'Why, little coz,' he whispered, 'you are very eager to have your neck in a noose. By my soul! had you asked as much from our new ally, Don Pedro, he had not baulked you. Between friends, there is overmuch of the hangman in him, and too little of the prince. But indeed this White Company is a rough band, and may take some handling ere you find yourself safe in your captaincy.'
'I doubt not, with the help of St. Paul, that I shall bring them to some order,' Sir Nigel answered. 'But there are many faces here which are new to me, though others have been before me since first I waited upon my dear master, Sir Walter. I pray you to tell me, Sir John, who are these priests upon the daïs?'
'The one is the Archbishop of Bordeaux, Nigel, and the other the Bishop of Agen.'
'And the dark knight with grey-streaked beard? By my troth, he seems to be a man of much wisdom and valour.'
'He is Sir William Felton, who, with my unworthy self, is the chief counsellor of the prince, he being high steward and I the seneschal of Aquitaine.'
'And the knights upon the right, beside Don Pedro?'
'They are cavaliers of Spain who have followed him in his exile. The one at his elbow is Fernando de Castro, who is as brave and true a man as heart could wish. In front to the right are the Gascon lords. You may well tell them by their clouded brows, for there hath been some ill-will of late betwixt the prince and them. The tall and burly man is the Captal de Buch, whom I doubt not that you know, for a braver knight never laid lance in rest. That heavy-faced cavalier who plucks his skirts and whispers in his ear is Lord Oliver de Clisson, known also as the Butcher. He it is who stirs up strife, and for ever blows the dying embers into flame. The man with the mole upon his cheek is the Lord Pommers, and his two brothers stand behind him, with the Lord Lesparre, Lord de Rosem, Lord de Mucident, Sir Perducas d'Albret, the Souldich de la Trane, and others. Further back are knights from Quercy, Limousin, Saintonge,
