be his father and mother; so he stood still and waited till the service
should be over; and by then it was done the twilight was growing fast
in the church, and the sacristan was lighting a lamp here and there in
some of the chapels, and the aisles of the choir.

So King Peter and his wife turned and came slowly down the nave, and
when they were come anigh, Ralph spake aloud, and said: "Hail, King
Peter of Upmeads!" And the old man stopped and said unto him: "Yea,
forsooth, my name is Peter, and my business is to be a king, or a
kinglet rather; and once it seemed no such hard craft; but now it all
goes otherwise, and belike my craft has left me; even as it fares with
a leech when folk are either too well or too ill to need his
leech-craft."

Then he looked at Ralph and at Ursula, and said: "Either my eyes are
worse than I deemed yesterday, or thou art young, and a gallant knight,
and she that is standing by thee is young, and fair. Ah, lad! time was
when I would have bid thee come home, thou and thy sweetling, to my
house with me, and abide there in ease and feastfully; but now the best
rede I can give thee is to get thee gone from the land, for there is
all unpeace in it. And yet, forsooth, friend, I know not where to send
thee to seek for peace, since Upmeads hath failed us."

While he spoke, and Ralph was sore moved by the sound of his voice, and
his speech wherein kindness and mocking was so blended, the Dame of
Upmeads came to Ralph and laid her hand on his arm, and said in a
pleasant voice, for she was soft-hearted and soft-spoken both: "Will
not the fair young warrior and his mate do so much for an old man and
his wife, who have heard not tidings of their best beloved son for two
years well nigh, as to come with them to their chamber, and answer a
little question or two as to the parts of the world they have seen of
late?"

Ralph nodded yeasay and began to move toward the porch, the Dame of
Upmeads sticking close to him all the time, and King Peter following
after and saying: "Yea, young man, thou mayst think the worse of me
for hanging about here amongst the monks, when e'en now, for all I
know, the battle is pitched in Upmeads; but Nicholas and all of them
would have it so--Yea, and all my sons are away, fair sir; though of
the eldest, who meseems was born with a long head, we hear that he is
thriving, and hath grown great."

As he spake they were come into the porch, and passed into the open
air, w