“No, noble Cedric⁠—Richard of England !⁠—whose deepest interest⁠—whose deepest wish, is to see her sons united with each other.⁠—And, how now, worthy Thane! hast thou no knee for thy prince?”

“To Norman blood,” said Cedric, “it hath never bended.”

“Reserve thine homage then,” said the Monarch, “until I shall prove my right to it by my equal protection of Normans and English .”

“Prince,” answered Cedric, “I have ever done justice to thy bravery and thy worth⁠—Nor am I ignorant of thy claim to the crown through thy descent from Matilda, niece to Edgar Atheling, and daughter to Malcolm of Scotland . But Matilda, though of the royal Saxon blood, was not the heir to the monarchy.”