But even as Ralph raised his sword and pricked forward, the woman sprang as light as a leopard on to the saddle behind the foeman, and wound her arms about him and dragged him back just as he was raising his axe to smite her, and as Ralph rode forward she cried out to him, “Smite him, smite!  O lovely creature of God!”

Therewith was Ralph beside them, and though he were loth to slay a man held in the arms of a woman, yet he feared lest the man should slay her with some knife-stroke unless he made haste; so he thrust his sword through him, and the man died at once, and fell headlong off his horse, dragging down the woman with him.

Then Ralph lighted down from his horse, and the woman rose up to him, her white smock all bloody with the slain man.  Nevertheless was she as calm and stately before him, as if she were sitting on the dais of a fair hall; so she said to him: 

“Young warrior, thou hast done well and knightly, and I shall look to it that thou have thy reward.  And now I rede thee go not to the Burg of the Four Friths; for this tale of thee shall get about and they shall take thee, if it were out of the very Frith-stool, and there for thee should be the scourge and the gibbet; for they of that Burg be robbers and murderers merciless.  Yet well it were that thou ride hence presently; for those be behind my tormentors whom thou hast slain, who will be as an host to thee, and thou mayst not deal with them.  If thou follow my rede, thou wilt take the way that goeth hence east away, and then shalt thou come to Hampton under Scaur, where the folk are peaceable and friendly.”

He looked at her hard as she spake, and noted that she spake but slowly, and turned red and white and red again as she looked at him.  But whatever she did, and in spite of her poor attire, he deemed he had never seen woman so fair.  Her hair was dark red, but her eyes grey, and light at whiles and yet at whiles deep; her lips betwixt thin and full, but yet when she spoke or smiled clad with all enticements; her chin round and so wrought as none was ever better wrought; her body strong and well-knit; tall she was, with fair and large arms, and limbs most goodly of fashion, of which but little was hidden, since her coat was but thin and scanty.  But whatever may be said of her, no man would have deemed her aught save most lovely.  Now her face grew calm and stately again as it was at the first, and she laid a hand on Ralph’s shoulder, and smiled in his face and said: 

“Surely thou art fair, though thy strokes be not light.”  Then she took his hand and caressed it, and said again:  “Dost thou deem that thou hast done great things, fair child?  Maybe.  Yet some will say that thou hast but slain two butchers:  and if thou wilt say that thou hast delivered me; yet it may be that I should have delivered myself ere long.  Nevertheless hold up thine heart, for I think that greater things await thee.”

Then she turned about, and saw the dead man, how his feet yet hung in the stirrups as his fellow’s had done, save that the horse of this one stood nigh still, only reaching his head down to crop a mouthful of grass; so she said:  “Take him away, that I may mount on his horse.”