Yet, although Myles was now at the head of his class, he did not,as other chief bachelors had done, take a leading position amongthe squires in the Earl's household service. Lord Mackworth, forhis own good reasons, relegated him to the position of LordGeorge's especial attendant. Nevertheless, the Earl alwaysdistinguished him from the other esquires, giving him a cool nodwhenever they met; and Myles, upon his part--now that he hadlearned better to appreciate how much his Lord had done forhim--would have shed the last drop of blood in his veins for thehead of the house of Beaumont.
As for the two young ladies, he often saw them, and sometimes,even in the presence of the Earl, exchanged a few words withthem, and Lord Mackworth neither forbade it nor seemed to noticeit.
Towards the Lady Anne he felt the steady friendly regard of a ladfor a girl older than himself; towards the Lady Alice, nowbudding into ripe young womanhood, there lay deep in his heartthe resolve to be some day her true knight in earnest as he hadbeen her knight in pretence in that time of boyhood when he hadso perilously climbed into the privy garden.
In body and form he was now a man, and in thought and heart wasquickly ripening to manhood, for, as was said before, men maturedquickly in those days. He was a right comely youth, for thepromise of his boyish body had been fulfilled in a tall,powerful, well-knit frame. His face was still round and boyish,but on cheek and chin and lip was the curl of adolescent beard--soft, yellow, and silky. His eyes were as blue as steel, andquick and sharp in glance as those of a hawk; and as he walked,his arms swung from his broad, square shoulders, and his bodyswayed with pent-up strength ready for action at any moment.
If little Lady Alice, hearing much talk of his doings and of hispromise in these latter times, thought of him now and then it isa matter not altogether to be wondered at.
Such were the changes that three years had wrought. And from nowthe story of his manhood really begins.
Perhaps in all the history of Devlen Castle, even at this, thehigh tide of pride and greatness of the house of Beaumont, themost notable time was in the early autumn of the year 1411, whenfor five days King Henry IV was entertained by the Earl ofMackworth. The King was at that time making a progress throughcertain of the midland counties, and with him travelled the Comtede Vermoise. The Count was the secret emissary of the Dauphin'sfaction in France, at that time in the very bitterest intensityof the struggle with the Duke of Burgundy, and had come toEngland seeking aid for his master in his quarrel.
It was not the first time that royalty had visited Devlen. Once,in Earl Robert's day, King Edward II had spent a week at thecastle during the period of the Scottish wars. But at that timeit was little else than a military post, and was used by the Kingas such. Now the Beaumonts were in the very flower of theirprosperity, and preparations were made for the coming visit ofroyalty upon a scale of such magnificence and splendor as EarlRobert, or perhaps even King Edward himself, had never dreamed.
For weeks the whole castle had been alive with folk hurryinghither and thither; and with the daily and almost hourly comingof pack-horses, laden with bales and boxes, from London. Frommorning to night one heard the ceaseless chip- chipping of themasons' hammers, and saw carriers of stones and mortar ascendingand descending the ladders of the scaffolding that covered theface of the great North Hall. Within, that part of the buildingwas alive with the scraping of the carpenters' saws, theclattering of lumber, and the rapping and banging of hammers.
The North Hall had been assigned as the lodging place for theKing and his court, and St. George's Hall (as the older buildingadjoining it was called) had been set apart as the lodging of theComte de Vermoise and the knights and gentlemen attendant uponhim.
The great North Hall had been very much altered and changed forthe accommodation of the King and his people; a beautiful galleryof carved wood-work had been built within and across the southend of the room for the use of the ladies who were to look downupon the ceremonies below. Two additional windows had been cutthrough the wall and glazed, and passage-ways had been openedconnecting with the royal apartments beyond. In the bedchamber abed of carved wood and silver had been built into the wall, andhad been draped with hangings of pale blue and silver, and amagnificent screen of wrought-iron and carved wood had beenerected around the couch; rich and beautiful tapestries broughtfrom Italy and Flanders were hung upon the walls; cushions ofvelvets and silks stuffed with down covered benches and chairs.
The floor of the hall was spread with mats of rushes stained invarious colors, woven into curious patterns, and in the smallerrooms precious carpets of arras were laid on the cold stones.
All of the cadets of the House had been assembled; all of thegentlemen in waiting, retainers and clients. The castle seemedfull to overflowing; even the dormitory of the squires was usedas a lodging place for many of the lesser gentry.
So at last, in the midst of all this bustle of preparation, camethe day of days when the King was to arrive. The day before acourier had come bringing the news that he was lodging atDonaster Abbey overnight, and would make progress the next day toDevlen.
