g. Was the King in treaty for the hand of the Infanta of
Aragon? Yes, he undoubtedly was.

Katharine sighed her pity for this ill-starred woman. "And now tell me
about yourself."

He was, it appeared, Alain Maquedonnieux, a harper by vocation, and by
birth a native of Ireland. Beyond the fact that it was a savage
kingdom adjoining Cataia, Katharine knew nothing of Ireland. The
harper assured her that in this she was misinformed, since the kings
of England claimed Ireland as an appanage, though the Irish themselves
were of two minds as to the justice of these pretensions; all in all,
he considered that Ireland belonged to Saint Patrick, and that the
holy man had never accredited a vicar.

"Doubtless, by the advice of God," Alain said: "for I have read in
Master Roger de Wendover's Chronicles of how at the dread day of
judgment all the Irish are to muster before the high and pious
Patrick, as their liege lord and father in the spirit, and by him be
conducted into the presence of God; and of how, by virtue of Saint
Patrick's request, all the Irish will die seven years to an hour
before the second coming of Christ, in order to give the blessed saint
sufficient time to marshal his company, which is considerable."
Katharine admitted the convenience of this arrangement, as well as the
neglect of her education. Alain gazed up at her for a long while, as
if in reflection, and presently said: "Doubtless the Lady Heleine of
Argos also was thus starry-eyed and found in books less diverting
reading than in the faces of men." It flooded Katharine's cheeks with
a livelier hue, but did not vex her irretrievably; if she chose to
read this man's face, the meaning was plain enough.

I give you the gist of their talk, and that in all conscience is
trivial. But it was a day when one entered love's wardship with a
plunge, not in more modern fashion venturing forward bit by bit, as
though love were so much cold water. So they talked for a long while,
with laughter mutually provoked and shared, with divers eloquent and
dangerous pauses. The harper squatted upon the ground, the Princess
leaned over the wall; but to all intent they sat together upon the
loftiest turret of Paradise, and it was a full two hours before
Katharine hinted at departure.

Alain rose, approaching the wall. "To-morrow I ride for Milan to take
service with Duke Filippo. I had broken my journey these three days
past at Chateauneuf yonder, where this fox has been harry