Page 378 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

thou step between me and these fellows? And how dar-
est thou offer thy knightly Castle of the Lea for a refuge
to them? Wilt thou make it a hiding place for the most re-
nowned outlaws in England?’
Then Sir Richard of the Lea raised his eyes to the King’s
face. ‘Far be it from me,’ said he, ‘to do aught that could
bring Your Majesty’s anger upon me. Yet, sooner would I
face Your Majesty’s wrath than suffer aught of harm that
I could stay to fall upon Robin Hood and his band; for to
them I owe life, honor, everything. Should I, then, desert
him in his hour of need?’
Ere the knight had done speaking, one of the mock fri-
ars that stood near the King came forward and knelt beside
Sir Richard, and throwing back his cowl showed the face of
young Sir Henry of the Lea. Then Sir Henry grasped his fa-
ther’s hand and said, ‘Here kneels one who hath served thee
well, King Richard, and, as thou knowest, hath stepped be-
tween thee and death in Palestine; yet do I abide by my dear
father, and here I say also, that I would freely give shelter to
this noble outlaw, Robin Hood, even though it brought thy
wrath upon me, for my father’s honor and my father’s wel-
fare are as dear to me as mine own.’
King Richard looked from one to the other of the kneel-
ing knights, and at last the frown faded from his brow and
a smile twitched at the corners of his lips. ‘Marry, Sir Rich-
ard,’ quoth the King, ‘thou art a bold-spoken knight, and
thy freedom of speech weigheth not heavily against thee
with me. This young son of thine taketh after his sire both in
boldness of speech and of deed, for, as he sayeth, he stepped