'They are in the bower putting on robes which my lord the earl hath sent, more befitting their station and your honour,' said the earl's chamberlain.
Sir Geraint liked it not that the maiden should be dressed in robes given by the man who had stripped her father of all his wealth, and he said coldly:
'I would that the damsel do not array herself, except in the vest and veil she hath worn till now. And those she should wear,' he said, 'until she come to the court of Arthur, where the queen shall clothe her in garments fitting for her.'
It was so done, and the maiden sat in her poor robes while the other knights and ladies in the young earl's company glittered and shone in satin and jewels. But she cared not for this, because Sir Geraint had bidden her.
When meat was done and mead was served, they all began to talk, and the young earl invited Sir Geraint to visit him next day.
'It may not be,' said Sir Geraint; 'I will go to the court of my lord Arthur with this maiden, for I will not rest while Earl Inewl and his dame and daughter go in poverty and rags and trouble. And it is for this I will see my lord, so that something may be done to give them maintenance befitting their station.'
Then, because the young earl admired Sir Geraint for his knightly strength, his nobility of manner and his prowess, there was sorrow in his heart for the old Earl Inewl.
'Ah, Sir Geraint,' he said, 'I am sorry if your heart is sore because of my kinsman's poor condition; and if you will give me your friendship, I will abide by your counsel and do what you think I should do of right.'
'I thank thee, fair sir,' said Geraint, 'and I will ask ye to restore unto the Earl Inewl all the possessions that were rightly his, and what he should have received up to this day.'
'That I will gladly do for your sake,' said the young earl.