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I pray you to notice among them one youth placed at our head in De Walton's absence, and who bears the honoured name of Aymer de Valence, being the same with that of the Earl of Pembroke, of whom I have spoken; this knight has also a brisk young page, whom men call Fabian Harbothel."
"Ay, Jew," said Prior Aymer; "kneel to God, as represented in the servant of his altar, and who knows, with thy sincere repentance and due gifts to the shrine of Saint Robert, what grace thou mayst acquire for thyself and thy daughter Rebecca? I grieve for the maiden, for she is of fair and comely countenance, I beheld her in the lists of Ashby.
About eleven years ago Aymer became possessed of a passionate desire to have a boy to bring up, since he might not have one of his own. In hunting for a suitable one I stumbled on the son of someone I had known who had fallen on very evil days." He stopped a moment. Peter took out another cigar and lit it. "On very evil days," repeated the other.
"Aymer, the Prior Aymer? Brian de Bois-Guilbert?" muttered Cedric; "Normans both; but Norman or Saxon, the hospitality of Rotherwood must not be impeached; they are welcome, since they have chosen to halt more welcome would they have been to have ridden further on their way But it were unworthy to murmur for a night's lodging and a night's food; in the quality of guests, at least, even Normans must suppress their insolence.
"Ye are friends and allies of our reverend father in God, Aymer, Prior of Jorvaulx," said the monk, without noticing the tone of De Bracy's reply; "ye owe him aid both by knightly faith and holy charity; for what saith the blessed Saint Augustin, in his treatise 'De Civitate Dei' " "What saith the devil!" interrupted Front-de-Boeuf; "or rather what dost thou say, Sir Priest?
He shot one of his quick glances at Aymer. The tortoise-shell paper-knife snapped in two. Aymer fitted the ends together neatly. "No, I didn't," he answered very deliberately. "I told you he was my adopted son. I adopted him in order to have something to do." "Oh, yes. Of course, of course." A slow smile spread over his big face.
So many little debates took place between the two knights, that Sir Aymer de Valence thought himself under the necessity of writing to his uncle and namesake, the Earl of Pembroke, stating that his officer, Sir John de Walton, had unfortunately of late taken some degree of prejudice against him, and that after having borne with many provoking instances of his displeasure, he was now compelled to request that his place of service should be changed from the Castle of Douglas, to wherever honour could be acquired, and time might be given to put an end to his present cause of complaint against his commanding officer.
"What would you recommend me to do?" asked Aymer quietly. "With your head for figures and your leisure you should take to the Market. Have a machine and tapes fitted up in reach, and, by Jove! in a quiet spot like this, out of the way of other men's panics and nonsense, you could rule the world." "The Market, I think you said." "Same thing.
Aston, who had heard of his doings from the stud-groom, took him out with him on one of his rounds of inspection to outlying farms. "The boy's got a good seat, and pluck, Aymer," reported Mr. Aston. "It's more creditable to him because he has had to learn. It's not second nature to him."
"Do you then hold, reverend father," said Sir Aymer, "that there is real danger in carrying this youth to the castle to-night, as I proposed?"
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