"Let the lad come to me," said the lord; "I have a couple of words to say to him."
"You may go half a dozen, my lord," said the sergeant, flattered by the nobleman addressing him; "plenty of time, for they are speechifying under the porch. Pass, younker."
"Come hither, rogue," said the baron on Gilbert affecting not to hurry himself out of his usual walk. "Tell me by what chance you are out here at St. Denis when you ought to be at Taverney?"
"It is no chance," replied Gilbert, saluting lord and lady for the second time, "but the act of my free will."
"What do you mean by your will, varlet? Have you such a thing as a will of your own?"
Every free man has his own."
"Free man? Do you fancy yourself free, you unhappy dog?"
"Of course, since I parted with my freedom to no one."