“Sir Geraint,” said the queen, “knowest thou the name of that knight?”
“I know him not,” answered Geraint; “and because of his helm I cannot see his face.”
Then the queen bade one of her maidens go and ask the dwarf who the knight was. She obeyed; but when she asked the dwarf he would not tell her. “Since,” she said, “thou art so churlish, I will go and ask him myself.”
“Thou shalt not ask him, by my faith,” said he.
“Wherefore?” asked the maiden.
“Because thou art not of honour sufficient to befit thee to speak to my lord.”
Then the maiden turned her horse’s head towards the knight, upon which the dwarf struck her across the face with a whip that he carried in his hand, so that the blood flowed forth, and the maiden returned to Guenever complaining of the hurt she had received.
“Very rudely has the dwarf treated thee,” said Geraint. “I will myself go to ask who the knight is.” So he went to the dwarf, who, however, said and did to him as he had done to the damsel Very wroth was Geraint, and he put his hand to his sword; but he considered that it would be no vengeance to him to slay the dwarf and be attacked unarmed by the armed knight, so he returned to the queen, who said he had acted wisely and discreetly.
“Madam,” said Geraint, “I will follow them yet; and in time they will come to some inhabited place where I may get arms, so that I can encounter the knight.”
To this the queen assented, but cautioned him not to attack the knight until he got arms; and she said she should be anxious concerning him till she got good news of him.