It issued from the suit of De Valence, on his
way to Guienne. Scared at the tempest, the female attendants of Lady
Helen had abandoned themselves to shrieks of despair; but she,
insensible to anything but grief, lay in perfect stillness in the
litter that conveyed her. As Grimsby approached the travelers, De
Valence demanded his assistance to conduct them to a place of shelter.
Chateau Galliard was the nearest residence fit to receive the earl and
his train. Thither the soldier led them, and heard from the servants
that the lady in the vehicle was their lord's wife, and a lunatic.
Grimsby remained in the chateau, because he had nowhere else to go; and
by accidental speeches from the lady's attendants soon found that she
was not married to the earl; and was not only perfectly sane, but often
most cruelly treated. Her name he had never learned until the last
evening, when, carrying some wine into the banqueting-room, he heard De
Valence mention it to the other stranger knight. He then retired full
of horror, resolving to essay her rescue himself; but the unexpected
sight of the two knights in the hall determined him to reveal the case
to them.
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