The Wood Beyond the World Read online

  CHAPTER XII: THE WEARING OF FOUR DAYS IN THE WOOD BEYOND THE WORLD

  He arose betimes, but found no one to greet him, neither was there anysound of folk moving within the fair house; so he but broke his fast, andthen went forth and wandered amongst the trees, till he found him astream to bathe in, and after he had washed the night off him he lay downunder a tree thereby for a while, but soon turned back toward the house,lest perchance the Maid should come thither and he should miss her.

  It should be said that half a bow-shot from the house on that side (i.e.due north thereof) was a little hazel-brake, and round about it the treeswere smaller of kind than the oaks and chestnuts he had passed throughbefore, being mostly of birch and quicken-beam and young ash, with smallwood betwixt them; so now he passed through the thicket, and, coming tothe edge thereof, beheld the Lady and the King's Son walking togetherhand in hand, full lovingly by seeming.

  He deemed it unmeet to draw back and hide him, so he went forth past themtoward the house. The King's Son scowled on him as he passed, but theLady, over whose beauteous face flickered the joyous morning smiles, tookno more heed of him than if he had been one of the trees of the wood. Butshe had been so high and disdainful with him the evening before, that hethought little of that. The twain went on, skirting the hazel-copse, andhe could not choose but turn his eyes on them, so sorely did the Lady'sbeauty draw them. Then befell another thing; for behind them the boughsof the hazels parted, and there stood that little evil thing, he oranother of his kind; for he was quite unclad, save by his fell of yellowy-brown hair, and that he was girt with a leathern girdle, wherein wasstuck an ugly two-edged knife: he stood upright a moment, and cast hiseyes at Walter and grinned, but not as if he knew him; and scarce couldWalter say whether it were the one he had seen, or another: then he casthimself down on his belly, and fell to creeping through the long grasslike a serpent, following the footsteps of the Lady and her lover; andnow, as he crept, Walter deemed, in his loathing, that the creature wasliker to a ferret than aught else. He crept on marvellous swiftly, andwas soon clean out of sight. But Walter stood staring after him for awhile, and then lay down by the copse-side, that he might watch the houseand the entry thereof; for he thought, now perchance presently will thekind maiden come hither to comfort me with a word or two. But hourpassed by hour, and still she came not; and still he lay there, andthought of the Maid, and longed for her kindness and wisdom, till hecould not refrain his tears, and wept for the lack of her. Then hearose, and went and sat in the porch, and was very downcast of mood.

  But as he sat there, back comes the Lady again, the King's Son leadingher by the hand; they entered the porch, and she passed by him so closethat the odour of her raiment filled all the air about him, and thesleekness of her side nigh touched him, so that he could not fail to notethat her garments were somewhat disarrayed, and that she kept her righthand (for her left the King's Son held) to her bosom to hold the clothtogether there, whereas the rich raiment had been torn off from her rightshoulder. As they passed by him, the King's Son once more scowled onhim, wordless, but even more fiercely than before; and again the Ladyheeded him nought.

  After they had gone on a while, he entered the hall, and found it emptyfrom end to end, and no sound in it save the tinkling of the fountain;but there was victual set on the board. He ate and drank thereof to keeplife lusty within him, and then went out again to the wood-side to watchand to long; and the time hung heavy on his hands because of the lack ofthe fair Maiden.

  He was of mind not to go into the house to his rest that night, but tosleep under the boughs of the forest. But a little after sunset he saw abright-clad image moving amidst the carven images of the porch, and theKing's Son came forth and went straight to him, and said: "Thou art toenter the house, and go into thy chamber forthwith, and by no means to goforth of it betwixt sunset and sunrise. My Lady will not away with thyprowling round the house in the night-tide."

  Therewith he turned away, and went into the house again; and Walterfollowed him soberly, remembering how the Maid had bidden him forbear. Sohe went to his chamber, and slept.

  But amidst of the night he awoke and deemed that he heard a voice not faroff, so he crept out of his bed and peered around, lest, perchance, theMaid had come to speak with him; but his chamber was dusk and empty: thenhe went to the window and looked out, and saw the moon shining bright andwhite upon the greensward. And lo! the Lady walking with the King's Son,and he clad in thin and wanton raiment, but she in nought else save whatGod had given her of long, crispy yellow hair. Then was Walter ashamedto look on her, seeing that there was a man with her, and gat him back tohis bed; but yet a long while ere he slept again he had the image beforehis eyes of the fair woman on the dewy moonlit grass.

  The next day matters went much the same way, and the next also, save thathis sorrow was increased, and he sickened sorely of hope deferred. Onthe fourth day also the forenoon wore as erst; but in the heat of theafternoon Walter sought to the hazel-copse, and laid him down there hardby a little clearing thereof, and slept from very weariness of grief.There, after a while, he woke with words still hanging in his ears, andhe knew at once that it was they twain talking together.

  The King's Son had just done his say, and now it was the Lady beginningin her honey-sweet voice, low but strong, wherein even was a little ofhuskiness; she said: "Otto, belike it were well to have a littlepatience, till we find out what the man is, and whence he cometh; it willalways be easy to rid us of him; it is but a word to our Dwarf-king, andit will be done in a few minutes."

  "Patience!" said the King's Son, angrily; "I wot not how to have patiencewith him; for I can see of him that he is rude and violent andheadstrong, and a low-born wily one. Forsooth, he had patience enoughwith me the other even, when I rated him in, like the dog that he is, andhe had no manhood to say one word to me. Soothly, as he followed afterme, I had a mind to turn about and deal him a buffet on the face, to seeif I could but draw one angry word from him."

  The Lady laughed, and said: "Well, Otto, I know not; that which thoudeemest dastardy in him may be but prudence and wisdom, and he an alien,far from his friends and nigh to his foes. Perchance we shall yet tryhim what he is. Meanwhile, I rede thee try him not with buffets, save hebe weaponless and with bounden hands; or else I deem that but a littlewhile shalt thou be fain of thy blow."

  Now when Walter heard her words and the voice wherein they were said, hemight not forbear being stirred by them, and to him, all lonely there,they seemed friendly.

  But he lay still, and the King's Son answered the Lady and said: "I knownot what is in thine heart concerning this runagate, that thou shouldstbemock me with his valiancy, whereof thou knowest nought. If thou deemme unworthy of thee, send me back safe to my father's country; I may lookto have worship there; yea, and the love of fair women belike."

  Therewith it seemed as if he had put forth his hand to the Lady to caressher, for she said: "Nay, lay not thine hand on my shoulder, for to-dayand now it is not the hand of love, but of pride and folly, and would-bemastery. Nay, neither shalt thou rise up and leave me until thy mood issofter and kinder to me."

  Then was there silence betwixt them a while, and thereafter the King'sSon spake in a wheedling voice: "My goddess, I pray thee pardon me! Butcanst thou wonder that I fear thy wearying of me, and am thereforepeevish and jealous? thou so far above the Queens of the World, and I apoor youth that without thee were nothing!"

  She answered nought, and he went on again: "Was it not so, O goddess,that this man of the sons of the merchants was little heedful of thee,and thy loveliness and thy majesty?"

  She laughed and said: "Maybe he deemed not that he had much to gain ofus, seeing thee sitting by our side, and whereas we spake to him coldlyand sternly and disdainfully. Withal, the poor youth was dazzled andshamefaced before us; that we could see in the eyes and the mien of him."

  Now this she spoke so kindly and sweetly, that again was Walter allstirred thereat; and it came into his mind t
hat it might be she knew hewas anigh and hearing her, and that she spake as much for him as for theKing's Son: but that one answered: "Lady, didst thou not see somewhatelse in his eyes, to wit, that they had but of late looked on some fairwoman other than thee? As for me, I deem it not so unlike that on theway to thine hall he may have fallen in with thy Maid."

  He spoke in a faltering voice, as if shrinking from some storm that mightcome. And forsooth the Lady's voice was changed as she answered, thoughthere was no outward heat in it; rather it was sharp and eager and coldat once. She said: "Yea, that is not ill thought of; but we may notalways keep our thrall in mind. If it be so as thou deemest, we shallcome to know it most like when we next fall in with her; or if she hathbeen shy this time, then shall she pay the heavier for it; for we willquestion her by the Fountain in the Hall as to what betid by the Fountainof the Rock."

  Spake the King's Son, faltering yet more: "Lady, were it not better toquestion the man himself? the Maid is stout-hearted, and will not bespeedily quelled into a true tale; whereas the man I deem of no account."

  "No, no," said the Lady sharply, "it shall not be."

  Then was she silent a while; and then she said: "How if the man shouldprove to be our master?"

  "Nay, our Lady," said the King's Son, "thou art jesting with me; thou andthy might and thy wisdom, and all that thy wisdom may command, to be over-mastered by a gangrel churl!"

  "But how if I will not have it command, King's Son?" said the Lady. "Itell thee I know thine heart, but thou knowest not mine. But be atpeace! For since thou hast prayed for this woman--nay, not with thywords, I wot, but with thy trembling hands, and thine anxious eyes, andknitted brow--I say, since thou hast prayed for her so earnestly, sheshall escape this time. But whether it will be to her gain in the longrun, I misdoubt me. See thou to that, Otto! thou who hast held me inthine arms so oft. And now thou mayest depart if thou wilt."

  It seemed to Walter as if the King's Son were dumbfoundered at her words:he answered nought, and presently he rose from the ground, and went hisways slowly toward the house. The Lady lay there a little while, andthen went her ways also; but turned away from the house toward the woodat the other end thereof, whereby Walter had first come thither.

  As for Walter, he was confused in mind and shaken in spirit; and withalhe seemed to see guile and cruel deeds under the talk of those two, andwaxed wrathful thereat. Yet he said to himself, that nought might he do,but was as one bound hand and foot, till he had seen the Maid again.