THE CHRONICLE OF CLEMENDY
to the appointed place, by a door in a high wall; and sat down on the grass, with his hand on his sword, looking somewhat grimly on it, for Master Torlesse had put him to great inconvenience and trouble, and he would have relished no task better than that of piercing this sour old devil to the heart. It was on occasions of this kind that Sir Philip's jaws shut tight down, and his brows and moustache went up, and between ourselves I should have preferred to let him alone, if I had seen him in such a mood, for to speak the truth when he was in the humour, and his teeth were clenched, he would have fought all the hosts of hell. Requiem aeternum, he was a true son of Gwent and a very perfect knight. But when the dials marked four of the afternoon, Sir Philip heard a gentle rustle at his back, and looking up he saw the door slowly open, and his lady standing with a pale face, beckoning to him. Then did Sir Philip enter, and found himself in a thick grove of trees, growing close to one another, and after that with one long and solemn kiss they had kissed each other's lips, she set him in his place, where he could lie down and look through the leaves, and forwith left him, telling him not to stir nor make a sound, on peril of his life. And for the next hour or two the knight had full leisure allotted him, wherein to meditate on this strange case, and what he was to see that should explain his sweetheart's foreknowledge of the storm. As for the garden he found it ordinary enough, in nothing different from other closes, unless for one or two flowers of exceeding sweet fragrance
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