“Heaven knows, fair lady,” said he, “it is no more possible for me to open the gate than it is for thee to set me free.”
“Truly,” she answered, “I will do what I can to release thee, for thou art a full gallant knight.” She passed to him through the aperture a ring, and said, “Take this ring, and put it on thy finger with the stone inside thy hand; and so long as thou concealest it, it will conceal thee. When they have consulted together, they will come forward to seize thee in order to put thee to death; but they will not be able to find thee. I will wait within, and thou wilt be able to see me, though I cannot see thee; therefore come and place thy hand on my shoulder, and accompany me where I shall go.”
Ewaine did all as the damsel had told him. The people of the castle came presently and opened the gate to seize him; and when they could find nothing but the half of his horse, they were sorely grieved. But Ewaine went to the maiden and put his hand on her shoulder, and she led him to a large and beautiful chamber that was richly adorned. There she served him with delicious food in vessels of gold and silver. While Ewaine was eating, he heard a great clamour in the castle, and asked the cause of it.
“The lord of this castle has just died,” answered the maiden. Then she prepared for him a noble couch, on which he lay down and slept all night. In the morning he was awakened by a loud sound of wailing. “Wherefore is this outcry?” he asked.
“They are carrying the body of the dead lord to the place of burial,” answered the damsel. Then Ewaine rose and looked out of the window. In the street he beheld an immense crowd of armed men and of women in rich attire, and in the midst of the throng was a bier, on which lay the body of the knight he had slain. Behind it walked a lady with long yellow hair that fell over her shoulders, and her dress of yellow satin was all rent; she smote her hands together, and wailed bitterly. She was the fairest lady Ewaine had ever seen, and as soon as he beheld her he became inflamed with love for her. He inquired of the maiden who the lady was.
“She is my mistress, and one of the fairest and most noble of women. She is called the Countess of the Fountain; and the knight whom thou didst slay yesterday was her husband.”
“Verily,” said Ewaine, “she is the woman that I love best in all the world.”
“Then,” said the damsel, “she shall also love thee not a little.”
So after she had waited on Ewaine when he broke his fast, she bade him lie on the couch and sleep and she would go and woo for him. Then she shut the door of the chamber after her and went straight to the castle. There was nothing but mourning and sorrow, and the countess in her chamber could not bear the sight of any one through grief. The damsel, whose name was Luned, and who was a favourite attendant of the countess, went in and saluted her; but the countess sharply reproached her for not mourning as all the rest did.
“Truly,” said Luned, “I thought thy good sense was greater than I find it to be. Is it well for thee to mourn for that good man, or for anything else that thou canst not have?”