Her heart gave a great bound, and she sprang into the midst
of those fighting and raised her voice, crying forth,--
"Cease, cease, fight no more; I will go with thee." A priest near her
whispered,--
"'Tis thy honour we fight for now, hold thy peace; 'tis not best for
thee to go with them, 'twould be thy utter ruin and the undoing of our
affairs!" His warning came too late; all had heard Katherine speak;
and although two forms already lay upon the floor, there were other
motives stronger than the thirst for blood, which on a sudden seemed
quenched, and faces pale and blood-stained turned upon Buckingham as
he coolly and with much dignity lifted Katherine's cloak from the
table and placed it about her shoulders, then had the audacity to
offer his arm. She ignored it, turned to Constantine and fell upon her
knees; he blessed her, then whispered hurriedly in her ear. She arose
and passed down the bloody aisle, which was flanked on either side by
an array of shining steel. As she approached the door, it was flung
wide by a figure that startled her, so like was it to Lord Cedric's,
but the light fell aslant his countenance and as she swept by saw
'twas Sir Julian Pomphrey.
Pages:
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254