Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

I can still see you, fair France Integrate the beauty of natural and artificial. You are still in front of my eyes I see your son who takes pleasure in labor, The soil brought great rewards for their labour. I saw your dark daughter, She had a smile in her eyes, and shiny black curly hair. But sweet France, Both ancient and modern, You both have many sad stories to tell. anonymous Quentin.Davelt avoided talking to anyone (for the king had commanded it to do so), and hastened to put on a solid but plain armor with leg and arm armor, and a good steel helmet without a visor and over the armor was a beautiful smock of fine sharkskin, fastened at the seams with embroidered lace.Only dignitaries of prominent families were worthy of wearing this adornment.

Oliver had brought these clothes to his room.The barber told him, with a serene flattering smile and manner, that his uncle had been called to stand guard, and that he had been deliberately kept from him about these secret operations. I will explain it to your uncle for you in the future, Oliver smiled again, but when you, my dear boy, come back safely from this pleasant mission, I am sure you will be eligible for an exceptional promotion when You don't need to report your actions to anyone, but your people must report their actions to you. When Devil Oliver said these words, he might be calculating in his mind that the poor young man whom he was holding hands with enthusiasm at the moment would die or be kidnapped nine times out of ten in performing the tasks entrusted to him.To add some substance to his kind words, he represented the king by sending him a small bag of gold coins, as necessary expenses for the journey.

Just a few minutes before midnight, Quentin followed the instructions to the second courtyard and stopped under the Crown Prince Tower.This, as the reader knows, was the very tower in which the Countess Croyer lived temporarily.This is the agreed meeting place.He found the persons who made up the entourage leading two pack mules, and three ponies on which the two ladies and their faithful maids rode, and a tall great horse for himself.The steel saddle of the horse glowed faintly in the hazy moonlight.Neither party greeted each other.Those men sat quietly on the horse, like immobile statues.Through the hazy moonlight, Quentin was pleased to see that they were fully armed and armed with spears.Although there were only three of them, one of them with a strong Gascon accent told him in a low voice that a guide would join them after leaving Tours.

At this moment the lights in the latticed windows of the tower flickered, and the lodgers seemed busy in their preparations.At last a small door leading to the courtyard at the base of the tower opened, and three women came out, accompanied by a man in a cloak.They quietly mounted the three ponies prepared for them, and these companions on foot led them to set out, and gave passwords and signals to the sentinels they passed.Finally they finally walked out of this fortified castle.The man on foot who had been acting as a guide stopped now and spoke in a low and serious voice to the two women who were walking ahead.

Your Majesty, may God bless you, Quentin.Darwilt heard it said in a voice that startled him, and will forgive you even if your intentions are not as disinterested as your words make it appear!If I could place myself under the protection of the Bishop of Liège, I would be very happy. The man who heard her say this murmured an inaudible answer and stepped back through a door.Quentin recognized the man in the moonlight as the king.Perhaps because he was anxious to get his guests to leave, he did so himself, partly to avoid their suspicions, and partly to avoid the difficulties caused by the sentinels.

When the little cavalry was out of the castle, they had to ride very carefully for some time, avoiding traps, pits, and similar traps that were designed to make trouble for strangers.However, the Gascons have completely grasped the pulse of this kind of ecstasy.A quarter of an hour later, they had walked out of the Royal Garden of Plessy and came to a place not far from the city of Tours. The moon came out from behind the clouds, casting a beautiful brilliance on the equally beautiful fields.They saw the majestic Loire rolling across the richest plains of France, rushing between banks fringed with towers, terraces, olive groves, and vineyards.In the white moonlight, they saw tall towers and battlements standing on the walls of the ancient capital of Turin in Nadulan, and a large Gothic building appeared inside the walls.This is the most majestic church in France built by the pious Saint Bishop Berbertuas as early as the fifth century AD, and expanded with extraordinary architectural art by the enthusiastic Charlemagne and his successors.The tower of St. Gadin's Church is also vivid.People can also see the gloomy and majestic castle. It is said that it was once the ancient emperor Fan Lantinian (Note: In 394 AD, he was promoted to be the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He actively strengthened the northern border and resisted the invasion of barbarians.) royal palace.

Although the young Scot was in such an environment, how could he not feel admiration and joy in the face of the unique charm of nature!He is used to seeing the mountains and rivers of his hometown, but even its most spectacular scenery is inevitably mixed with poverty.So he feasted on the beautiful scenery embellished by artificial and natural competition.But then he heard the older lady calling to him, a voice at least an octave higher than her soft voice when she said goodbye to the king, and he awoke from his contemplation to face the duty before him.It turned out that the lady asked to talk to the leader.Quentin rode his horse forward, respectfully introduced himself to the lady as the team leader, and then accepted a series of questions from Ms. Hamelin.

what's your name?what level? He responded to these two points. Are you fully familiar with this path? I cannot pretend to be familiar with the road, he replied, but I have been given detailed instructions, and at the first rest I will be equipped with a guide who is perfectly capable of taking us onward.Meanwhile a knight has just joined us, and our guard has increased to four.He will act as a guide for the first phase. Young gentleman, why have you been chosen for this task?asked the lady, I hear you are the young man who stood sentry in that hall when we recently met the Princess of France.You seem a little premature to take on such a task.Besides, you just came to France and you speak French like a foreigner.

Ma'am, I have to obey the king's orders, and I am not qualified to speak in vain.said the young guard. Are you of noble birth?The lady continued to ask. Ma'am, I can safely answer in the affirmative.Quentin replied. Aren't you the one I saw in that inn when the king called me to serve?The lady turned and said the same to him in a timid tone. Perhaps out of the same timidity, Quentin answered in a low voice in the affirmative. Well, aunt, I think we shall be safe under the protection of this young gentleman.Miss Isabel said to Lady Hamelin that he was not at all a villain, one who would carry out a wicked order to cruelly persecute two weak girls.

On my honor, madam, said Davelt, on the name of our family and the remains of our ancestors, I could not betray you or do you harm if France and Scotland were given to me. ! You speak very well, young man, said Madame Hamelin, but we are used to the good things of the King of France and his men, and it is because we believe them that we are deceived into making us To seek asylum in France when he might have sought the protection of the Bishop of Liege with less risk than at present, when he might have sought protection from Wenceslaus in Germany or Edward in England.What happened to the king's promise?It ended up changing our names and smuggling us into that shabby inn as some kind of contraband.You know, Marson, she said to her maid, that we are always covered with a canopy, and only wear my headdress when we sit on an altar with a three-degree slope.But we were forced to stand on the floor and dress and hat like two milkmaids.

Marson admitted that her mistress had told a very sad truth. "My dear aunt, it's a pity it's not the worst thing," said Mademoiselle Isabel, and I'd be more than happy to spare the pomp. It is impossible to be without society, said the old lady, my dear niece, it is intolerable to be without society. My dear aunt, I will have nothing, said Isabel, in a voice that deeply moved the young guide and guard, I will have nothing if I can get a safe and respectable retreat.I don't want God to know, I never want to start a war between France and my native Burgundy, or sacrifice other people's lives for people like me.I only begged permission to go to the Mamuti Convent or some other church sanctuary for hermitage. You talk like a fool, my niece, said the elder lady, not like my noble brother's daughter.Fortunately, I, who has retained the aristocratic spirit of the Croyer family, are still alive.A spear is broken for a noble lady, and a hazel stick for a dark milkmaid.If not, what is the difference between the two?Let me tell you, girl, that when I was about your age, in the bud, there was a famous Haveringham tourney over me.There were four people who challenged, and there were as many as twelve people who fought.It lasted a total of three days.As a result, two brave knights lost their lives, one with a broken spine, one with a broken collarbone, three broken legs, two broken arms, and countless flesh injuries and bruises that even the coat of arms officials couldn't point out. damage.The ladies of our family have always been admired in this way.well!If you could have half the ambition of your noble ancestors, you'd find a court that still cherished lady's love and warrior honor, as jousting was held at Strasbourg for your late great-grandmother, Try to hold a tournament for you in the name of proposing to you.This way you will win the best warriors in Europe to defend the rights of our House of Croyles, from the oppression of Burgundy, and from the machinations of the French. But, dear aunt, answered the young countess, my old nurse told me that although the Count of the Rhine was the best knight in the tourney and thus won my venerable great-grandmother, marriage was not Not happy because he often scolded and even beat my late great-grandmother. Why not?The older ladies, who were full of romantic enthusiasm for the knight profession, argued that why should those warriors who are used to fighting and winning outside fight against each other at home?I'd rather be beaten twice a day by a husband who's so good at martial arts and makes others as formidable as I am, than be married to a coward who dares not beat his wife or anyone else! Good aunt, I wish you the good fortune to have such a fighting husband, replied Isabelle, and I shall not envy you, for a man with broken bones, though lovely in a tourney, is the least lovable in a boudoir. You are wrong.Being beaten is not the inevitable consequence of marrying a knight with outstanding martial arts, Ms. Hamelin said, although our late ancestor Gottfried, the Count of the Rhine, was a bit rough and liked Rhine liquor, but a truly perfect knight should be a lady The lamb among the flock and the lion among the warriors.There used to be a Montigny.Tybalt God bless him he's the kindest man in the world.Not only will he never beat his wife rudely, but the Holy Mother, this man who can defeat any enemy outside meets a female general who dares to beat him at home.He was also a challenger at the Haveringham Tournament.He was very active, and if Heaven pleased, and your grandfather pleased, we would have had a Madame Montigny who was kinder to the good-natured Chevalier Montigny. Seeing that the Haveringham tourney was the subject of which her aunt was always tempted to talk, Countess Isabel had reason to be troubled by it, and let the conversation drop.Quentin, with a consideration of politeness which is natural to a well-bred man, fearing that his nearness would restrain their conversation, rode forward, and walked with the guide, as if to ask him some questions about the route. The problem. The two ladies walked on in silence, sometimes having trivial conversations, until dawn.Quentin worried that they were tired, as they had been riding for hours, and was anxious to know how far they were from the nearest resting place. I'll tell you in half an hour.replied the guide. Are you going to hand us over to another guide then?Quentin continued. Just so, Mr Archer, replied the man, my journeys are always short and straight.You and other archers rely on the bow, but I always rely on my noose. At this time, the moon had already set in the west, and the dawn in the east was getting stronger and brighter, and the center of the small lake they had walked around for a while shone slightly.The lake was situated on a large plain, and there were sparse trees, bushes, and jungles as far as the eye could see, but the terrain was still open, and objects in the distance were gradually discernible.Quentin looked at the man riding beside him.He wore a broad-brimmed hat rather like those worn by Spanish peasants.In the shadow of the floppy hat he recognized little Andre's funny face.Not so long ago, the fellow used his fingers to cooperate with his eerie brother Troy.Eichel's fingers were obscenely busy strangling his neck.Although he had gotten away with it a few days earlier, his distaste for the guy hadn't abated.Driven by disgust mingled with fear (for in Scotland the executioner is viewed with an almost superstitious fear), Darwilt instinctively reined in the horse's head to the right and turned the horse back with a kick from his spurs. He walked in a half circle, separating him from his hideous companion by eight feet. Heh, heh, heh, heh!cried little Andre, by Our Lady of Grever, the young guard remembers us.Hello!Dude, I don't think you hold grudges, do you?Everyone has to earn his own bread in this country.No one need be ashamed to have been strangled twice by my hand, because I dare to compare myself with anyone in the world who has ever hung a living thing from a dead tree.And God has graciously made me such a jolly chap!ha!ha!ha!And I can tell you some of the jokes I told when I climbed from the bottom of the ladder to the top of the gallows.These jokes are so funny, and for God's sake, I had to hurry through my work, lest the man who should be hanged should die laughing. As he spoke, he reined in his horse to draw close to the Scot, thus regaining the distance which had been created between them, and said flatteringly to him: Come, Mr. Archer, don't make any more trouble between us. Keep grudges!For my part, I never carry out my missions with malice, but always in good spirits.Besides, the man I like best is the man whom I have knighted St. Battibralias with that breathless collar round his neck.Battiblarias, by the way, is a name often used by the reverend Father Vasneldi Apollo, chaplain to the Jurisdiction, for the patron saint of the jurisprudence. Stay away, you mean bastard!Seeing the hangman trying to get closer to him, Quentin roared angrily, I wish I could teach you a lesson, so that you know how to keep a distance between a slut like you and a nobleman. Look how bad-tempered you are!The guy said, if you're talking about honest people, then there's some truth to it, and as for noble people, for God's sake, I have to deal with them every day as I intend to deal with you, as close as possible.But, God bless you, leave you alone and with yourself.I wanted to send you a bottle of Avena, to wash away the old grudge.But it's just the temper of your kind to despise my politeness.Got it.You can make trouble however you like.As Jacque the butcher said of his lamb, I never with my customers, with my fellows, with my jolly dancers, with my little friends, in short, with the words written on my brow like your lord Over H. E． M． P．The typeface is awkward.All right, all right, let them treat me as they please.They'll make me do my best for them in the end.You will see that the next time you fall into the hands of little Andre, he knows how to forgive sins. And so, little Andre finished his scene with a provocative wink and the chick of men yelling at a poor horse, and then retreated to the other side of the road, to be digested by the young man with his proud Scots appetite. These sarcasms and sarcasms for him.Quentin would have struck him down with the shaft of his spear, but he held back his rage, for it would be dishonorable at any time or place for him to fight with such a man, and on this occasion, no matter what Any form of fighting would be a form of malfeasance and could have extremely dangerous consequences.So he had to swallow the anger at little Mr. Andre's ill-timed professional jokes, and sincerely hoped that such nonsense did not reach the pretty girl he was escorting.Otherwise, despite his abhorrence of such sarcastic one-liners, he could not have hoped that they would impress the girl in his favour.But at this time the two ladies shouted at the same time: Look at the back, look at the back!Watch out for yourself for God's sake, and protect us from the ones chasing us!Quentin quickly woke up from his thoughts. He hurriedly looked back, only to see that two heavily armed men were indeed chasing them.The horse ran fast and would catch up with them in no time.It could only be that the Advocate General's men were patrolling the forest.Go and see, he said to Andre, and see what they do. Little Andre obeyed.As soon as he saw it, he came back jolly, shaking his head in the saddle, and reported to Quentin: "My dear sir, these two men are neither with you nor with me, nor archers nor They are not military judges, but seeing them wearing steel helmets, visors, and throat armor, the throat armor is the most annoying of all armors!It takes an hour to dawdle on it to undo the rivets on them. Dear ladies, Darwilt ignored little Andre's nagging, please ride ahead.Don't ride so fast that you get the impression you're running away, but fast enough that you can take advantage of the time I've gained by blocking the two pursuers. Countess Isabel looked at their leader and whispered to her aunt again.Then the lady said to Quentin: Good Sagittarius, we trust in your protection, and would rather risk the dangers we may encounter with you than go forward with that unkind man. Ladies, it is up to you, said the young man, we are only pursued by two men.Though their accoutrements seem to indicate that they are knights, if they have any evil intentions, I will show them how a Scotch gentleman will do his duty in protecting you.Well, then he said to his escort, would any of you want to join me in a round with these two dudes? Two of them were obviously afraid to make up their minds, but the other was Beltran.Geat's oath said: Damn, even if he were King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, I'd have to taste them for Gascony's honor. Before he had finished speaking, the two knights, who appeared to belong to just such a class, had caught up to the rearguard formed by Quentin and his steadfast retinue.They wore full suits of high-quality steel armor, without any identifying marks. One of them came over and shouted to Quentin: Mr. Retinue, please step aside. The purpose of our coming is to exempt you from a task beyond your rank and status.You'd better give these two ladies to our protection.We would be better suited to serve them, for we see that they are no better than prisoners in your care. Gentlemen, said Quentin, my answer to your request is: first of all, please understand that I am performing the task assigned to me by my present monarch; Everyone wants my protection. Well, come out!shouted one of the knights, you wandering beggar, how dare you resist a knight who has been decorated with a medal? It is indeed resistance, said Quentin, because it is resistance to your impertinent illegal trespass.If there is a difference in status between us (and I don't know if it is), then your rudeness has rendered it worthless.Draw out your knives!If you want to use spears, then take your places! When the two knights turned their horses and retreated a hundred and fifty yards, Quentin leaned on the saddle and looked at the two ladies, as if he wanted to win their approval.They waved their headscarves at him in encouragement.By this time the two attackers had retreated the distance necessary for the confrontation to take place. Darwilt called on the Gascons to muster the courage of a man, and rode his horse to meet the battle.The four knights immediately rushed to the half of the vacated field to confront each other.This killed the Gascon.His opponent saw him throw his spear through the face without a mask, from the eyes to the back of the head, sending him rolling from his horse. Although Quentin was in the same disadvantaged position, he steadied himself in the saddle very deftly.Though the other's lance grazed his cheek slightly, it slid over his right shoulder; while his own struck him squarely in the chest, knocking him off his horse.Quentin also jumped off the horse and untied the helmet for the enemy lying on the ground.The remaining knight (who had never spoken a word) saw his companion's misfortune, and leaped from his horse before Quentin, and throwing his legs upon his friend, cried: By God and For St. Martin's sake, good man, get on your horse and get your wretch out!Saint Gris, they have done enough trouble this morning. Forgive me, Mr. Knight, Quentin could not bear the menacing tone with which he gave this advice, and said firmly, I must first find out who I was dealing with just now, and find out who is responsible for my partner's death. You'll never know, and you won't be able to report it.The knight replied, you go back obediently, good fellow.If we were foolish enough to hold you back, we are bad enough, for you have committed a crime that neither you nor the lives of all your men can atone for.Well, if you insist on hitting (for Quentin has drawn his sword and rushed at him), then you will take my spear! As he spoke, he struck the Scotsman's helmet with a degree of violence Quentin had only read about in romance before (though he had grown up in a country known for its martial arts).It fell on the young man like a thunderbolt, and he was almost overwhelmed.Not only did the lance go through his reasonably safe helmet, but it also ran into his hair, luckily causing no further damage.Darwilt was dizzy from the beating, and fell to one knee on the ground. His life was in danger, and it all depended on whether the knight intended to make up for another blow.But the knight may have felt a sudden pity for the young Quentin, or he may have admired his bravery, or he may have been dominated by a chivalrous character that loved fair play, in short, he did not take this advantage any further.Once Quentin came to his senses, he charged at the opponent with the ferocity of determination to fight to the death and the composure necessary for the most effective victory.He was determined not to let himself suffer the terrible blow just now, so he took advantage of his agility and agility, coupled with the lightness of his equipment, to run around and use sudden movements and quick attacks to deal with the opponent.The knight in heavy armor was too much to resist, and he was quite exhausted.The righteous knight persuaded Quentin that they had no reason to fight any longer; he would not be compelled to do him harm.But that doesn't help at all.Dawilt, driven only by his strong desire to clear the shame of failure, continued to attack him with lightning speed.He threatened him now with the blade, now with the point, and was always on the lookout for his actions, for he had tasted his terrible superhuman strength.He was always ready to leap back and sideways to avoid blows from his heavy weapon. To hell with you stubborn and arrogant fool!The knight murmured, you won't let it go until your head is knocked out!As he said that, he immediately changed his combat method: first stabilize his position, on the surface it seemed to be on the defensive, he just wanted to block Quentin's constant attacks and not fight back, but he secretly made up his mind that once the young man needed to change his breath or move The mistake made him end the battle at once when he had the opportunity.His cunning strategy had been expected to succeed, but fate had other plans. When the duel was in full swing, a large group of people came up and shouted: In the name of the king, I order you to stop!The two fighters immediately stepped aside.Quentin was shocked to see that the leader of the team that prevented them from continuing to fight was his captain, the Duke of Crawford.Among the visitors was Triston.Lermit and his two or three attendants, a total of about twenty people.