He came back after many hours, sorely perturbed by the request that
had been made to him. Sir Leonard, he said, was indeed sick nigh
unto death, grievously hurt, and distraught by the fever, or it might
be by the blow on his head in the fall with his horse, which seemed
to have kicked him; but there was no reason that with good guidance
and rest he should not recover. But, on the other hand, King Edward
was known to be on his progress to Durham, and he was understood to
be especially virulent against Sir Leonard Copeland, under the
impression that the young knight had assisted in Clifford's slaughter
of his brother Edmund of Rutland. It was true that a monastery was a
sanctuary, but if all that was reported of Edward Plantagenet were
true, he might, if he tracked Copeland to the Abbey, insist on his
being yielded up, or might make Abbot and monks suffer severely for
the protection given to his enemy; and there was much fear that the
Dacres might be on the scent. The Abbot and Father Copeland were
anxious to be able to answer that Sir Leonard was not within their
precincts, and, having heard that Master Groats was about to sail for
Flanders, the Sub-Prior made the entreaty that his nephew might thus
be conveyed to the Low Countries, where the fugitives of each party
in turn found a refuge. Father Copeland promised to be at charges,
and, in truth, the scheme was the best hope for Leonard's chances of
life.
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