le learn to act vilely; for when my heart
set itself on you, it gave and promised you my body, so that
nobody else shall have a share in it. Love for you so wounded me
that never did I think to recover any more than the sea can dry
up. If I love you and you love me, never shall you be called
Tristram, and never shall I be Iseult, for then the love would
not be honourable. But I make you a vow that never shall you have
other solace of me than you now have, if you cannot bethink
yourself how I may be stolen from your uncle and from his bed, so
that he may never find me again, or be able to blame either you
or me or have anything he may lay hold of herein. To-night must
you bend your attention to the matter and to-morrow you will be
able to tell me the best device that you will have thought of,
and I also will ponder on the matter. To-morrow, when I shall
have risen, come early to speak to me, and each will say his
thought, and we will carry out that which we shall consider
best."

When Cliges heard her wish, he has granted her all, and says that
it shall be right well done. He leaves her blithe, and blithe he
goes away, and each lies awake in bed all night and they think
with great delight over what seems best to them. The morrow they
come again together, as soon as they were risen, and they took
counsel in private, as there was need for them to do. First
Cliges says and recounts what he had thought of in the night.
"Lady," quoth he, "I think and believe that we could not do
better than go away to Britain: thither have I devised to take
you away. Now take heed that the matter fall not through on your
side. For never was Helen received at Troy with such great joy,
when Paris had brought her thither, that there will not be yet
greater joy felt throughout the whole land of the king, my uncle,
anent you and me. And if this please you not well, tell me your
thought; for I am ready, whatever come of it, to cleave to your
thought." She replies: "And I shall speak it. Never will I go
with you thus, for then, when we had gone away, we should be
spoken of throughout the world as the blonde Iseult and Tristram
are spoken of; but here and there all women and men would blame
our happiness. No one would believe or could be expected to
believe the actual truth of the matter. Who would believe then as
regards your uncle that I have gone off and escaped from him
still a maid, but a maid to no purpose? Folk would hold me a
light-of-lov