rchduke was
scratching in his beard; and the chorus of flies swelled and shrilled.
The Marquess needed alliances.

'Eh, my friends,' he said, almost praying, 'will this not serve me?'

Said Saint-Pol, 'Marquess, listen to this man. Speak, Gilles.'

Gilles looked up. 'I have tried to kill him. I had my chance fair. I
could not do it. I shall try again, for the law is on my side. To you,
lords, I shall say nothing, for I am a man ashamed to speak of what I
desire to do, not yet certain whether I can accomplish it. This I say,
the man is my liege lord, but a thief for all that. I loved my Lady
Jehane when she was twelve years old and I a page in her father's house.
I have never loved any other woman, and never shall. There are no other
women. She gave herself to me for good reason, and he himself gave her
into my hand for good reason. And then he robbed me of her on my wedding
day, and has slain my father and young brother to keep her. He has given
her a child: enough of this. Dastard! I will follow and follow until I
dare to strike. Then I will kill him. Let me alone.' Gilles, red and
gloomy, had to jerk the words out: he was no speaker. The Marquess had a
fierce eye.

'Ha, De Gurdun,' he said, 'we need thee, good knight. But come out of
this accursed fly-roost, and we shall show thee a better way than thine.
It is the flies that make thee afraid.'

'Eh, damn the flies,' said Gilles. 'They will never disturb me. They do
but seek their meat.'

'They disturb me horribly,' said the Marquess, with Italian candour.

Saint-Pol laughed. 'I told you that I could bring you in a man,' he
said. 'Now, Marquess, you have our two clean reasons. What is yours?'

'I have given you mine,' said Montferrat, shifting his feet. 'He called
me a liar.'

'It lacks cogency,' said Saint-Pol. 'One must have clean reasons in an
unclean place.' The Marquess broke out into blasphemy.

'May hell scorch us all if I have no reasons! What! Has he not kept me
from my kingdom? Guy of Lusignan will be king by his means. What is
Philip against Richard? What am I? What is the Archduke?' He had
forgotten that the Archduke was there.

'By Beelzebub, the god of this place,' said that deep-voiced hairy man,
'you shall see what the Archduke is when you want him. But I am no
murderer. I am going home. I know what is due to a prince, and from a
prince.'

'Do as you please, my lord,' said Saint-Pol; 'but our schemes are like
to be endangered by such goi