sloth at their commanderies in England, and take no part in the
noble struggle of the Order with the Moslem host, who have captured
Constantinople and now threaten all Europe. We were childless some
years after our marriage, and Eleanor and I vowed that were a son
born to us he should join the Order of the White Cross, and dedicate
his life to the defence of Christian Europe against the infidel.
Our prayers for a son were granted, and Gervaise will enter the
Order as soon as his age will permit him. That is why I rejoice
at the grand prior's offer to take him as his page, for he will
dwell in the hospital safely until old enough to take the first
steps towards becoming a knight of the Order."

"I would that I had been born the son of a baron like yourself,"
the prince said earnestly, "and that I were free to choose my own
career. Assuredly in that case I too would have joined the noble
Order and have spent my life in fighting in so grand a cause, free
from all the quarrels and disputes and enmities that rend England.
Even should I some day gain a throne, surely my lot is not to be
envied. Yet, as I have been born to the rank, I must try for it,
and I trust to do so worthily and bravely. But who can say what the
end will be? Warwick has ever been our foe, and though my royal
mother may use him in order to free my father, and place him on
the throne, she must know well enough that he but uses us for his
own ends alone, and that he will ever stand beside the throne and
be the real ruler of England."

"For a time, Edward," the queen broke in. "We have shown that
we can wait, and now it seems that our great hope is likely to
be fulfilled. After that, the rest will be easy. There are other
nobles, well nigh as powerful as he, who look with jealousy upon