When Knighthood Was in Flower | Page 7

jousting the Princess Mary asked me if I could yet give her an
account of the stranger; and as I could not, she went to the king.
I heard her inquire:
"Who was your companion, brother?"
"That is a secret, sister. You will find out soon enough, and will be
falling in love with him, no doubt. I have always looked upon you as
full of trouble for me in that respect; you will not so much as glance at
anyone I choose for you, but I suppose would be ready enough with
your smiles for some one I should not want."
"Is the stranger one whom you would not want?" asked Mary, with a
dimpling smile and a flash of her brown eyes.
"He most certainly is," returned the king.
"Then I will fall in love with him at once. In fact, I don't know but I
have already."
"Oh, I have no doubt of that; if I wanted him, he might be Apollo
himself and you would have none of him." King Henry had been
compelled to refuse several very advantageous alliances because this
fair, coaxing, self-willed sister would not consent to be a part of the
moving consideration.
"But can you not tell me who he is, and what his degree?" went on
Mary in a bantering tone.
"He has no degree; he is a plain, untitled soldier, not even a knight; that
is, not an English knight. I think he has a German or Spanish order of
some sort."
"Not a duke; not an earl; not even a baron or knight? Now he has
become interesting."
"Yes, I suppose so; but don't bother me."

"Will he be at the dance and banquet to-night?"
"No! No! Now I must go; don't bother me, I say." And the king moved
away.
That night we had a grand banquet and dance at Westminster, and the
next day we all, excepting Lady Mary, went back to Greenwich by boat,
paying a farthing a head for our fare. This was just after the law fixing
the boat fare, and the watermen were a quarreling lot, you may be sure.
One farthing from Westminster to Greenwich! Eight miles. No wonder
they were angry.
The next day I went back to London on an errand, and over to Wolsey's
house to borrow a book. While there Master Cavendish, Wolsey's
secretary, presented me to the handsome stranger, and he proved to be
no other than Charles Brandon, who had fought the terrible duel down
in Suffolk. I could hardly believe that so mild-mannered and boyish a
person could have taken the leading part in such a tragedy. But with all
his gentleness there was an underlying dash of cool daring which
intimated plainly enough that he was not all mildness.
We became friends at once, drawn together by that subtle human
quality which makes one nature fit into another, resulting in friendship
between men, and love between men and women. We soon found that
we had many tastes in common, chief among which was the strongest
of all congenial bonds, the love of books. In fact we had come to know
each other through our common love of reading, for he also had gone to
Master Cavendish, who had a fine library, to borrow some volumes to
take with him down to Greenwich.
Brandon informed me he was to go to Greenwich that day, so we
determined to see a little of London, which was new to him, and then
take boat in time to be at the palace before dark.
That evening, upon arriving at Greenwich, we hunted up Brandon's
uncle, the Master of Horse, who invited his nephew to stay with him
for the night. He refused, however, and accepted an invitation to take a
bed in my room.

The next day Brandon was installed as one of the captains of the king's
guard, under his uncle, but with no particular duties, except such as
should be assigned him from time to time. He was offered a good room
on one of the lower floors, but asked, instead, to be lodged in the attic
next to me. So we arranged that each had a room opening into a third
that served us alike for drawing-room and armory.
Here we sat and talked, and now and then one would read aloud some
favorite passage, while the other kept his own place with finger
between the leaves. Here we discussed everything from court scandal to
religion, and settled to our own satisfaction, at least, many a great
problem with which the foolish world is still wrestling.
We told each other all our secrets, too, for all the world like a pair of
girls. Although Brandon had seen so much of life, having fought on the
continent