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said, for she
knew the noise came from within. But when she looked up, she saw Lord Vardis
entering the Hall, supported by his two henchmen. He was pale, but fully
dressed, and on his face was a smile of triumph.
    “I know
not why my knights have not yet joined us,” his lordship said gently, as he
slowly made his way across the Hall towards the heavy barred door that led to
the courtyard. “I shall go out to greet them.”
    “Stop
him, Father!” shouted Hadley. “We must keep him here!”
    “I can
walk unaided,” Lord Vardis said to his henchmen. “Lift your halberds.”
     They did
so, and none dared confront the steely blades that were swung so efficiently.
    “Lord
Vardis’s knights are welcome here!” shouted the King in a faltering voice.
“Hail to Lord Vardis, Regent of Glerny!”
    Hadley
ran to the door and put her back against it, but Joan and Ingrid pulled her
aside ere his lordship’s men could reach her. Now one of the men was raising
the bar of the great door, while the other guarded Lord Vardis with his
halberd….Now Lord Vardis was passing through the entry….A knight came forward
to take his arm….Quick! Shut and bar the door!...Nay, too late! Another knight
had come to hold it open….Now all the knights would storm into the
palace….Naught could be done! Naught could be done!
    All
eyes were fixed upon the door. Some faces were despairing, others full of fear.
The seconds passed, each seeming like a minute. And then it seemed an hour had
gone by. ‘Twas hard to wait for what was surely doom. A minute must have
passed, or mayhap ten. When would they come, and why did they delay? One knight
stood stiff against the heavy door, but where were his fellows? They could not
be seen.
    Mayhap
it was Princess Ingrid who first ran to the casements, but others—lords and
ladies and servants alike—soon followed, pressing themselves against the
windows, and rising onto their toes, to have a better view.
    “They
ha’ surrounded his lordship!” shouted a manservant, who was taller than the
rest. “I see the halberds….Methinks they have ta’en the halberds of his men.
And now they are passing them o’er the crowd.”
    “They
pass the halberds?” asked one of the King’s counselors, who was not at the
window.
    “Nay,
the men! They pass them over, hand to hand, helpless as babes. They are bound,
methinks!”
    “Nay!”
scoffed several.
    “’Tis
true!” shouted the manservant. “And his lordship also! The large knight hath
him well in hand!”
    “They
betray him!” cried Ingrid.
    “’Tis
not possible,” said some courtiers, pushing forward and trying to gain a place
at the casements.
    “Lord
Vardis in irons,” said Ingrid. “A sight I never thought to see!”
    The
watchers fell silent, until one cried out, “They are coming,” striking dread
into the hearts of all.
    “Nay.
‘Tis but one knight,” said Ingrid, craning her neck. “Mayhap he hath led them
all to revolt against his lordship.”
    Then
came the sound of heavy footsteps, and a familiar voice called out “Sire! Sire!
‘Tis Robin Cope!”
    And so
it was. When he entered the Great Hall, Hadley knew him by his size and shape
and style of walking, though the armor made him seem another man. The knight
who held the door, came in behind him, and the heavy door fell back, with a
thud, shutting off all noise from the throng without.
    Robin
doffed his helmet and let it drop upon the floor. “Sire,” he said, approaching
the King, who was still seated at table, seemingly lost to all the world. His
Majesty blinked and turned his gaze to Robin. “Art thou a traitor, Master
Cope?”
    “I am
thy faithful servant e’en now,” said Robin.
    “I am
an old man. Help me to my chamber.”
    Robin
held out his arm, and the King grasped it and rose slowly to his feet.
    The
other knight approached then, and removed his own helmet, which he placed under
one arm. “King Valentine of Glerny,” he said, making a slight bow. “I am