He now went with them into the ladies' room. "Dame and daughter," he said, "I have to present to you Sir Edgar Ormskirk and Sir Albert De Courcy, whom his Majesty has been pleased this morning to raise to the honour of knighthood, which has been well won by their own merits and bravery."
The dame gave an exclamation of pleasure and her daughter clapped her hands.
"'Tis well deserved, indeed," the former exclaimed, "and I wish them all good fortune with their new dignity. How much we owe them, Robert."
"That do we," the merchant said, heartily.
"I am pleased," the girl said, coming forward and frankly shaking hands with both.
"I can scarce credit our good fortune, Mistress Ursula," Albert said. "'Tis but a few months since I deemed that I was unfit for martial exercise, and that there was naught for me but to enter the Church, and now, thanks entirely to Edgar and to good luck, I am already a knight; 'tis well-nigh past belief. That meeting with you and your father was the beginning of our great fortune."
"That was a terrible night," the girl said, with a little shudder at the recollection. "Heaven surely sent you to our aid."
While they were talking, Sir Robert said a word apart to his wife, and left the room. He presently returned with a small coffer, which he handed to her.
"It seems to me, young knights," she said, "that your equipment is incomplete without a knightly chain. My husband, I know, is going to give you armour for war; it is for us to give you an ornament for Court. These are the work of Genoese goldsmiths, and I now, in the name of my daughter and myself, and as a small token of the gratitude that we owe you, bestow these upon you."
So saying she placed round their necks two heavy gold chains of the finest workmanship. Both expressed their thanks in suitable terms.