TREACHERY.
Events of great importance had attracted the attention of all the Court, and Erwin's prolonged and unusual absence had in consequence passed unnoticed.
Influenced by their sincere admiration for the heroic resistance made by the citizens, and out of respect for the nobility of the Guelphic faction, the Count Palatine Conrad, Count Ludwig, and the Duke of Bohemia, decided to employ all their influence in case the besieged should seek to negotiate terms of surrender. The Milanese Consuls were agreeably surprised by the proposal, and eagerly accepted the offered mediation.
A short time after Erwin's departure from the camp, the nobles presented themselves in a body before the Emperor and made known their views on the subject. At first Frederic was astonished, and disposed to reject any arrangement, but the firmness of the princes finally persuaded him that some concession must be made to the chivalrous spirit of the age, and the Milanese were notified that His Majesty would deign to receive a flag of truce.
Barbarossa attached more importance to this step than it really merited; for, accustomed to look at everything from the standpoint of his pretensions to universal sovereignty, he thought himself aggrieved, not by the interference of his knights, but by what seemed an encouragement given to rebels. Besides, he was provoked at the opposition made by the Duke of Austria to the contemplated divorce between Clemence and Henry the Lion, and particularly by the conversation which Beatrice had repeated to him. Rinaldo, who was sent for, went still further, and loud words and threats were overheard in the Imperial chamber, which the Chancellor did not leave until after midnight. What passed between the Emperor and his minister was never known, but the chronicles of the Court leave us in doubt whether the latter was ever informed of the efforts made by the princes in favor of the Milanese.
Such being the condition of affairs, it was not surprising that the absence of the Count and the lady passed unnoticed, and that Erwin could quietly retire to his chamber and prepare for the combat which was to take place on the ensuing day.
At dawn everything was ready, for Gero had faithfully attended to his duty. Rechberg put on a shirt of fine chain-mail, with a hood for the neck and back of the head, and his arms and legs were protected with. brassarts and greaves of linked steel. Above all this, he wore a suit of plate armor with gauntlets, and a polished helmet. A poniard and a long sword completed his equipment, while a page, according to the custom of that time, carried his lance and shield.
Preceded by a herald, Erwin left the camp and took his way towards the appointed place of meeting. What was his surprise to find the gates open and the garrison drawn up in line upon the towers and ramparts. Entirely ignorant of the arrangement which had been made, he was at a loss to explain the situation. The noise of arms could be heard in that division of the camp occupied by the troops of the Archbishop of Cologne, and still there could be no mistake on the part of the besieged, whose movements were slow and precise, and among whom could be seen the consuls in their robes of ceremony, escorted by a showy retinue.
Whilst Rechberg was gazing with curiosity on the scene, the trumpets sounded, and the Cologne troops marched rapidly from their camp and charged the Milanese, who, unprepared for the attack, were unable, for some moments, to organize themselves. On all sides was heard the cry of "Treachery," and at the same time reinforcements issued from the city to the support of the assailed.
Rechberg felt the more surprised that he perceived the standard of the Duke of Bohemia in the midst of the Milanese. The strife became more deadly every moment, and Rinaldo was in serious danger, for the Duke of Bohemia, after endeavoring in vain to quell the trouble, had withdrawn from the melée. Erwin rode hastily towards Count Ludwig, and the other nobles on whose faces he read an expression of settled anger.