The Life And Death Of Richard Yea And Nay Volume 91, Maurice Hewlett [beautiful books to read .TXT] 📗

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 4 (Concerning The Tower Of Flies Saint Pol And The Marquess Of Montferrat) Pg 126

'Where Is Your Man, Marquess?' Asked Saint-Pol Of The Pale Italian.

 

'He Is Out Yonder Looking At The Sharks,' Said The Marquess, In A

Whisper; 'But He Will Serve Us If We Dare Use Him.' He Struck At The

Flies Weaving About His Head. 'This Is A Horrible Place, Saint-Pol,' He

Said, Staring. Saint-Pol Shrugged.

 

'The Deed We Compass, Dear Marquess, Is None Of The Choicest, Remember,'

Said He. The Marquess Then Saw That Austria's Broad Leather Back Was

Covered With Flies. This Quickened His Loathing.

 

'By Our Saviour,' He Said, 'One Must Hate A Man Very Much To Talk

Against Him Here.'

 

'Do You Hate Enough?' Asked Saint-Pol.

 

The Marquess Stared About Him. He Saw The Archduke Peacefully Twiddle

His Thumbs. He Saw De Gurdun, Who Stood Moodily, Looking At The Floor.

 

'Oh, Content You,' Saint-Pol Answered Him. 'That Man Hates More Than You

Or I. And With More Reason.'

 

'What Are Your Reasons, Eustace?' Asked Montferrat, Still In A Whisper.

 

'I Hate Him,' Said Saint-Pol, 'For My Brother's Sake, Whose Back He

Broke; For My Sister's Sake, Whose Heart He Must Break Before He Has

Done With Her; For My House's Sake, To Which (In Eudo's Person) He Gave

The Lie; Because He Is Of Anjou, Cruel As A Cat And Savage As A Dog;

Because He Is A Ruthless, Swift, Treacherous, Secret, Unconscionable

Beast. Are These Enough Reasons For You?'

 

'By God, Eustace,' Said The Breathless Montferrat, 'I Cannot Think It.

Not Here!'

 

'Then,' Said Saint-Pol, 'I Hate Him For Berengère's Sweet Sake. That Is

A Good And Clean Hatred, I Believe. That Wasted Lady, Writhing White On

A Bed, Moved Me To Pure Pity. If I Loved Her Before I Will Love Her Now

With Whole Service, Not Daring Belie My Knighthood. I Love That Queen

And Intend To Serve Her. I Have Never Seen Such Pitiful Beauty Before.

What! Is The Man Insatiate? Shall He Have Everything? He Shall Have

Nothing. That Will Serve For Me, I Hope. Now, Marquess, It Is Your

Turn.'

 

The Marquess Struck Out At The Flies. 'I Hate Him,' He Said, 'Because,

Before The King Of France, He Called Me A Liar And Threatened Me With

Ignominious Death.' He Gasped Here, And Looked Round Him To See What

Effect He Had Made. Saint-Pol's Eyes (Green-Grey Like His Sister's) Were

Upon Him, Rather Coldly; Gurdun's On The Floor Still. The Archduke Was

Scratching In His Beard; And The Chorus Of Flies Swelled And Shrilled.

The Marquess Needed Alliances.

 

'Eh, My Friends,' He Said, Almost Praying, 'Will This Not Serve Me?'

 

Said Saint-Pol, 'Marquess, Listen To This Man. Speak, Gilles.'

 

Gilles Looked Up. 'I Have Tried To Kill Him. I Had My Chance Fair. I

Could Not Do It. I Shall Try Again, For The Law Is On My Side. To You,

Lords, I Shall Say Nothing, For I Am A Man Ashamed To Speak Of What I

Desire To Do, Not Yet Certain Whether I Can Accomplish It. This I Say,

The Man Is My Liege Lord, But A Thief For All That. I Loved My Lady

Jehane When She Was Twelve Years Old And I A Page In Her Father's House.

I Have Never Loved Any Other Woman, And Never Shall. There Are No Other

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 4 (Concerning The Tower Of Flies Saint Pol And The Marquess Of Montferrat) Pg 127

Women. She Gave Herself To Me For Good Reason, And He Himself Gave Her

Into My Hand For Good Reason. And Then He Robbed Me Of Her On My Wedding

Day, And Has Slain My Father And Young Brother To Keep Her. He Has Given

Her A Child: Enough Of This. Dastard! I Will Follow And Follow Until I

Dare To Strike. Then I Will Kill Him. Let Me Alone.' Gilles, Red And

Gloomy, Had To Jerk The Words Out: He Was No Speaker. The Marquess Had A

Fierce Eye.

 

'Ha, De Gurdun,' He Said, 'We Need Thee, Good Knight. But Come Out Of

This Accursed Fly-Roost, And We Shall Show Thee A Better Way Than Thine.

It Is The Flies That Make Thee Afraid.'

 

'Eh, Damn The Flies,' Said Gilles. 'They Will Never Disturb Me. They Do

But Seek Their Meat.'

 

'They Disturb Me Horribly,' Said The Marquess, With Italian Candour.

 

Saint-Pol Laughed. 'I Told You That I Could Bring You In A Man,' He

Said. 'Now, Marquess, You Have Our Two Clean Reasons. What Is Yours?'

 

'I Have Given You Mine,' Said Montferrat, Shifting His Feet. 'He Called

Me A Liar.'

 

'It Lacks Cogency,' Said Saint-Pol. 'One Must Have Clean Reasons In An

Unclean Place.' The Marquess Broke Out Into Blasphemy.

 

'May Hell Scorch Us All If I Have No Reasons! What! Has He Not Kept Me

From My Kingdom? Guy Of Lusignan Will Be King By His Means. What Is

Philip Against Richard? What Am I? What Is The Archduke?' He Had

Forgotten That The Archduke Was There.

 

'By Beelzebub, The God Of This Place,' Said That Deep-Voiced Hairy Man,

'You Shall See What The Archduke Is When You Want Him. But I Am No

Murderer. I Am Going Home. I Know What Is Due To A Prince, And From A

Prince.'

 

'Do As You Please, My Lord,' Said Saint-Pol; 'But Our Schemes Are Like

To Be Endangered By Such Goings.'

 

'I Have So Little Liking For Your Schemes, To Be Plain With You,'

Replied The Archduke, 'That They May Fail And Fail Again For Me. How I

Deal With The King Of England, Who Has Insulted Me Beyond Hope, Is A

Matter For Him And Me To Determine.'

 

'Cousin,' Said Montferrat, 'You Desert Me.'

 

'Cousin Again,' Said The Archduke, 'Do You Wonder?' And So He Walked

Out.

 

'Punctilious Boar!' Cried Saint-Pol In A Fume, 'Who Can Only Get His

Tushes In One Way! Now, Marquess, What Are We To Do?'

 

The Marquess Smiled Darkly, And Tapped His Nose. 'I Have My Business In

Good Train. I Have An Ancient Friend On Lebanon. Stand In With Me, The

Pair Of You, And I Have All Done Smoothly.'

 

'You Hire?' Asked Saint-Pol, Drily. Then He Shrugged--'Oh, But We May

Trust You!'

 

'Per La Madonna!' Said The Marquess.

 

'What Will You Do, Gilles?' Saint-Pol Asked The Norman. 'Will You Leave

It To The Marquess Of Montferrat?'

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 4 (Concerning The Tower Of Flies Saint Pol And The Marquess Of Montferrat) Pg 128

'I Will Not,' Said Gilles. 'I Follow King Richard From Point To Point. I

Hire Nobody.'

 

The Marquess's Hands Went Up, Desperate Of Such Folly. 'You Only With

Me, My Eustace!' He Said.

 

Saint-Pol Looked Up. 'I Differ From Either. I Have A Finer Plan Than

Either. You Are Satisfied With A Sword-Stroke In The Back--'

 

'By My Soul, It Shall Not Be In The Back!' Cried De Gurdun. Saint-Pol

Shrugged Again.

 

'That Is The Marquess's Way. But What Matter? You Want To See Him Down.

So Do I, By Heaven, But In Hell, Not On The Earth. I Will See Him

Tormented. I Will See Him Ashamed. I Will Wreck His Hopes. I Will Make

Him A Mockery Of All Kings, Drag His High Spirit Through The Mud Of

Disastrousness. Pouf! Do You Think Him All Flesh? He Is Finer Stuff Than

That. What He Makes Others I Seek To Make Him-Soiled, Defiled, A Blown

Rag. There Is Work To Be Done In That Kind Here And At Home. King Philip

Will See To One; I Stay With The Host.'

 

'It Is A Good Plan,' Said The Marquess; 'I Admire It Exceedingly. But

Steel Is Safer For A Common Man. I Go To Lebanon, For My Part, To My

Friends There. But I Think We Are In Agreement.'

 

Before They Went Away, They Cut Their Arms With A Dagger, And Mingled

Their Blood. The Marquess Wrapped His Wound Deep In His Cloak To Keep

The Flies From It. Across The Silence Of The Night, As They Made Their

Way Into The City, Came The Cry Of The Watchman From A Belfry: 'Save Us,

Holy Sepulchre!' It Floated From Tower To Tower, From Land Far Out To

Sea. Jehane, Dry In Her Hot Bed, Heard It; Richard, On His Knees In An

Oratory, Heard It, Crossed Himself, And Repeated The Words. Queen

Berengère Moaned In Her Sleep; The Duke Of Burgundy Snored; And The

Arabian Spat Into The Lagoon.

 

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 5 (The Chapter Of Forbidding: How De Gurdun Looked And King Richard Hid His Face) Pg 129

Since The Soldan Broke His Pledges, King Richard Swore That He Would

Keep His. So He Had All The Two Thousand Hostages Killed, Except The

Sheik Moffadin, Whom The Marquess Had Enlarged. He Has Been Blamed For

This, And I (If It Were My Business) Should Blame Him Too. He Asked No

Counsel, And Allowed No Comment: By This Time He Was Absolute Over The

Armies In Acre. If I Am To Say Anything Upon The Red Business It Shall

Be This, That He Knew Very Well Where His Danger Lay. It Was His

Friends, Not His Enemies, He Had Reason To Fear; And Upon These The

Effect Of What He Did Was Instantaneous, And Perhaps Well-Timed. The

Count Of Flanders Had Died Of The Camp-Sickness; King Philip Was

Stricken To The Bones With The Same Crawling Disease. Nothing Now Could

Keep Philip Away From France. Acre Was Full Of Rumours, Meetings Of

Kings And Princes, Spies, Racing Messengers. Who Should Stay And Who Go

Was The Matter Of Debate. Philip Meant To Go: His Friend, Prince John Of

England, Had Been Writing To Him. Flanders Must Be Occupied, And

Flanders, Near England, Was Nearer Yet To Normandy. The Marquess Also

Meant To Go--To Sidon For Lebanon. He Had Things To Do Up There On

Richard's And