"And he shall be rewarded for his valor," put in the count. "I'll give him the pick of the prisoners and of the captured horses, and I make him my lieutenant besides."
"I thank my gracious lord for his goodness," replied Valentine (he was never at a loss when he had men to deal with, it was only with women that he felt shy); "if I may choose, I'll pick out from among the captives a good-natured fellow of humble rank who may help my mother in her household duties. A horse I don't want. I am content with that I have. But if my lord captain will do me a favor, I beg of him a better horse for my comrade Simplex, the field-trumpeter, for his present nag is lame. As to my promotion to the rank of lieutenant, I thank my lord captain for it, but I must decline it. That is no post for one like me who has never learnt the art of war. I should like, however, to make another request of my gracious lord. It is the inmost wish of my poor mother that I should relieve her of the cares of the business, which is a heavy burden to her. I therefore beg permission to leave the service that I may carry on the trade of a butcher."
The count laughed.
"But you have clean forgotten one of your best arguments: 'As I have only just been married, I would much rather remain at home with my wife than scamper after the foe!' You are right. I would say the same if I only could. I'll release you at once from your military service."
"But not that you may become a butcher," said the countess. "A man like you deserves a better place. The post of castellan has become vacant, and my husband has the gift of it. My dear, you must make Mr. Kalondai our castellan."
"It shall be done," declared the count.
"Alas, your ladyship!" cried Milly, when she saw that her husband could not immediately find an answer, "I fear me greatly that my husband will never do for such a post as that. He is, like me, very ignorant. He did not learn very much at school and they kicked him out at last. Now, a castellan has to speak with many great lords, and read many letters which are written in Latin and German, and even French perhaps. How could my poor dear husband read and answer all these letters? A mischief would surely come of it."
"I tell you what," said the countess; "I know Latin, German, and French. Come to me at the castle twice a day, and I'll instruct you in all those languages. Nay, you must. I have nothing else to do, and what you learn from me you must teach your husband at home, and thus he will very soon know everything required of him in his new office."
"That will do very well," said the count.
Now it would have been downright rudeness to have rejected such a generous offer. A greater reward and distinction they could not have desired. Nevertheless, they resolved to keep the matter secret and not even tell it to Dame Sarah, who would certainly have boasted of it all over the town. All they let her know was that the countess had permitted Milly to come to the castle daily to learn cookery from her cook and stitching from her housekeeper. Now we know that Milly could do all these things ever so long ago; but the astonishment of Dame Sarah was great indeed when her daughter-in-law, every time she returned from the castle, proceeded to manufacture some new cake or pastry, while she soon hemmed handkerchiefs so beautifully that it was a marvel how she did it.