“Now this was the dream—that the
oath I made as regards your mother is binding as regards
you also; further, that in some way which is not revealed
to me, your presence here will withhold me from the
shedding of a sea of blood, and save the whole world
much misery. Therefore it is decreed that you
must come and bide in my house. That these things
are so, Allah and His Prophet be my witnesses.”
Godwin laid down the letter, and all of them stared
at one another in amazement.
“Surely,” said Wulf, “this is some
fool’s trick played off upon our uncle as an
evil jest.”
By way of answer Sir Andrew bade him lift the silk
that hid the contents of the coffer and see what lay
there. Wulf did so, and next moment threw back
his head like a man whom some sudden light had blinded,
as well he might, for from it came such a flare of
gems as Essex had rarely seen before. Red, green
and blue they sparkled; and among them were the dull
glow of gold and the white sheen of pearls.
“Oh, how beautiful! how beautiful!” said
Rosamund.
“Ay,” muttered Godwin; “beautiful
enough to maze a woman’s mind till she knows
not right from wrong.”
Wulf said nothing, but one by one drew its treasures
from the chest—coronet, necklace of pearls,
breast ornaments of rubies, girdle of sapphires, jewelled
anklets, and with them veil, sandals, robes and other
garments of gold-embroidered purple silk. Moreover,
among these, also sealed with the seals of Salah-ed-din,
his viziers, officers of state, and secretaries, was
that patent of which the letter spoke, setting out
the full titles of the Princess of Baalbec; the extent
and boundaries of her great estates, and the amount
of her annual revenue, which seemed more money than
they had ever heard of.
“I was wrong,” said Wulf. “Even
the Sultan of the East could not afford a jest so
costly.”
“Jest?” broke in Sir Andrew; “it
is no jest, as I was sure from the first line of that
letter. It breathes the very spirit of Saladin,
though he be a Saracen, the greatest man on all the
earth, as I, who was a friend of his youth, know well.
Ay, and he is right. In a sense I sinned against
him as his sister sinned, our love compelling us.
Jest? Nay, no jest, but because a vision of the
night, which he believes the voice of God, or perhaps
some oracle of the magicians has deeply stirred that
great soul of his and led him on to this wild adventure.”
He paused awhile, then looked up and said, “Girl,
do you know what Saladin has made of you? Why,
there are queens in Europe who would be glad to own
that rank and those estates in the rich lands above
Damascus. I know the city and the castle of which
he speaks. It is a mighty place upon the banks
of Litani and Orontes, and after its military governor—for
that rule he would not give a Christian—you
will be first in it, beneath the seal of Saladin—the
surest title in all the earth. Say, will you go
and queen it there?”
