Nine years had passed since that strange night when Bertram had
been awakened by the advent of the mysterious stranger at his
bedside. He had developed since then from a sturdy little boy into
a fine-grown youth of seventeen, who had in his own eyes, and in
the eyes of many others, well-nigh reached man's estate; and who
would, if need should arise, go forth equipped for war to fight the
king's battles. He was a handsome, dark-haired, dark-eyed youth,
with plenty of determination and force of character, and with a
love of Chad so deeply rooted in his nature, that to be the heir of
that property seemed to him the finest position in all the world,
and he would not have exchanged it for that of Prince of Wales.
The second son, Edred (Ethelred was his true name; he was called
after his mother, Etheldred), was some half-head shorter than his
brother, but a fine boy for all that. He was fifteen, and whilst
sharing to a great extent in the love of sport and of warlike games
so common in that day, he was also a greater lover of books than
his brothers, and would sometimes absent himself from their
pastimes to study with Brother Emmanuel and learn from him many
things that were not written in books.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53