"Ah, Roland--I had forgot!" exclaimed Hildegarde.
The warrior's stern-set face relaxed, and he smiled sadly.
"God double my brother's joy!" he said.
And so the three passed on to where the young folk were playing May games around the fountain.
Meantime, the lovers had more than loitered on the way,--they had come to a full stop.
The moment Fastrada perceived that the queen and her companions were hidden by the foliage, she put a hand to her bosom, and exclaimed: "Hold, Olvir. I have dropped the brooch you gave me. It must have been at the last, when we started."
"I will run fetch it, sweetheart," replied Olvir, readily.
"And leave me here alone! I would sooner lose the clasp. Let us return together. I have good tidings, which the queen left for me to tell you."
"Come, then; we 'll go back. Now, dear one, what are your good tidings?"
"Wait a little, my hero. Tell me first of your meeting with Count Rudulf, my father, and with my--my mother."