Free Delphi Works of Ford Madox Ford (Illustrated) by Ford Madox Ford

dreaming, and not pleasantly, of some one, and it was the Princess. As for the Knight of London, nobody knows what he dreamt about; and, to tell the truth, nobody cared. But the Owl sat at the head of the Princess’s bed, and slept calmly, — he did not dream; owls are not in the habit of dreaming — they are a good deal wiser.
    When the next morning came, the Knight of London came with it, and he wanted to know when the Princess would marry him; but the Princess put him off — for somehow, although she liked him very much, she did not altogether relish the idea of marrying so soon. So she told him that he must wait until the Lords of the Council had given their consent, and they were not going to meet till the next day, so he would have to wait till then. But the Knight did not like this at all.
    ‘At all events, my dear Princess,’ he said, ‘you might promise to marry me, for, after all, I did win the tournament, you see, and so —
    But the Princess put her hand to her chin and rubbed it softly as if she were thinking very deeply — and no doubt she was — and shook her head emphatically.
    ‘No; I can’t promise until the Council have given their consent, for you see that would be unconstitutional, and I can’t be that even for you.’
    The Knight seemed quite angry. ‘Bother the unconstitutionally,’ he said; ‘what does the stupid old Council want to blunder into such matters?’ But the Princess stopped him:
    ‘Oh, you mustn’t say that — please don’t say that,’ she said; ‘it’s not a stupid old Council, it’s a very nice old Council, and it’s much nicer than you are. When you get angry like that you’re not at all nice — so just be quiet; now do.’
    And he had to be quiet, for he was afraid of making her really angry.
    She too was afraid she had hurt his feelings by telling him to be quiet. So she asked him to join the hunt that was preparing outside, and he of course accepted her invitation, for you see he was only too glad to make it up. They rode out of the town, and soon a deer was started, and the chase swept through the tall trees after it over the thick carpet of fallen leaves and between the trunks of the beech-trees. As a rule the Princess’s horse was swifter than any of the deer they started, but this one seemed an exception to the rule, for it went on at just the rate she did, keeping always at the same speed whether she pulled her horse in or let it go at the top of its speed. The Princess was quite annoyed at this. Gradually she passed all the knights and huntsmen who were labouring forward at full gallop, and then she came up with the hoarse-tongued hounds, who were running steadily along with their noses close to the ground. And then she passed them too, and their deep mouthing sounded behind, and gradually the shouts of the huntsmen and the cries of the dogs and all the sounds of the chase died away behind, and still the deer kept steadily forward. Just at this time she noticed the heavy gallop of a horse behind her, and looking round she saw the Knight of London cantering easily behind. So she slackened her speed a little to let him come up, and then she stopped to let the rest of the chase come up with her; and when she stopped the deer stopped too, and nibbled quietly at a flower that was growing at the foot of a tree.
    By this time the Knight had come up with her, and she said:
    ‘So here you are. What an annoying thing that deer is — I can’t catch it up, do whatever I may, and my horse used to be thought the fastest in the world, except one,’ she added, after a moment.
    ‘That is strange,’ said the Knight. ‘I used always to think mine the fastest in the world, and indeed, your Majesty, I think it is quite as fast as yours.’
    ‘I do believe it is,’ she said. ‘It’s most annoying; every second person I see now has a horse as fast as mine. However, we’ll try a race as soon as the rest have caught us up.’
    Just at that moment a hound’s bay