somewhat fair. Wilt thou have me beat thee? Nay, I
will send thee to the White Pillar when we come home to Utterbol."

The woman smiled again, and said: "My Lady, when thou hast sent me to
the White Pillar, or the Red, or the Black, my stripes will not mend
the matter for thee, or quench the fear of thine heart that by this
time, since he is a grown man, he loveth some other. Yet belike he
will obey thee if thou command, even to the lying in the same bed with
thee; for he is a thrall." The Lady hung her head, but Agatha went on
in her sweet clear voice: "The Lord will think little of it, and say
nothing of it unless thou anger him otherwise; or unless, indeed, he be
minded to pick a quarrel with thee, and hath baited a trap with this
stripling. But that is all unlike: thou knowest why, and how that he
loveth the little finger of that new-come thrall of his (whom ye left
at home at Utterbol in his despite), better than all thy body, for all
thy white skin and lovely limbs. Nay, now I think of it, I deem that
he meaneth this gift to make an occasion for the staying of any quarrel
with thee, that he may stop thy mouth from crying out at him--well,
what wilt thou do? he is a mighty Lord."

The Lady looked up (for she had hung her head at first), her face all
red with shame, yet smiling, though ruefully, and she said: "Well, thou
art determined that if thou art punished it shall not be for naught.
But thou knowest not my mind." "Yea, Lady," said Agatha, smiling in
despite of herself, "that may well be."

Now the Lady turned from her, and went and sat upon a stool that was
thereby, and said nothing a while; only covering her face with her
hands and rocking herself to and fro, while Agatha stood looking at
her. At last she said: "Hearken, Agatha, I must tell thee what lieth
in mine heart, though thou hast been unkind to me and hast tried to
hurt my soul. Now, thou art self-willed, and hot-blooded, and not
unlovely, so that thou mayst have loved and been loved ere now. But
thou art so wily and subtle that mayhappen thou wilt not understand
what I mean, when I say that love of this young man hath suddenly
entered into my heart, so that I long for him more this minute than I
did the last, and the next minute shall long still more. And I long
for him to love me, and not alone to pleasure me."

"Mayhappen it will so betide without any pushing the matter," said
Agatha.

"Nay," said the Lady, "Nay; my heart tells me t