the unsupported word of an
apprentice boy were but poor evidence on which to charge a powerful baron
of such a crime as this. It were best, methinks, to say nought about it,
but to bury the thought in my own heart. Nevertheless, I will not fail to
take the precaution which the lad advised, and to let Sir James know that
there are some who have knowledge of his handiwork. I hear he crosses the