"Beshrew me if I can tell," replied the squire; "only this is certain," added he with a smile, "that she is one of whom my lord the governor is so enamoured that men say she has bewitched him; and he commits to her the innermost secrets of his heart."
"You mean Sir Aymery de Pavie?" said I, more agitated than ever.
"Surely none other," he replied curtly. "Who else than Sir Aymery de Pavie should I mean? I trow there is but one Governor of Calais."
[CHAPTER XXXVIII]
CALAIS IN PERIL
Much marvelling at the unexpected warning I had so strangely received, and attaching the more importance to the communication the longer I considered the matter, I felt, after long reflection, that I should not be by any means justified in locking it up in my own breast and keeping it to myself.
It was true, and I felt strongly, that I could not, under the circumstances, tell a very satisfactory story; for Eleanor de Gubium had been mysterious, and I somewhat dreaded the ridicule to which my narrative of her visit might expose me, even if it did not involve me in more unfortunate consequences. But from childhood my grandsire had impressed on me the necessity of doing what I perceived to be my duty at all hazards; and no sooner was I in England than I hastened to the palace of Westminster, where the king was then holding his court, and, seeking out the Prince of Wales, told plainly to him what had been told to me.
I quickly perceived that my story made no impression on the mind of the prince, and that he considered I had been fooled by a mad woman or by an impostor. At first, indeed, he was inclined to laugh to scorn the idea of Calais being in danger; but, on second thoughts, he intimated his intention of communicating my statement to the king; and when, without delay, he did so, the result was not what he seemed to expect. Not so lightly did King Edward treat the matter as the prince had done. Far from despising or neglecting the warning, he summoned me to his presence, questioned me closely, though more courteously than was his wont in such cases, as to the particulars of my story, and, by his manner and words, indicated his conviction that there was treachery at work which must be defeated.
"On my faith," said the king, bending his brow and shaking his head, "this must be looked to, and that speedily; and, seeing that no man is so likely as Aymery de Pavie to know what is passing in Calais, he must be ordered to cross the seas and come hither without loss of time."
"Sire," said I, beginning to be alarmed at the serious aspect the affair was assuming, "I crave pardon of your highness when I beg you to bear in mind that I have cast suspicion on no man, but merely related what was said to me."