Now from that day forward Saladin held the brethren in great friendship, and pressed gifts upon them and offered them honours. But they refused them all, saying that they needed but one thing of him, and he knew what it was—an answer at which his face sank.
One morning he sent for them, and, except for the presence of prince Hassan, the most favourite of his emirs, and a famous imaum, or priest of his religion, received them alone.
“Listen,” he said briefly, addressing Godwin. “I understand that my niece, the princess of Baalbec, is beloved by you. Good. Subscribe the Koran, and I give her to you in marriage, for thus also she may be led to the true faith, whom I have sworn not to force thereto, and I gain a great warrior and Paradise a brave soul. The imaum here will instruct you in the truth.”
Thus he spoke, but Godwin only stared at him with eyes set wide in wonderment, and answered:
“Sire, I thank you, but I cannot change my faith to win a woman, however dearly I may love her.”
“So I thought,” said Saladin with a sigh, “though indeed it is sad that superstition should thus blind so brave and good a man. Now, Sir Wulf, it is your turn. What say you to my offer? Will you take the princess and her dominions with my love thrown in as a marriage portion?”
Wulf thought a moment, and as he thought there arose in his mind a vision of an autumn afternoon that seemed years and years ago, when they two and Rosamund had stood by the shrine of St. Chad on the shores of Essex, and jested of this very matter of a change of faith. Then he answered, with one of his great laughs:
“Ay, sire, but on my own terms, not on yours, for if I took these I think that my marriage would lack blessings. Nor, indeed, would Rosamund wish to wed a servant of your Prophet, who if it pleased him might take other wives.”
Saladin leant his head upon his hand, and looked at them with disappointed eyes, yet not unkindly.
“The knight Lozelle was a Cross-worshipper,” he said, “but you two are very different from the knight Lozelle, who accepted the Faith when it was offered to him—”