As it is, I will banish thee." "I am glad," said
Luned, "that thou hast no other cause to do so than that I would
have been of service to thee, where thou didst not know what was
to thine advantage. Henceforth, evil betide whichever of us shall
make the first advance towards reconciliation to the other,
whether I should seek an invitation from thee, or thou of thine
own accord should send to invite."
With that Luned went forth; and the Countess arose and followed
her to the door of the chamber, and began coughing loudly. And
when Luned looked back, the Countess beckoned to her, and she
returned to the Countess. "In truth," said the Countess, "evil is
thy disposition; but if thou knowest what is to my advantage,
declare it to me." "I will do so," said she.
"Thou knowest that, except by warfare and arms, it is impossible
for thee to preserve thy possessions; delay not, therefore, to
seek some one who can defend them." "And how can I do that?" said
the Countess. "I will tell thee," said Luned; "unless thou canst
defend the fountain, thou canst not maintain thy dominions; and no
one can defend the fountain except it be a knight of Arthur's
household. I will go to Arthur's court, and ill betide me if I
return not thence with a warrior who can guard the fountain as
well as, or even better than, he who defended it formerly." "That
will be hard to perform," said the Countess.
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