Free I Serve by Rosanne E. Lortz

himself takes no credit for the victory,” said I, and I recounted to Chandos how the prince disparaged his own role in the battle.
    Chandos nodded knowingly and little lines of laughter appeared around his mouth. “That is like a Plantagenet,” said he, “Both to desire the sole command of the enterprise and to dismiss any undeserved adulation. They will not abide flattery, even though the truth be unfavorable to them. There is a story about the first Edward that illustrates the character of that family.
    “ They say that a Florentine farmer once conceived the plan of visiting King Edward, for he had heard that the King of England was the greatest, most magnificent monarch in all the world. He sold all that he had for the journey. He traveled far, and he traveled long, till he came at last to the shores of England and found Edward sitting in his court and playing a game of chess. The weary Florentine fell on his knees before the king and poured out these words: ‘Blessings on the hour and moment that led me here, so I could see the most noble, prudent, and valorous king in Christianity! I count myself more fortunate than any of my peers now that I am here where I can see the flower of kings. If I were to die now, I could face it without much sorrow, because I am standing before that most illustrious crown which attracts all men, as a magnet attracts iron, to view its dignity.’
    “ The king, hearing this panegyric, leaped up from his chair and took hold of the farmer from Florence. Without a word, he threw him to the floor and showered him with so many kicks and punches that the poor man was black and blue. Then the king returned to his chess game. The wretched farmer, meanwhile, began to think that his entire journey had been wasted. ‘O miserable day!’ he groaned aloud. ‘Curses on the ill-conceived plan that brought me to this place. I thought to see a noble king, but instead I see an ungrateful, unappreciative one, a king filled with vices instead of virtues, a man who returns bad for good. When I lauded and honored him, he beat me so harshly that I do not know whether I will ever have the strength to till my fields again.’
    “ The king heard these denunciations and rose from his chair. The farmer trembled violently, for if the king had beaten him for speaking well of him, how much more would he harm him for speaking evil? But the king, instead of laying a hand upon the Florentine, called instead for one of his nobles and ordered him to bring a robe of costly fabric. ‘Go,’ said the king. ‘Lay this rich garment on the shoulders of that man in return for his true words, for I have given him a rich beating in return for his false ones.’
    “ The Florentine farmer, still trembling, received the robe, and when he returned home he showed it proudly to all—a reminder that the Plantagenets value truth over obsequious truckling.”
    “ I will bear this tale in mind,” I said appreciatively, for I desired to keep the goodwill of the prince and advance in his regard if I could.
     
    *****
     
    The spades had no sooner turned earth over the corpses at Crecy than Edward gave orders for the army to march. Our way was already set. We had humbled the hamlets of La Hougue and sacked the city of Caen, but these had been taken merely because they were in our path; Edward had held no special enmity towards them. There was another city, however, which Edward loathed and longed to lay low. Toward that city we now turned our face. We traveled northwest by easy stages, burning and plundering as we proceeded, till we came at last to our destination—Calais.
    Calais is a city seated on the threshold of the sea. The salty waters of the channel lap at her gates, and the sea birds nestle in her crenelated ramparts. She is close to England; on a clear-skied day a clear-eyed man might glimpse the cliffs of Dover from atop her walls. She is also close to Flanders. If we could occupy this outpost, we would have easy access to