Cedric nodded in assent. “Read on,” he said.
For some pages the Abbot went on in silence. Then he uttered an exclamation of surprise, and paused to read again—this time aloud—an article that appeared near the end of the scroll.
“All the aforesaid customs and liberties which the King hath conceded, to be held in the Kingdom as far as concerns his relations to his men, all in the realm, as well ecclesiastics as laity, shall on their part observe toward their men.”
The Abbot leaped to his feet, his face red with wrath.
“What means this, De La Roche? Would thou have all these things for which we risk our lives and lands extended to every churl and varlet in the Kingdom?”
“Aye,” answered Cedric steadily. “And if thou’lt look abroad through our camp, thou’lt see some thousands of those same churls and yeomen that do risk their lives in this cause as much as thou or me.”
The Abbot shook his head with impatience.
“’Tis beyond reason, De La Roche. I cannot give my word for it.”
Cedric for a moment gazed out of window. Then he said to me:
“This keeping in durance of an ecclesiastic who was appointed to his place by the King and moreover stands high in his favor, is a difficult and dangerous business. ’Twill be better if we take him to the town’s edge and turn him loose to find his way back whence he came.”