"I am Overlord of Cornwall,” I at last made bold to say, "and much of my support comes from nobles with marriageable daughters. So long as I am a bachelor, these nobles will remain my friends, but if they saw you, and found out you were from Wales, then at once there would arise jealous dissensions. So, we stop at the first chapman’s and buy masculine apparel for you, and you will go to my castle as a page.”
"Shall I be your page?” Ruth asked.
"Oh! I presume so. At least I will have no other, and you can run my errands for me, and bind on my armor when I go giant-hunting.”
"That will be nice. I think that I will look well in boy’s clothes. I used to wear them when I was much younger. Will you give me a boy’s name?”
We talked it all over and decided to call her Percy. Later on in the day we met a Jew who was selling clothing to those who would buy, and with him I made a shrewd trade; so, when Ruth came out from behind the bushes she looked like a young lad, not yet shaven. The Jew took her clothes, and some silver, and left us.
Now after that I made Ruth ride behind me, and if there was any holding on to do, she could do it. All that day and one more day we rode, and that night we arrived once more at my castle. Giving orders that my faithful charger be well fed and bedded, and that the treasures I brought with me be safely secured behind lock and bar, I trudged rather wearily to my rooms to remove the iron and leather harness that seemed to be so necessary for a ruler to wear when out on the lonely roads of my country. I bethought me of King Arthur who made the land so safe that a gold bracelet hung on a thorn-bush for three years without being disturbed while it waited for its rightful owner. That was the kind of country I wanted Cornwall to be, some day.
Percy came after me into the privacy of my rooms, and ere I was aware she started to take off my armor, and cleverly found sweet oil to rub me with and my silks and soft leathers; so, before I realized it, I was in comfort before the fire, and she holding out to me a horn of spiced ale, which it seems she had ordered for my comfort on her way up the stone stairs.
After that, came some pleasant days in the library. Of course, Ruth could not read, but she had a clever understanding of the pictures, and her willingness to acknowledge that I knew more than she did was decidedly refreshing to my masculine pride. In my astonishing adventures in the Apurimac Valley, the Blessed Islands, Cabel and Dahomey, I had met many women, but never one who willingly acknowledged my intellectual supremacy. So, as the simple child seemed anxious to learn, I permitted her to look through many of my books and even spent long hours in reading to her. Of course, she wore her boy’s clothes and I was very careful to call her Percy, but occasionally when we were alone I graciously gave her osculatory treatment for the Devil I had forced to enter her.
It was all very lovely and might have continued for an infinity of pleasant evenings, at least for a month or so, had it not been for an unexpected and slightly embarrassing visit from several of my mightiest nobles. There were but three of them, but so powerful were they in the affairs of Cornwall that they might as well have been thirty or three hundred. I received them in the library, first telling Percy to begone and stay begone till she knew they were safely out of the Castle. To help the page pass the time while away from me I gave into his hands a boy, where from he could learn the letters, and thus come, some day, to be able to read.
Before the fire the good knights Bevidere, Arthur the and Mallory sat warming their shins and drinking my wine, the while looking at each other and then sidewise at me as though uncertain as to who should begin the conversation or as to the effect it would have on their Overlord. At last Mallory coughed and started to tell me what was on their minds.
"You must be willing to acknowledge, Cecil, son of James, son of David, son of John and even back to the son of Saint Christopher, that your arrival to our country and you becoming Overlord has been a matter of deep mystery to all of us.”
"There is no doubt that it was most unusual,” I replied.
"We admit that we needed a strong man to rule us. There were robbers and giants and demons within the realm and many strong and jealous countries around us, anxious for our downfall. You arrived here at an opportune time, and, thanks to your ability as a giant-killer and politician, you have given Cornwall a sense of security that before your advent it strangely lacked.”
"My record speaks for itself,” I almost boasted. "Five robber gangs dispersed and from these over a hundred killed in battle or hung on dead limbs to warn all folk of the danger of acting thus in my confines. Three giants, seven deadly serpents, one dragon, and a number of salamanders and ogres have been sent to Limbo. Ireland, thanks to my magical powers, is more than friendly to us. Wales can not attack. In fact, only within the last few weks I adventured there and rid their land of a most horrific curse, following which adventure the King of Wales himself gave me many jewels and other presents of great value. Thus there is no doubt, at least in my mind, that Cornwall hath profited mightily by having me to take charge of the affairs of state.”
Bevidere swore a mighty oath!
"By the bones of the eleven thousand and one virgins of Cologne, no one can gainsay the truth of all you say, and, speaking for the three of us, and we represent the country, I am sure that we value your services as Overlord, though your bookish ways are beyond us-”
"Ah!” I interrupted, "but you have not seen all my books. Now I am sure that if you looked through my copy of Elephantis- Where is my copy? I always keep it right there. That dog of a page must have taken it. Anyway, I anticipate that you would have keen enjoyment from its inspection.”
"That may be, but we are not monks. None of us understand the art of reading.”
"You do not have to read. The book of Elephantis is simply one of pictures.”
"That would be different. But to go on where Your Worship broke into my argument. We like you, and value your ability to rule a country, but what will happen to us should you die, of the Black Plague or of the Pox? You have, as far as we know, neither kith nor kin, and, being unmarried, no children to render your dynasty secure. This is why we come here. To urge your marriage.”
I lost no time in making die answer.
"This is no new problem to me, my lords. I know that I owe it to my country to marry and have children, sturdy sons to carry the burden and beautiful daughters to make fortunate alliances. But how can I marry? I am wise but not wise enough to select a wife from among the beautiful virgins of Cornwall. I met Elenore, daughter of Sir Bevidere, and lost my heart to her, but the next day Sir Arthur rode by with his daughter Helen, and I realized that she was blond where Elenore was brunette. Then, the same week chance led me to the home of Sir Mallory, and his daughter Guinevere graced the banquet table. Tell me, my lords, with three such beauties to choose from, how can a man decide? Shall I take Helen and offend the fathers of Elenore and Guinevere? If I marry Elenore, how can I bear to keep the mystical beauties of the other two graces from haunting my nights? That is why I am still a bachelor. Am I right? Only by remaining single can I keep my beloved knights at peace and these darling girls at least with some degree of hope, for so long as I am single I am the rightful property of any woman brilliant enough to win me.”