CHAPTER VIII.
LADY ANNE WRITES TO THE KING
AFTER several days' journey they entered Bretagne, and before long drewnear to the city of Nantes and the castle of Lady Anne. This castle wasvery large, and had many towers and gables and little turrets withsharp-pointed, conical roofs. There was a high wall and a moat allaround it, and as Count Henri approached, he displayed a little bannergiven him by King Louis, and made of blue silk embroidered with threegolden lilies.
At the sight of this, the keepers of the drawbridge (who in those daysalways had to be very watchful not to admit enemies to their lord'scastle) instantly lowered the bridge, and Count Henri and his guard rodeover and were respectfully received within the gate.
They dismounted in the courtyard, and then, after resting awhile in oneof the rooms of the castle, Count Henri was escorted into the great hallof state, where Lady Anne was ready to receive him.
This hall was very large and handsome, with a high, arched ceiling, andwalls hung with wonderful old tapestries. Standing about in groups werenumbers of picturesquely dressed pages, ladies-in-waiting, richly clad,and Breton gentlemen gorgeous in velvets and lace ruffles, for a hundredof these always attended Lady Anne wherever she went. At one end of thehall was a dais spread with cloth of gold, and there, in a carved chair,sat the Lady Anne herself. She wore a beautiful robe of brocaded crimsonvelvet, and over her dark hair was a curious, pointed head-dress ofwhite silk embroidered with pearls and gold thread.
As Count Henri approached, she greeted him very cordially; and then,kneeling before her, he said:
"My Lady, I have the happiness to deliver to your hands these bridalgifts which our gracious sovereign, King Louis, did me the honour toentrust to my care."
And then, as he handed to her the casket of jewels and the silkenpackage containing the hour book, she replied:
"Sir Count, I thank you for your courtesy in bearing these gifts to me,and I am well pleased to receive them."
Then summoning a little page, she told him to carry the presents up toher own chamber, where she might examine them at her leisure.
By and by, Count Henri withdrew, after asking permission to start thenext morning on his return to Paris; for he wished to report to theking that he had safely accomplished his errand.
And then Lady Anne, having given orders that he and his followers behospitably entertained during their stay in the castle, mounted thegreat stone staircase, and went to her own room, for she very muchwanted to look at the gifts from King Louis.
These she found on a table where the little page had placed them. Thecasket was uncovered, while the book was still wrapped up in the pieceof silk, so that one could not tell just what it was.
"_Began slowly to turn over the pages_"]
Lady Anne opened the casket first, as it happened to be nearest to her;and she drew in her breath, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure, as shelifted out a magnificent necklace, and other rich jewels that gleamedand glittered in the light like blue and crimson fires. She tried on allthe ornaments, and then, after awhile, when she had admired them to herheart's content, she took up the silk-covered package, and curiouslyunwrapped it. When she saw what it contained, however, her face grewradiant with delight, and--
"Ah!" she exclaimed to herself, "King Louis's gifts are indeed princely,and this one is the most royal of all!"
For King Louis had been entirely right in thinking nothing would pleasethe Lady Anne quite so much as a piece of fine illumination.
Still holding the book carefully in her hands, she at once seatedherself in a deep, cushioned chair, and began slowly to turn over thepages, taking the keenest pleasure, as she did so, in every fresh beautyon which her eyes fell. When she had gone about half through the book,she lifted it up to look more closely at an especially beautiful initialletter, and then, all at once, out fluttered the loose leaf whichGabriel had put in.
As it fell to the floor, a little page near by hastened to pick it up,and, bending on one knee, presented it to Lady Anne. At first shefrowned a little, for she thought, as had Brother Stephen, that thebook must have been badly bound. But when she took the leaf in her hand,to her surprise, she saw that it was different from the others, and thatit had not been bound in with them; and then she read over the writingvery carefully. When she had finished, she sat for some time, just asBrother Stephen had done, holding the page in her hand, while her facewore a very tender expression.
Lady Anne was really deeply touched by Gabriel's little prayer, and shewished greatly that she herself might find a way to help him and hisfamily out of their trouble.
But the more she thought about it, she realized that she had noauthority over a Norman nobleman, and that no one in France, except theking, was powerful enough to compel Count Pierre to release the peasantViaud from imprisonment.
So going over to a little writing-table, she took out a thin sheet ofparchment, a quaint goose-quill pen, and a small horn full of ink, andwrote a letter which she addressed to King Louis. Then she took theloose leaf on which Gabriel's prayer was written, and, folding it inwith her letter, tied the little packet with a thread of scarlet silk(for no one used envelopes then), and sealed it with some red wax. Andon the wax she pressed a carved ring which she wore, and which left aprint that looked like a tiny tuft of ermine fur encircled by a bit ofknotted cord; for this was Lady Anne's emblem, as it was called, andKing Louis, seeing it, would know at once that the packet came from her.
Then she went down into the great hall of the castle, and sent one ofher Breton gentlemen to bring Count Henri. When the latter entered, shesaid to him:
"Sir Count, it would give me great pleasure to keep you longer as myguest, but if you must return to Paris tomorrow, I will ask you to be mybearer for a little packet which I am anxious to send to King Louis."
Then, as she handed it to him, she added with a smile, "I give it toyou now, for if you ride early in the morning, I must leave my Bretongentlemen to do the honours of your stirrup-cup."
(This last was the cup of wine which it was considered polite to offer adeparting guest as he mounted his horse, and was a little ceremony overwhich Lady Anne liked to preside herself; that is, when her guests wentaway at agreeable hours.)
As Count Henri received the packet from her, he made a very deep bow,and replied that he would be most happy to serve the Lady Anne in anyway he could, and that he only awaited her command to start at once onhis journey.
"Nay," said Lady Anne, with another little smile, "'tis no affair ofstate importance! Only a matter of my own on which I have set my heart.But I will not hear to your setting forth, until you have sat at mytable and rested overnight in the castle."
To this Count Henri again gallantly bowed his obedience; and then,before long, Lady Anne led all the company into the great banquet-hall,where a number of long tables were set out with roasted game, and breadand wine and the many different cakes and sweetmeats of Bretagne.
The Lady Anne took her place at the head of the longest table of all,and she placed Count Henri at her right hand. Near them sat many of theladies-in-waiting, and Breton gentlemen of the highest rank; while atthe farther end, beyond a great silver saltcellar standing in the middleof the table, were seated those of less degree.
The dishes were of gold and silver, and Lady Anne herself was waitedupon by two noblemen of Bretagne, for she lived very magnificently, aswas fitting for the bride of King Louis.
When the supper was over, they all went back into the great castle hall,where bright fires of logs were blazing in the huge fireplaces; and asthey sat in the firelight, they listened to the beautiful songs andmusic of two troubadours who had that day chanced to come to the castle,and who sang so sweetly that it was very late before the company brokeup for the night.
All through the evening, however, in spite of the pleasantentertainment, Lady Anne, who was very sympathetic, could not help butthink many times of poor little Gabriel, and how cold and hungry andmiserable he must be! She had been much struck, too
, with the beautifulway in which he had written out and ornamented his little prayer, forshe was a good judge of such things; and, as she thought about it, shedetermined some day to see the lad herself. Meantime she was veryanxious to help him as soon as possible. Indeed, she felt much happierwhen the next morning came, and Count Henri set out for Paris; for thenshe knew that her letter and Gabriel's little written page were on theirway to King Louis.
In due time, Count Henri arrived safely at the king's palace, anddelivered the packet from Lady Anne. And when King Louis broke the waxseal, and read the letter and Gabriel's little prayer, he, too, wasdeeply touched. Lady Anne's letter explained to him about finding theloose page in the beautiful book he had sent her, and asked that hewould see to it that Count Pierre set the boy's father free.
This King Louis at once determined to do, for he was a just andkind-hearted monarch, and during his reign did much to lighten the taxesand oppression of the peasant-folk; and, moreover, in this trouble ofGabriel's father, he now took an especial interest, as it gave him greatpleasure to grant any wish of the Lady Anne, whom he loved deeply.
So that very day he sent for a trusty messenger, and after explainingthings to him, directed him to set out as soon as possible for St.Martin's Abbey, and there to seek out Brother Stephen and inquire aboutthe little peasant boy, Gabriel Viaud. And then, if he found everythingto be true that Gabriel had said in his prayer, he was to act accordingto further orders which King Louis gave him.