Then
the voice of Jacqueline rang out fresh and clear as, standing
with her hand buried in the lion's tawny mane, she raised her
face to the startled galleries.
"You who could dare and yet dared not to do!" she cried, "it
shall not be said that in all Count William's court none save the
rebel Lord of Arkell dared to face Count William's lions!"
The Lord of Arkell sprang to his comrade's side. With a hurried
word of praise he flung the gabardine about her, grasped her arm,
and bade her keep her eyes firmly fixed upon the lions; then,
step by step, those two foolhardy young persons backed slowly out
of the danger into which they had so thoughtlessly and
unnecessarily forced themselves.
The lions' gate closed behind them with a clang; the shouts of
approval and of welcome sounded from the thronging gallery, and
over all they heard the voice of the Lord of Holland mingling
commendation and praise with censure for the rashness of their
action.
And it WAS a rash and foolish act. But we must remember that
those were days when such feats were esteemed as brave and
valorous. For the Princess Jaqueline of Holland was reared in the
school of so-called chivalry and romance, which in her time was
fast approaching its end.
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