es. Besides, if King Henry of
Windsor should think proper to fall in love with her, he could not help
it; he had not brought her away from home or to England with any such
purpose; he had only to stand by and let things take their course, so
long as the safety and honour of her, her brother, and the kingdom
were secure. So reasoned the canny Scot, but he held his tongue to his
Lilias.

CHAPTER 4. ST. HELEN S

'I thought King Henry had resembled thee,
In courage, courtship, and proportion:
But all his mind is bent to holiness,
To number Ave-Maries on his beads:
His champions are the prophets and apostles;
His weapons, holy saws of sacred writ.'
King Henry VI.

George Douglas's chivalrous venture in defence of the falcon of his
lady-love had certainly not done much for him hitherto, as Davie
observed. The Lady Joanna, as every one now called her, took it as only
the bounden duty and natural service of one of her suite, and would have
cared little for his suffering for it personally, except so far as it
concerned her own dignity, which she understood much better than she
had done in Scotland, where she was only one of 'the lassies,' an
encumbrance to every one.

The York retainers had dropped all idea of visiting his offence upon
Douglas when they found that he had acted in the service of an honoured
guest of their lord, but they did not look with much favour on him or
on any other of the Scottish troop, whom their master enjoined them to
treat as guests and comrades.

The uniting of so many suites of the mighty nobles of the fifteenth
century formed quite a little army, amounting to some two or three
hundred horsemen, mostly armed, and well appointed, with their masters'
badges on their sleeves,--falcon and fetterlock, dun cow, bear and
ragged staff and the cross of Durham, while all likewise wore in their
caps the white rose. Waggons with household furniture and kitchen
needments had been sent in advance with the numerous 'black guard,' and
a provision of cattle for slaughter accompanied these, since it was one
of the considerate acts that already had won affection to Richard of
York that, unlike many of the great nobles, he always avoided as much as
possible letting his train be oppressive to the country-people.

David Drummond had been seeing that all his father's troop were duly
provided with the Drummond badge, the thyme, wh