HARD WE RODE, INDEED, AND WITH LITTLE MERCY ON OUR MOUNTS
Praise be to the saints! We were not too late, for Cedric lay within, still breathing, though with closed eyes and with face of deathly paleness. Old Marvin lay on another couch hard by; and a leech and a nursing woman from Morton Hall were with them.
Marvin greeted us gladly, and seemed not surprised at our coming. His voice roused Cedric; and he looked upon us with knowing eyes and weakly uttered words of welcome. Lord Mountjoy knelt on the ground at his side, and clasped his hand.
“Cedric,” he whispered, painfully, “canst thou forgive me my words of harshness and my driving thee forth from thy home?”
Then a smile of great content o’erspread my comrade’s face; his eyes grew brighter, and a faintly ruddy color came to his cheeks.
“Lord Mountjoy,” he said, and his voice was far stronger than before, “I freely forgive you for any trifling slights you have offered. I pray you, make not too much of them.”
“Thou wert right, after all,” went on Lord Mountjoy, “in holding to the rights thy fathers had of old. I should well have known thou wert too staunch ever to be a breeder of trouble in the house of thy friends. Now would I give the half of my lands to have thee back, well and sound, at Mountjoy Hall.”
Then Cedric smiled again, now broadly as of old.
“No such price as that shall you pay, my lord, for somewhat which shall be granted without price whatsoever. I have two deep wounds, forsooth, but little thought of dying. The good leech here knows not of the strength that a plain-living forester can muster when his friends come all these leagues to bid him be of good cheer. I will ride again beneath the Mountjoy banner, my lord, and that before the spring.”
At that all three of us that had before knelt dry-eyed before his couch, began weeping copiously for very joy, and Old Marvin, from his bed offered up a prayer of thanksgiving. The leech now came forward, and closely noting the change in Cedric’s face, added his assurance to the stricken youth’s own testimony. Two hours later we came softly from the cottage where both our faithful men lay soundly sleeping. Into the forest the leech followed us to say that now the worst was past, and that he doubted not their full recovery.