Then the king paused, and watched to see how Ximena took his words.

She was silent for some moments, but the king could not see her face, as
she had pulled her veil over it. Suddenly she raised her head, and cast
the veil back over her shoulders.

'It is true, O king, what you speak, and I will forego my vengeance.
Nay, I think my father himself would have it so. Give me Don Rodrigo for
my husband; all my days I will be a loyal wife to him, and his honour
shall be mine.'

Perhaps the king was not so surprised as some of his courtiers as they
listened to Ximena's request. If he smiled, his beard was thick enough
to hide it, and he answered gravely:

'You say well, my daughter, and I will to-day send a messenger bidding
Don Rodrigo meet me at Palencia, and I will give him lands and riches,
so that in wealth as in birth he may be equal to you.'

When the messengers reached Don Rodrigo, with the offer of Ximena's
hand, his heart was glad, and, calling his friends to dress themselves
in their most splendid cloaks and brightest armour, he rode at their
head towards the city of Palencia. Ximena with her train was already in
the royal palace, and in the presence of the king the two plighted their
troth. But Rodrigo swore by the cross on his sword that the marriage
rite should not be fulfilled till he had beaten five foes in the field,
and, leaving Ximena under the care of his mother, he bade her farewell,
and set forth to accomplish his vow.

However, he was not destined to be absent very long, for in those days
enemies were not far to seek, and in less than two months the wedding
preparations began. His brothers took pride in arraying him themselves,
and buttoning on the doublet of black satin which his father had worn in
many of his battles, while over this he wore a jacket of stout leather
and a loose cloak lined with plush.

At the last he girded on his sword Tizona, the Dread of the World, then,
surrounded by his friends and his family, the bridegroom walked to the
court, where the king, the bishop, and all the nobles were awaiting him.

Soon the noise of trumpets was heard, and there entered Ximena dressed
in a robe of fine white cloth, brought from London across the seas, with
a border of silver embroidered on it. On her head was a close hood of
the same stuff, and high shoes of red leather were on her feet. Round
her neck was a necklace made of eight round medals, with a little figure
of St. Michael hanging