Part 20 (1/2)

”'Tis as easy as lying,” I rea.s.sured him; and thereupon I began to sing.

Sang I:

_”Such toll we took of his niggling hours That the troops of Time were sent To seise the treasures and fell the towers Of the Castle of Content.

”Ei ho! Ei ho! the Castle of Content, With flaming tower and tumbling battlement Where Time hath conquered, and the firelight streams Above sore-wounded Loves and dying Dreams,-- Ei ho! the vanished Castle of Content!”_

And I had scarcely ended when the cas.e.m.e.nt opened.

”Stephen!” said the Lady Adeliza.

”Dear love!” said he.

”Humph!” said I.

Here a rope-ladder unrolled from the balcony and hit me upon the head.

”Regard the orchard for a moment,” the Lady Adeliza said, with the wonderfullest little laugh.

My cousin indignantly protested, ”I have company,--a burr that sticks to me.”

”A fool,” I explained,--”to keep him in countenance.”

”It was ever the part of folly,” said she, laughing yet again, ”to be swayed by a woman; and it is the part of wisdom to be discreet. In any event, there must be no spectators.”

So we two Allonbys held each a strand of the ladder and stared at the ripening apples, black globes among the wind-vext silver of the leaves.

In a moment the Lady Adeliza stood between us. Her hand rested upon mine as she leapt to the ground,--the tiniest velvet-soft ounce-weight that ever set a man's blood a-tingle.

”I did not know--” said she.

”Faith, madonna!” said I, ”no more did I till this. I deduce but now that the Marquis of Falmouth is the person you discoursed of an hour since, with whom you hope to enter the Castle of Content.”

”Ah, Will! dear Will, do not think lightly of me,” she said. ”My father--”

”Is as all of them have been since Father Adam's dotage,” I ended; ”and therefore is keeping fools and honest horses from their rest.”

My cousin said, angrily, ”You have been spying!”

”Because I know that there are horses yonder?” said I. ”And fools here--and everywhere? Surely, there needs no argent-bearded Merlin come yawning out of Brocheliaunde to inform us of that.”

He said, ”You will be secret?”

”In comparison,” I answered, ”the grave is garrulous, and a death's-head a chattering magpie; yet I think that your maid, madonna,--”

”Beatris is sworn to silence.”

”Which signifies she is already on her way to Monsieur de Puysange. She was coerced; she discovered it too late; and a sufficiency of tears and pious protestations will attest her innocence. It is all one.” I winked an eye very sagely.

”Your jesting is tedious,” my cousin said. ”Come, Adeliza!”