Eustace took the hint, and bent his knee to kiss the hands which
were extended to him by the two ladies; then left the room, feeling,
among all the clouds which darkened his path, one clear bright ray
to warm and gladden his heart. Agnes trusted his truth, Agnes would
be at Bordeaux,--he might see her, and she would hear of his deeds.

Agnes, while she wept over her kinswoman's death and her brother's
faults, rejoiced in having met her old playfellow, and found him as
noble a Knight as her fancy had often pictured him; and in the
meanwhile, the good old Lady Muriel sighed to herself, and shook
her head at the thought of the sorrows which an attachment would
surely cause to these two young creatures.

It was early in the morning that Eustace summoned his nephew from
the couch which one of the Clarenham retainers had yielded him, and,
mounting their horses, they renewed their journey towards the coast.

Without further adventure, the Lances of Lynwood, as Arthur still
chose to call their little party, safely arrived at Rennes, the
capital of Brittany, where Jean de Montford held his court. Here
they met the tidings that Charles V. had summoned the Prince of
Wales to appear at his court, to answer an appeal made against
him to the sovereign by the vassals of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Edward's answer was, that he would appear indeed, but that it
should be in full armour, with ten thousand Knights and Squires
at his back; and the war had already been renewed.

The intelligence added to Eustace's desire to be at Bordeaux, but
he could not venture through the enemy's country without exposing
himself to death or captivity; and even within the confines of