Free The Incorporated Knight by L. Sprague de Camp, Catherine Crook de Camp Page A

believe—"
     
                  Trying to look like a bashful lover, Eudoric said: "Truth to tell, I have heard of your daughter, whose beauty, they say, outshines that of the Goddess herself. Being unwed, methought a closer look might lead to better things."
     
                  Rainmar grunted. "Well, sit down, sit down. Ye may go," he told his cutthroats. "Witkin! Tell the Lady Maragda that her presence is desired. Now then, Sir Eudoric, I've heard some tales of thee: that thou have adventured in distant lands; that thou be hand in glove with mine old enemy Emmerhard; and that, despite thy gilded spurs, thou seek to gain wealth by a base, unknightly enterprise; to wit, running a carriage-wagon from Zurgau to Kromnitch. What sayest thou? Katilda! Wine!"
     
                  "As to the first point," said Eudoric, "it's true that I've journeyed to Pathenia. 'Twas there I learnt of this system of carrying men and goods from hence to thither, at regular intervals, for an established fare. For the second, Baron Emmerhard is my partner in the business. Who his friends and foes be amongst the nobility is no concern of mine. And for the third, I hold that no trade founded on horses can be construed as base. Didn't the word 'knight' once mean simply 'one who rides a horse'?"
     
                  "A doctor of law or theology art thou in spirit," growled Rainmar, "for all thy purported knighthood. Ah, Maragda, my dear! Here's a neighbor's scion, hight Sir Eudoric Dambertson, come to make our acquaintance."
     
                  The tall, red-haired young woman curtseyed as Eudoric rose and bowed. When she was seated, the conversation wandered off into weather, crops, the latest plague, an outbreak of witchcraft, and imperial politics. In parting, Eudoric received a guarded invitation to call again.
     
                  When at last he cantered away on Daisy, Eudoric drew a long breath. At least, the robber lord had neither hanged him nor held him for ransom.
     
                  As autumn advanced and nights grew cold, Eudoric found himself calling more and more often at Castle Hessel . As he had predicted, the attacks on his coach had ceased. Moreover, he had come to like Rainmar's daughter Maragda. He was not, Eudoric sternly told himself, authentically in love. He had been through that delightful and perilous state before, but the outcome had never been happy. Now he viewed such matters in a colder, more critical light. Calculation and expediency counted at least as much as the fleshly urges of a normal man in his twenties.
     
                  He noted, for instance, that Maragda's generous build and exuberant health predicted healthy offspring. If, he thought, he could but find some means to persuade or coerce Baron Rainmar into giving up his career of rapine ...
     
                  On Eudoric's sixth call, however, Rainmar said bluntly: "A word, Sir Eudoric, ere I allow thee a sight of my chick. What are thine intentions towards her?"
     
                  "I had thought," said Eudoric carefully, "that, if she be willing, I should—as soon as mine own affairs render me able and worthy—enter a formal suit for her hand."
     
                  "Methought as much," growled Rainmar. "Thou hast things in thy favor, for all that thou art connected with the sniveling Emmerhard. But thou hast also some in disfavor, which must needs be settled."
     
                  Eudoric raised his eyebrows. "To which of my many faults do you refer, my lord?"
     
                  "This new knighthood, for ensample. I'm told 'twas not for any knightly deed, but for base monetary return—that thou didst, in fine, bribe Emmerhard with the offer of a partnership."
     
                  "No bribe, my lord. The two were quite distinct. I had the knowledge to launch our enterprise; Emmerhard, the gold. So