to give the varlet a lesson to teach him better. But perchance it
was well I was not nigh enough. Surely it must be nigh upon the
hour for dinner. Our sport has whet the edge of appetite, and I
would fain hear what the missive was which yon knave brought with
him. Our father will doubtless tell us at the table."

It was indeed nearly noon, and mistress and maids alike
relinquished their tasks to prepare for the meal which was the
chiefest of the day, though the supper was nothing to be despised.

The long table in the great banqueting hall was a goodly sight to
see when the dinner was spread, and the retainers of the better
sort and some amongst the upper servants sat down with the master
and his family to partake of the good cheer. At one end of the long
board sat the knight and his lady side by side; to their right were
the three boys, the young monk, and Warbel the armourer, who now
held a post of some importance in the house. Opposite to these were
other gentlemen-at-arms and their sons, who were resident at Chad;
and at the lower end of the table, below the great silver salt
cellars, sat the seneschal, the lowlier retainers, and certain
trusted servants who held responsible positions at Chad. The cooks
and scullions and underlings dined in the great kitchen immediately
after their masters' meal had been served.

The table at Chad always groaned with good things, except at such
seasons as the Church decreed a fast, and then the diet was
scrupulously kept within the prescribed bounds. Sir Oliver and his
wife were both devout and earnest people, and had every reverence
for their spiritual superiors. The Benedictine Priory of Chadwater
stood only a mile and a half distant, and the prior was on