y an old small
woman, that looked thin and sad, with grey hair and many wrinkles, whom
he did not know. He had thrust past her, though she seemed to have
wished to stay him; and pushing on, had found Margaret sitting in the
hall, who had looked up at him, and then covered her face with her
hands, and he had seen a look of anguish upon her face. Then the dream
had slipped from him, and he dreamed again that he was in a lonely
place, a bleak mountain-top, with a wide plain spread out beneath; and
he had watched the flight of two white birds, which seemed to rise from
the rocks near him, and fly swiftly away, beating their wings in the
waste of air.

He woke troubled, and found the dawn peeping through the chinks of the
shutter; and soon he heard the tramping of horses without, and knew that
he must rise and go. And the thought of the dream dwelt heavily with
him; but presently, riding in the cool air, it seemed to him that his
fears were foolish; and his love came back to him, so that he said the
name Margaret over many times to himself, like a charm, and sent his
thoughts forward, imagining how Margaret, newly risen, would be moving
about the quiet house, perhaps expecting him. And then he sang a little
to himself, and was pleased to see the old man-at-arms smile wearily as
he rode beside him.

Three days after he rode into the Castle of Wresting at sundown, and
was greeted very lovingly; the Duke would not let him sing that night,
though Paul said he was willing; but after dinner he asked him many
questions of how he had fared. And Paul hoped that he might have heard
some talk of the Lady Margaret. But none spoke of her, and he dared not
ask. One thing that he noticed was that at dinner the young Sir Richard
de Benoit sate opposite him, looking very pale; and Paul, more than
once, looking up suddenly, saw that the Knight was regarding him very
fixedly, as though he were questioning of somewhat; and that each time
Sir Richard dropped his eyes as though he were ashamed. After dinner was
over, and Paul had been discharged by the Duke, he had gone back into
the hall to see if he could have speech of Sir Richard, and ask if
anything ailed him; but he found him not.

Then on the morrow, as soon as he might, he made haste to go down to
the Isle of Thorns. As he was crossing a glade, not far from the house,
he saw to his surprise, far down the glade, a figure riding on a horse,
who seemed for a moment to be Sir Richard himse