"
Roger moved uneasily in his seat.
"Do not speak of such a thing, I pray you, master--imprisonment in a
cell, flagellation, nay, even worse might befall me at the hands of a
rigorous abbot; for in truth, nought could well be more serious than
the offences that I have already committed; and he might hold that,
even though the present abbot had been backward in taking notice of the
matter, this in no way would absolve him from doing his duty.
"And indeed, as it is, it was to Hotspur that he gave permission for me
to go out into the world. Hotspur is dead, and there is nought but my
own word in the matter."
"That, at any rate, I can put right, Roger, by going myself to the
abbot; and learning, from his lips, that he did give that permission to
Hotspur. Moreover, I received it from Hotspur's own lips. Still, it
would be useful for me to obtain, from the abbot, a letter giving full
absolution for all offences committed, up to the present time."
"That would be a great thing," Roger said eagerly. "'Tis a matter that
I have often turned over in my mind, when on a long day's ride, and I
have thought of what might happen were a new man to become abbot of
Alnwick; but such an absolution would assuredly go for much.
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