"Henry," she said, "let us go now to our chambers, and Alix, will you watch over little Edward? I see his nurse has fallen asleep, poor woman. She is too old for all this excitement." The queen helped her husband to stand, and then following Sir Udolf's steward, the royal fugitives walked from the hall.

"This is terrible," Sir Udolf said when they were gone. "That the king should be driven from his lands. He is a good man, and she a good queen. I am glad now more than ever to be a simple man. To have so much power that others would covet it is frightening." And he shook his head, sighing.

"I must agree with you, sir," Alexander Givet said from his place near the fire. "But once King Henry's court was a pleasant place to be. He is a learned man."

"What place had you among it all?" Sir Udolf asked, curious.

"I am the queen's physician. I came with her from Anjou many years back with my late wife, who was one of the queen's ladies. The young girl playing now with the prince is our daughter, Alix. My name is Alexander Givet."

"I, too, am widowed," Sir Udolf replied.

"Have you children?" the physician inquired.

"A son, Hayle. He is twenty. His mother and I were wed several years before he was born. Audrey was not strong. She died when Hayle was four, birthing our daughter, who lived but a day. I married again eight years ago, but she turned out to be a nag. I was not unhappy when she died three years later of a winter ailment. I have a farm wife now, who satisfies my manly urges when I need her. I do not need another wife."

Alexander Givet chuckled. "I am widowed two years now, and I have no need for a wife. My daughter takes good care of me, and we are content in the queen's service."

"Tell me, physician," the baron said, "how am I to house the royal party? My house is not large, but I would not stint on anything or appear inhospitable."