“I am certain that he it was, and no other, who conquered and slew my lord.”
“So much the better for thee,” returned Luned; “for had he not been stronger than thy lord he could not have slain him. For what is past there is no remedy.”
Ewaine feared for what would come next, for as he gazed on the countess his passion had grown greater than before. But not unmoved had she herself looked upon the comely knight.
“Go back to thine abode,” she said to Luned, “and I will take counsel.”
The next day she assembled all the chief men among her subjects, and showed them that her dominions could not be defended except by some knight of great prowess. “Therefore,” she said, “if you can choose such an one from among yourselves, let him take me; and if not, give your consent that I should take a husband from elsewhere to defend my dominions.”
They came to the determination that it would be better for the countess to marry some one from elsewhere; and thereupon she caused her nuptials with Ewaine to be straightway solemnized; and the men of the earldom did him homage. He defended the fountain against all comers, and for three years he reigned in that country, and was much beloved by his subjects.
