"For the present, I know not," the squire said. "I had been with Sir William Baxter but three years. The knight I served with, before, was thrown from his horse and killed; and Sir William, who had been just knighted, took me into his service."
"How long have you been a squire?"
"Six years, and I hoped that, in this campaign, I might have done something to win my spurs."
"I am but a poor knight, Master--" and he paused.
"Henry Pemberton," the squire said.
"And being but knighted today, and having no lands to keep up my knighthood, it may be that the earl will appoint you to another of his knights; but should he not do so, I shall be glad if, for the rest of this campaign, you will ride with me; and trust that you, too, may have an opportunity of gaining knighthood, before it is over. But whether or no, as soon as we cross the border again, I doubt not that you will be able to find some lord under whom you may gain advancement."
"I will gladly do so, Sir Oswald. 'Tis strange that I should not have seen your face before; for, since we left Worcester, I have come to know the greater part of the esquires here."
"I arrived but an hour ago," Oswald replied, "having made my way through the Welsh, on foot, with that tall fellow you saw without."
"That was a dangerous deed, truly," Pemberton said, in tones of surprise. "May I ask why you essayed so perilous a feat?"
"I was the bearer of a despatch for the king. I was an esquire to Sir Henry Percy, but have for some time been staying with his brother-in-law, Sir Edmund Mortimer.