thought to rest upon his
household. Sir Oliver knew that Mortimer was a larger property than
Chad, and that the baron was a greater man than the knight. It was
reasonable enough that he had been selected for this office, and
such choice need imply no distrust of himself on the prior's part;
but still there was an uneasy, underlying consciousness that he was
suspected and watched, and the espionage which had been kept up all
this while on his house was a plain proof that he was not entirely
trusted.

The priory and its adjacent buildings formed a very fine specimen
of medieval architecture. The abbey was in itself a masterpiece of
beauty, and the great block formed by refectories and dormitories
stood at right angles to it. The prior's house, with its ample
accommodation and its guest chambers, formed an other side to the
great quadrangle; whilst the granaries, storehouses, and such-like
buildings formed the fourth--the whole enclosing a very large
space, which formed the exercising ground of the monks when they
were kept by their rules within the precincts of their home.

The smoothest of green grass, carefully kept and tended, formed the
carpet of this enclosure; and today the whole quadrangle formed an
animated and picturesque spectacle on account of the shifting,
many-coloured groups of people gathered together there with looks
of expectation and wonder.

A holiday appearance was presented by the crowd; for however ill at
ease any person might feel, it was his aim and object to look as
jovial and well assured as possible. Every knee was bent whenever
any monk appeared. The professions of reverence and orthodoxy were
almost comic in their display.

The whole of the rural population had gathered in this open space
when the master of Chad and his retainers rode in, followed by the
humbler servants and many women and children on foot. But the Lord
of Mortimer had not yet put in an appearance, though some of his
retainers and men-at-arms might be seen mingling with the crowd;
and Sir Oliver and his wife and sons looked curiously about them as
they reined back their horses against the wall, wondering whether
they should dismount altogether, and what the order of the day's
proceedings was to be.

There were two great raised platforms at one end of the open
enclosure, and upon these platforms, both of which were draped with
cloth, many seats had been arranged. One of these was canopied, and
was plainly for the prior;