Her
boy husband, the French Dauphin, was dead, and she was pledged by
her dying father's command to marry her cousin, whom she
detested, Duke John of Brabant. But how much better, so she
reasoned, that the name and might of her house as rulers of
Holland should be upheld by a brave and fearless knight. On the
impulse of this thought she summoned a loyal and trusted vassal
to her aid.
"Von Leyenburg," she said, "go you in haste and in secret to the
Lord of Arkell, and bear from me this message for his ear alone.
Thus says the Lady of Holland: 'Were it not better, Otto of
Arkell, that we join hands in marriage before the altar, than
that we spill the blood of faithful followers and vassals in a
cruel fight?'"
It was a singular, and perhaps, to our modern ears, a most
unladylike proposal; but it shows how, even in the heart of a
sovereign countess and a girl general, warlike desires may give
place to gentler thoughts.
To the Lord Arkell, however, this unexpected proposition came as
an indication of weakness.
"My lady countess fears to face my determined followers," he
thought. "Let me but force this fight and the victory is mine.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134