be polite," Gervaise said, with a laugh, "if I were to say
that I would infinitely rather be on board; but indeed I have not, like
most of my comrades, been brought up in court or castle. Until the day I
joined the Order, we led the lives of exiles. My father belonged to the
defeated party in England, and, save for a few months when the cause to
which he was attached was triumphant, we lived quietly on the estates
he had recovered, our life being one of care and anxiety. So, you see,
I had no training in gaiety and pleasure. At Rhodes there are state
receptions and religious pageants, but a meeting such as this, is, of
course, impossible in a convent; and since I was eleven years old I
think I have only once spoken to a woman. So you can well understand,
signora, that I feel awkward in speech, and I pray you to make allowance
for my ignorance of the language of courtesy, such as would naturally be
expected in a knight, even though belonging to a religious Order."

"There is naught to make allowance for," the countess said gently.
"Women can appreciate simple truth, and are not, as men seem to think,
always yearning for compliments. Those who are most proficient in
turning phrases are not often among those foremost in battle, or wisest
in council, and I can tell you that we women value deeds far higher than
words. Sir Fabricius Caretto is a cousin of mine, and has this afternoon
been speaking so highly of you to me and my young daughter here, that I
am glad indeed to make your acquaintance. How long do you intend to stay
in Genoa?"

"No longer than it will take me to engage men to carry the prizes to
Rhodes. I am afraid that sounds rude," he broke off, as he noticed a
smile on the faces of the ladies.

"Not rude," said the countess; "though most knights would have put it
differently, and said that their duty compelled them to leave as soon as
the prizes could be manned. But it comes to the same thing. Of
course, you will remain the guest of the doge as long as you are
here; otherwise, it would have given us the greatest pleasure to have
entertained you. My cousin is, of course, staying with us, and you see
we all feel a very deep obligation to you. He has been so long a slave
among the Moors, that we had almost come to hope death had freed him
from his fetters; so you may imagine our pleasure when he arrived here
so suddenly ten days ago. We were expecting that he would remain with us
for some time, but he says that he