ying, Lynette
laughed and laughed again with all her might and main. And she cried
out, "Well said, thou kitchen knave!" unto the which speech Sir Gareth
made no reply.

Then that knight said to Sir Gareth and to Lynette: "Messire, and thou,
fair damsel, I know not what all this meaneth but haply you know. But I
see, Sir Knight, that thou art wounded in several places, and I doubt
not that you are both aweary with your travels, wherefore I pray you
that you will come with me to my castle which is not a very great
distance away from this, and I beseech you there to lodge and to refresh
you for this night."

To this Lynette said: "That which thou sayest pleases me very greatly,
Messire, for indeed I am aweary and would fain rest me a little. So let
us go forward to your castle. But this Beaumains must ride not so close
to us for indeed I cannot abide the odor of the kitchen."

So after that they all departed from that place, and ever Sir Gareth
rode at a distance as the damsel had commanded him to do.

[Sidenote: _They come to the castle of the knight._]

Now after they had gone a considerable way they came out of the forest
and into a valley wherein stood the castle of that knight. And it was a
very fair and noble castle and the valley was exceedingly fertile with
many rich fields and meadows and with several plantations of trees, both
of fruit trees and otherwise. Through this fruitful valley they came to
the castle and they rode into the castle courtyard with a great noise of
horses' hoofs upon the cobblestones, and at that coming many of the
attendants of the castle came running for to take their horses and to
serve them.

Then Lynette gazed about her and she said to the knight of the castle,
"Messire, who are these?" He said: "Fair damsel, these are they who
would take your horse and the horse of that noble knight your companion,
and others are they who would wait upon you and upon him to serve you
both." Then Lynette said: "Not so, Sir Knight, my horse they may take
and me they may serve, but it is not meet that a kitchen knave such as
Beaumains should be waited upon in that wise, wherefore I bid you to
suffer him to wait upon himself."

[Sidenote: _Sir Gareth serveth himself._]

Upon this speech Sir Gareth turned him to the knight of the castle and
his face was very calm, albeit his eyes shone like sparks of fire and he
said, speaking very haughtily: "Messire, whitherward is the stable? I
pray you to tell