a task
here, Alleyne, which is harder to me than aught that was set before me
yesterday."

"Can I help you, my lord?"

"That indeed you can. I have been writing my greetings to my sweet wife;
for I hear that a messenger goes from the prince to Southampton within
the week, and he would gladly take a packet for me. I pray you, Alleyne,
to cast your eyes upon what I have written, and see it they are such
words as my lady will understand. My fingers, as you can see, are more
used to iron and leather than to the drawing of strokes and turning of
letters. What then? Is there aught amiss, that you should stare so?"

"It is this first word, my lord. In what tongue were you pleased to
write?"

"In English; for my lady talks it more than she doth French.

"Yet this is no English word, my sweet lord. Here are four t's and never
a letter betwixt them."

"By St. Paul! it seemed strange to my eye when I wrote it," said Sir
Nigel. "They bristle up together like a clump of lances. We must break
their ranks and set them farther apart. The word is 'that.' Now I will
read it to you, Alleyne, and you shall write it out fair; for we leave
Bordeaux this day, and it would be great joy to me to think that the
Lady Loring had word from me."

Alleyne sat down as ordered, with a pen in his hand and a fresh sheet
of parchment before him, while Sir Nigel slowly spelled out his letter,
running his forefinger on from word to word.

"That my heart is with thee, my dear sweeting, is what thine own heart
will assure thee of. All is well with us here, save that Pepin hath
the mange on his back, and Pommers hath scarce yet got clear of his
stiffness from being four days on ship-board, and the more so because
the sea was very high, and we were like to founder on account of a hole
in her side, which was made by a stone cast at us by certain sea-rovers,
who may the saints have in their keeping, for they have gone from
amongst us, as has young Terlake, and two-score mariners and archers,
who would be the more welcome here as there is like to be a very fine
war, with much honor and all hopes of advancement, for which I go to
gather my Company together, who are now at Montaubon, where they pillage
and destroy; yet I hope that, by God's help, I may be able to show that
I am their master, even as, my sweet lady, I am thy servant."

"How of that, Alleyne?" continued Sir Nigel, blinking at his squire,
with an expression of some pride upon his face. "Have