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from him only, and he doubted whether she saw him not from where she stood. As
to the King s Son, he was so intent upon the Maid, and so greedy of her
beauty, that it was not like that he saw anything.
Now moreover Walter looked, and deemed that he beheld something through the
grass and bracken on the other side of those two, an ugly brown and yellow
body, which, if it were not some beast of the foumart kind, must needs be the
monstrous dwarf, or one of his kin; and the flesh crept upon Walter s bones
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with the horror of him. But the King s Son spoke unto the Maid:
Sweetling, I shall take the gift thou givest me, neither shall I threaten
thee any more, howbeit thou givest it not very gladly or graciously.
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She smiled on him with her lips alone, for her eyes were wandering and
haggard. My lord, she said, is not this the manner of women?
Well, he said, I say that I will take thy love even so given. Yet let me
hear again that thou lovest not that vile newcomer, and that thou hast not
seen him, save this morning along with my
Lady. Nay now, thou shalt swear it.
What shall I swear by? she said.
Quoth he, Thou shalt swear by my body; and therewith he thrust himself close
up against her;
but she drew her hand from his, and laid it on his breast, and said: I swear
it by thy body.
He smiled on her licorously, and took her by the shoulders, and kissed her
face many times, and then stood aloof from her, and said: Now have I had
hansel: but tell me, when shall I come to thee?
She spoke out clearly: Within three days at furthest; I will do thee to wit
of the day and the hour to-morrow, or the day after.
He kissed her once more, and said: Forget it not, or the threat holds good.
And therewith he turned about and went his ways toward the house; and Walter
saw the yellow-
brown thing creeping after him in the gathering dusk.
As for the Maid, she stood for a while without moving, and looking after the
King s Son and the creature that followed him. Then she turned about to where
Walter lay and lightly put aside the boughs, and Walter leapt up, and they
stood face to face. She said softly but eagerly: Friend, touch me not yet!
He spake not, but looked on her sternly. She said: Thou art angry with me?
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Still he spake not; but she said: Friend, this at least I will pray thee; not
to play with life and death; with happiness and misery. Dost thou not remember
the oath which we swore each to each but a little while ago? And dost thou
deem that I have changed in these few days? Is thy mind concerning thee and me
the same as it was? If it be not so, now tell me. For now have I the mind to
do as if neither thou nor I are changed to each other, whoever may have kissed
mine unwilling lips, or whomsoever thy lips may have kissed. But if thou hast
changed, and wilt no longer give me thy love, nor crave mine, then shall this
steel (and she drew a sharp knife from her girdle)
be for the fool and the dastard who hath made thee wroth with me, my friend,
and my friend that I deemed I had won. And then let come what will come! But
if thou be nought changed, and the oath yet holds, then, when a little while
hath passed, may we thrust all evil and guile and grief behind us, and long
joy shall lie before us, and long life, and all honour in death: if only thou
wilt do as I bid thee, O my dear, and my friend, and my first friend!
He looked on her, and his breast heaved up as all the sweetness of her kind
love took hold on him, and his face changed, and the tears filled his eyes and
ran over, and rained down before her, and he stretched out his hand toward
her.
Then she said exceeding sweetly: Now indeed I see that it is well with me,
yea, and with thee also. A sore pain it is to me, that not even now may I take
thine hand, and cast mine arms about thee, and kiss the lips that love me. But
so it has to be. My dear, even so I were fain to stand here long before thee,
even if we spake no more word to each other; but abiding here is perilous; for
there is ever an evil spy upon my doings, who has now as I deem followed the
King s Son to the house, but who will return when he has tracked him home
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thither: so we must sunder. But belike there is yet time for a word or two:
first, the rede which I had thought on for our deliverance is now afoot,
though I durst not tell thee thereof, nor have time thereto. But this much
shall I tell thee, that whereas great is the craft of my Mistress in wizardry,
yet I also have some little craft therein, and this, which she hath not, to
change the aspect of folk so utterly that they seem other than they verily
are; yea, so that one may have the aspect of another. Now the next thing is
this:
whatsoever my Mistress may bid thee, do her will therein with no more
nay-saying than thou deemest may please her. And the next thing: wheresoever
thou mayst meet me, speak not to me, make no sign to me, even when I seem to
be all alone, till I stoop down and touch the ring on my ankle with my right
hand; but if I do so, then stay thee, without fail, till I speak. The last
thing I
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will say to thee, dear friend, ere we both go our ways, this it is. When we
are free, and thou knowest all that I have done, I pray thee deem me not evil
and wicked, and be not wroth with me for my deed; whereas thou wottest well
that I am not in like plight with other women. I have heard tell that when the
knight goeth to the war, and hath overcome his foes by the shearing of swords
and guileful tricks, and hath come back home to his own folk, they praise him
and bless him, and crown him with flowers, and boast of him before God in the
minster for his deliverance of friend and folk and city. Why shouldst thou be
worse to me than this? Now is all said, my dear and my friend; farewell,
farewell!
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