The Life And Death Of Richard Yea And Nay Volume 91 by Maurice Hewlett (free books to read .txt) 📕

Hill To Watch The Battle. 'Who Is

That Marvellous Tall Knight Who Seems To Be Swimming Among My Horse?'

'Splendour, It Is Rikardos, King Of The West,' They Told Him, 'Reputed A

Fierce Swimmer.' 'He Drowns, He Drowns!' Cried The Emperor, As The Red

Plumes Were Whelmed In Black. 'Nay, But He Dives Rather, Majesty.' He

Heard The Death-Shouts, He Saw White Faces Turned His Way; Then The Mass

Was Cleft Asunder, Blown Off And Dispersed Like The Sparks From A

Smithy. The Thing Was Of Little Moment In A Time Of Much; There Was No

Fighting Left In The Cypriotes After That Sunny Morning's Work. Nikosia

Fell, And The Emperor Isaac, In Silver Chains, Heard From His

Prison-House The Shouts Which Welcomed The Emperor Richard. These Things

Were Accomplished By The First Week In May. Then Came Guy Of Lusignan

With Bad News Of Acre And Worse Of Himself. Philip Was Before The Town,

Montferrat With Him. Montferrat Had The Archduke's Of Austria As Well As

French Support; With These Worthies, And The Ravished Wife Of Old King

Baldwin For Title-Deed, He Claimed The Throne Of Jerusalem; And King Guy

Of Lusignan (But For The Name Of The Thing) Was Of No Account At All.

Guy Said That The Siege Of Acre Was A Foppery. King Philip Was Ill, Or

Thought He Was; Montferrat Was Treating With Saladin; The French Knights

Openly Visited The Saracen Women; And The Duke Of Burgundy Got Drunk.

'What Else Could He Get, Poor Fool?' Asked Richard; Then Said, 'But I

Promise You This: Montferrat Shall Never Be King Of Jerusalem While I

Live--Not Because I Love You, My Friend, But Because I Love The Law. I

Shall Come As Soon As I Can To Acre, When I Have Done Here The Things

Which Must Be Done.' He Meant His Marriage.

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Little Madame Berengère Was Lodged, As Became Her, In The Emperor's

Palace At Limasol, Having With Her Queen Joan Of Sicily, And Among Her

Women The Young Fair Lady Jehane, None Too Fair, Poor Girl, By This

Time. Berengère Herself, Who Was Not Very Intelligent, Remarked Her, And

Gave Her The Cold Shoulder. As Day Swallowed Up Day, And Richard, At His

Affairs, Gave Her No Thought, Or At Least No Sign, Jehane's Condition

Became An Abominable Eyesore To The Queendesignate; So Queen Joan

Plucked Up Her Courage Age To The Point, And Seeking Out Her Brother,

Let Him Know That She Had Tidings For His Private Ear.

 

'I Do Not Admit That I Have Such An Ear,' Said Richard. It Is No Part Of

A King's Baggage. Yet By All Means Name Your Tidings, My Sister.'

 

'Dear Sire,' Said Joan, 'It Appears That You Have Sown A Seed, And Must

Look Before Long For The Harvest.' The King Laughed.

 

'God Knows, I Have Sown Enough Seeds. But Mostly They Come Up Tares, I

Am Apt To Find. My Harvesting Is Of Little Worth. What Now, Sister?'

 

'Beau Sire,' Says The Queen, I Know Not How You Will Take It. Your

Bonamy, The Picardy Lady, Is With Child, And Not So Far From Her Time

Neither. My Sister Berengère Is Greatly Offended.'

 

King Richard Began To Tremble; But Whether From The Ague Which Was Never

Long Out Of Him, Or From Joy, Or From Trouble, Who Knows?

 

'Oh, Sister,' He Said, 'Oh, Sister, Are You Very Sure Of This?

 

'I Was Sure Of It,' Replied The Lady, 'The Moment I Saw Her In The

Autumn At Messina. But Now Your Question Is Not Worth The Asking.'

 

The King Abruptly Left His Sister And Went Over To The Queen's Side Of

The Palace. Berengère Was Sitting Upon A Balcony, All Her Ladies With

Her; But Jehane A Little Apart. When The King Was Announced All Rose To

Their Feet. He Looked Neither Right Nor Left Of Him, But Fixedly At

Jehane, With A High Bright Flush Upon His Sharp Face And Fever Sparks In

His Eyes. To These Signals Jehane, Because Of Her Great Exaltation, Flew

The Answering Flags. Richard Touched Berengère's Hand With The Hair On

His Lip: To Jehane He Said, 'Come, Ma Mye,' And Led Her Out Of The

Balcony.

 

This Was Not As It Should Have Been; But Richard, Used To His Way, Took

It, And Richard Moved Could Move Bigger Mountains Than Those Of

Ceremony. He Lunged Forward Along The Corridors, Jehane Following As She

Might, Led By The Hand, But Not Against Her Will. No Doubt She Was With

Child, No Doubt She Was Glorious On That Account. She Was A Very Proud

Girl.

 

Alone, Those Two Who Had Loved So Fondly Gazed Each At The Work Wrought

Upon The Other Without A Word Said, The King All Luminous With Love, And

She All Dewy. If Soul Spoke To Soul Ever In This World, Said Richard's

Soul, 'O Vase, That Bearest The Pledge Of My Love!' And Hers, 'O Strong

Wine, That Brimmest In My Cup!'

 

He Came Forward And Embraced Her With His Arm. He Felt Her Heart Beat,

He Guessed Her Pride; He Felt Her Thrill, He Knew His Own Defeat. He

Felt Her So Strong And Salient Under His Hand--So Strong, So

Full-Budded, So Hopeful Of Fruit--That Despair Of Her Loss Seized Him

Again, Terrible Rage. He Sickened, While In Her The Warm Blood Leaped.

He Wanted Everything; She, Nothing In The World. He, The King Of Men,

Was The Bond; She, The Cast-Off Minion, She, This Jehane Saint-Pol, Was

The Free. So God, Making War Upon The Great, Rights The Balances Of This

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 2 (Of What Jehane Looked For And What Berengère Had) Pg 111

World.

 

But He Was Extraordinarily Gentle With Her; He Gripped Himself And

Throttled The Animal Close. Gaining Grace As He Went, His Heart Throve

Upon Its Own Blood. Balm Was Shed On His Burning Face, He Sucked Peace

As It Fell. Then He, Too, Discerned The God Near By; To Him, Too, Came

With Beating Wings The Pure Young Love, That Best Of All, Which Hath No

Needs Save Them Of Spending.

 

His Voice Was Hushed To A Boy's Murmur.

 

'Jehane, Ma Mye, Is It True?'

 

'I Am The Mother Of A Son,' She Said.

 

'Give God The Glory!'

 

But She Said, 'He Hath Given It To Me.' Her Face Was Turned To Where God

Might Be: Richard, Looking Down, Kissed Her On The Mouth. Tremblingly

They Kissed And Long, Not As Young Lovers, But As Spouse And Spouse,

Drinking Their Common Joy.

 

After A While His Present Troubles Came Thronging Back, And He Said

Bitterly: 'Ah, Child, Thou Art Widowed Of Me While Yet We Both Live. Yet

It Was In Thy Power To Be Mother Of A King.'

 

Said She, Leaning Her Head On His Breast, 'Every Woman That Beareth A

Child Is Mother Of A King; But Not Every Woman's Child Hath A King To

His Father. Thus It Is With Me, Richard, Who Am Doubly Blessed.'

 

'Ah, God!' He Cried, Poignantly Concerned, 'Ah God, Jehane, See What

Trammels I Have Enmeshed Us In, Thee In One Net And Me In Another! So

That Neither Can I Help Thee, Being Roped Down To This Work, Nor Thou

Thyself, Trapped By My Fault. How Shall I Do? Lo, My Sin, My Sin! I

Cried Yea; And Now Cometh God, And, Nay, King Richard, He Saith. The Sin

Is Mine, And The Burden Of The Sin Is Thine. Is This A Horrible Thing?

 

Jehane Smiled Up In His Face. 'And Dost Thou Think It, Richard, A

Burden So Grievous,' She Said, 'To Be Mother Of Thy Son? Dost Thou Think

That The World Can Be Harsh To Me After That; Or That In The Life To

Come There Will Be No Remembrance To Make The Long Days Sweet?' She

Looked Very Proudly Upon Him, Smiling All The Time; She Put Her Hands Up

And Crowned His Head With Them. 'Oh, My Dear Life, My Pride And My

Master,' Said Jehane, 'Let All Come To Me That Must Come Now; I Am Rich

Above All My Desires, And My Lowliness Has Been Of No Account With God.

Now Let Me Go, Blessing His Name.'

 

He Would Not Let Her Go, But Still Looked Earnestly Down At Her,

Struggling With Himself Against Himself.

 

'I Must Be Married, Jehane,' Says He Presently. And She, 'In A Good

Hour, My Lord.'

 

'It Is An Accursed Hour,' He Said; 'Nothing But Ill Can Come Of It.'

 

'Lord,' Said She, 'Thou Art Vowed To This Work.'

 

'I Know It Very Well,' He Replied; 'But A Man Does As He Can.'

 

'You, My King Richard, Do As You Will,' Said Jehane. So He Kissed Her

And Let Her Go.

 

Among The Multitudinous Affairs Now Heaped Upon Him--Business Of His New

Volume 91 Book 2 (The Book Of Nay) Chapter 2 (Of What Jehane Looked For And What Berengère Had) Pg 112

Empire And His Old, Business Of Guy's, Business Of The War, Business Of

Marriage--He Set First And Foremost This Business Of Jehane's. He

Removed Her From The Queen's House, Gave Her House And Household Of Her

Own. It Was In Limasol, A Pleasant Place Overlooking The Sea And The

Ships, A Square White House Set Deep In Myrtle Woods And Oleanders. Once

More The 'Countess Of Poictou' Had Her Seneschal, Chaplain, Ladies Of

Honour. That Done, He Fixed Saint Pancras' Day For His Marriage, Had The

Ships Got Out, Furnished, And Appointed For Sea. The Night Before Saint

Pancras He Sent For Abbot Milo In A Hurry. Milo Found Him Walking About

His Room, Taking Long, Carefully Accurate Strides From Flagstone To

Flagstone.

 

He Continued This Feverish Devotion For Some Minutes After His

Confessor's Coming-In; And Seeing Him Deep In Thought, The Good Man

Stood Patient By The Doorway. So Presently Richard Seemed Aware Of Him,

Stopped In Mid Walk, And Looking At Him, Said--

 

'Milo, Continence Is, I Suppose, Of All Virtues The Most Excellent?'

Milo Prepared To Expatiate.

 

'Undoubtedly, Sire, It Is So, Because Of All Virtues The Least

Comfortable. Saint Chrysostom, Indeed, Goes So Far As To Declare--'; But

Richard Broke In.

 

'And Therefore, Milo, It Is Urged Upon The Clergy By The Ordinances Of

Many Honourable Popes And Patriarchs?'

 

'_Distinguo_, Sire,' Said Milo, '_Distinguo_. There Are Other Reasons.

It Is Written, So Run That Ye May Obtain. Now, No Man Can Run After The

Prize We Seek If He Carrieth A