CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE HIGH KING IN COMMAND(第2页)
“Howthen?”saidSopespiaheenemyinourfisthere。Mirazwouldneverbesohair-braihrowawayhisadvantageonabat。”
&bebroughttoit,”saidGlozelleinamuchlowervoice。
“Softly,”saidSopespialeasidehereoutofearshotofthosesentries。akenyourLordship'smeaningaright?”
“IftheKiookwagerofbattle,”whisperedGlozelle,“why,eitherhewouldkillorbekilled。”
“So,”saidSopespian,noddinghishead。
“Andifhekilledweshouldhavewonthis>
&ainly。Andifnot?”
“Why,ifnot,weshouldbeasabletowinitwithouttheKing'sgraceaswithhim。ForIellyourLordshipthatMirazis。A,weshouldbebothvictoriousandkingless。”
“Anditisy,myLord,thatyouandIcouldholdthislandquiteastlywithoutaKingaswithone?”
Glozelle'sfacegrewugly。“ing,”saidhe,“thatithofirstputhimohrone。Andihathehase,whatfruitshaveeourway?Whatgratitudehasheshownus?”
“Saynomore,”answeredSopespian。“Butlook—herdesootheKing'stent。”’
&heyreachedMiraz'stenttheysawEdmundandhistwopasideitaaihdwine,havingalreadydeliveredthege,andhiletheKingwasgit。WhehemthusatclosequartersthetwoTelmarihoughtallthreeofthemveryalarming。
IheyfoundMiraz,unarmedandfinishi。Hisfacewasflushedandtherewasashisbrow。
“There!”hegrowled,flingingthepartacrossthetabletothem。“Seeaurserytalesourjaapesofanephewhassentus。”
“Byyourleave,Sire,”saidGlozelle。“IftheyoungehavejustseeheKingEdmuioing,thenIwouldnotcallhimaalebutaverydangerousknight。”
“KingEdmund,pah!”saidMiraz。“DoesyourLordshipbelievethoseoldwives'fablesaboutPeterandEdmu?”
“Ibelievemyeyes,yourMajesty,”saidGlozelle。
&hisistonopurpose,”saidMiraz,“butastougthege,Isupposethereisonlyoneopiweenus?”
“Isupposeso,indeed,Sire,”saidGlozelle。
“Andwhatisthat?”askedtheKing。
“Mostinfalliblytorefuseit,”saidGlozelle。“FhIhaveneverbeencalledaustplainlysaythattomeetthatyoungmaninbattleismorethawouldservemefor。Andif(asislikely)hisbrhKing,ismerousthanhewhy,onyourlife,myL,havenothingtodowithhim。”
“Plagueonyou!”criedMiraz。“Itwasnotthatsortofted。DoyouthinkIamaskingyouifIshouldbeafraidtomeetthisPeter(ifthereissu)?DoyouthinkIfearhim?Iwantedyourthepoliatter;whetherwe,haviage,shouldhazarditole。”
“Towhionlyanswer,yourMajesty,”saidGlozelle,“thatforallreasonsthegeshouldberefused。Thereisdeathira'sface。”
“Thereyain!”saidMiraz,nhlyarying,tomakeitappearthatIamasgreatacowardasyourLordship?”
“YourMajestymaysayyourpleasure,”saidGlozellesulkily。
“Youtalklikeanoldwoman,Glozelle,”saidtheKing。“Whatsayyou,myLordSopespian?”
“Donottouchit,Sire,”ly。“AndwhatyourMajestysaysofthepolicyofthethingesinveryhappily。ItgivesyourMajestyextgroundsforarefusalwithoutanycauseforquestioningyourMajesty'she。”
&Heaven!”exclaimedMiraz,jumpingtohisfeet。“Areyoualsobewitchedtoday?DoyouthinkIamlrou?Youmightaswellyface。”
Theversationwasgoilyasthetwolordswished,sotheysaidnothing。