ays--if the man, being an honest man and
trustful, is not jealous, the maiden thinks that he cares not, and
so is herself wretched. But if he is jealous, why, then every
thought of his towards the maiden is changed and spoilt, and it
will be long, if ever, before full trust is won again between those
two.

But this seems to be good sport to some damsels, and so it was with
Sexberga. The blacker grew the young thane's looks the more she
would praise me, and the more she would choose to speak with me
rather than to him; wherefore his life was made wretched for him,
and I think he hated the sight of me. Maybe I was blind not to see
this, but I liked him well enough, save for what I thought was his
sullen temper, and I would try to joke him into better humour at
times in all good fellowship. But I think that the trouble began
before I came back, with talk of the time when I had been at
Penhurst before.

He was ever at Penhurst--I should have thought ill of him if he had
not been--for Dallington was close at hand, and he was ever
welcome.

After that talk with the lady I must needs ask Sexberga what she
thought concerning my strange betrothal, she having had so much to
say thereon before. And so one day, as I had been with Spray to see
some traps set by the bank of the Ashbourne river for otter, and was
coming back with him, bearing a great one between us on a pole, we
met Sexberga in the woodland track to the house, and Spray went on,
while I walked back with her on her way to the old village--where
we had had the fight--and talked about my baffled search.

Now her saying was that I had no need to pay any more heed to this
betrothal after what I had said to Ailwin, and that he himself
would seem to try to break it by thus taking Hertha out of my ken.
And we talked freely of the matter, and the last thing that I said
was this, coming round to what I had made up my better mind for:

"It is not much matter either way. I can think of no maiden as
things are."

Whereon we met Eldred, and his face was not pleasant to look on,
though he said nothing at that moment, and turned and walked
silently with us on the other side of the maiden.

When we came to the village I said that we would wait outside until
she came back, and thought that Eldred would go along with her. But
he stayed with me, and I looked round for a sunny seat where one
could see all the long chain of bright hammer ponds that went in
steps, as it were, dow