They had, curiously enough, all been equally honoured with the
distinction of knighthood, and their schemes for seeing her were
manifold, each fearing that one of the others would steal a march
over himself. Not content with calling, on every imaginable excuse,
at the house of the relative with whom she sojourned, they
intercepted her in rides and in walks; and if any one of them
chanced to surprise another in the act of paying her marked
attentions, the encounter often ended in an altercation of great
violence. So heated and impassioned, indeed, would they become,
that the lady hardly felt herself safe in their company at such
times, notwithstanding that she was a brave and buxom damsel, not
easily put out, and with a daring spirit of humour in her
composition, if not of coquetry.
At one of these altercations, which had place in her relative's
grounds, and was unusually bitter, threatening to result in a duel,
she found it necessary to assert herself. Turning haughtily upon
the pair of disputants, she declared that whichever should be the
first to break the peace between them, no matter what the
provocation, that man should never be admitted to her presence
again; and thus would she effectually stultify the aggressor by
making the promotion of a quarrel a distinct bar to its object.
While the two knights were wearing rather a crest-fallen appearance
at her reprimand, the third, never far off, came upon the scene, and
she repeated her caveat to him also.
Pages:
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213