Big Blanche twisted round of a sudden, and snapped at him like an angry dog.
“Sit down, fool. Let the jade——”
“Fool! Shut that jealous mouth of yours. You—to be jealous of Isoult, the hen of the falcon!”
The woman sprang up, furious, chattering, beside herself, a knife in her fist.
“Let the jade rot, I say. You are my man and I’m your woman. By the blood of the——!”
Father Merlin rose up and put himself between them. He was a big man, and had a voice that could thunder.
“Peace, you fools. Swashbuckler, sit you down and cool that hot pot of a head of yours. As for you, Dame Blanche——”
She snarled at him insolently, her large white face like a lewd mask.
“I have a tongue, mind you. I have a tongue!”
Merlin went close to her, and she alone saw his eyes.