AT AGINCOURT




CHAPTER I

A FEUDAL CASTLE


"And is it true that our lord and lady sail next week for their estate in
France?"

"Ay, it is true enough, and more is the pity; it was a sad day for us all
when the king gave the hand of his ward, our lady, to this baron of
Artois."

"They say she was willing enough, Peter."

"Ay, ay, all say she loved him, and, being a favourite with the queen, she
got her to ask the king to accede to the knight's suit; and no wonder, he
is as proper a man as eyes can want to look on--tall and stately, and they
say brave. His father and grandfather both were Edward's men, and held
their castle for us; his father was a great friend of the Black Prince,
and he, too, took a wife from England. Since then things have not gone
well with us in France, and they say that our lord has had difficulty in
keeping clear of the quarrels that are always going on out there between