'"I do not think for myself," said De Aquila, "nor for our King, nor for
your lands. I think for England, for whom neither King nor Baron thinks.
I am not Norman, Sir Richard, nor Saxon, Sir Hugh. English am I."

'"Saxon, Norman or English," said Hugh, "our lives are thine, however
the game goes. When do we hang Gilbert?"

'"Never," said De Aquila. "Who knows, he may yet be Sacristan of Battle,
for, to do him justice, he is a good writer. Dead men make dumb
witnesses. Wait."

'"But the King may give Pevensey to Fulke. And our Manors go with it,"
said I. "Shall we tell our sons?"

'"No. The King will not wake up a hornets' nest in the South till he has
smoked out the bees in the North. He may hold me a traitor; but at least
he sees I am not fighting against him; and every day that I lie still is
so much gain to him while he fights the Barons. If he were wise he would
wait till that war were over before he made new enemies. But I think
Fulke will play upon him to send for me, and if I do not obey the
summons, that will, to Henry's mind, be proof of my treason. But mere
talk, such as Gilbert sends, is no proof nowadays. We Barons follow the
Church, and, like Anselm, we speak what we please. Let us go about our
day's dealings, and say naught to Gilbert."

'"Then we do nothing?" said Hugh.

'"We wait," said De Aquila. "I am old, but still I find that the most
grievous work I know."