Read "Stories of Charlemagne and the Twelve Peers of France" by Alfred John Church online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Duke Aymon said to his sons, "We do ill to tarry here. The King is / very wroth and not without cause, with your uncle Duke Benes, and / will wage war against him, in which matter he will of a certainty ask / your help. But we cannot fight against our own kinsfolk. Let us / therefore depart to our own country."
So the Duke and his four sons departed, and came to the land of / Ardennes. The Duchess was right glad to see them. Nevertheless, / when she was aware of the reason of their coming she was greatly / troubled. To the Duke Aymon she said, "My lord, you have done ill to / leave the King without license given, for he is your natural lord, / and you have received much good at his hands. You have brought away / your sons also, whom he has of his goodness promoted to the order of / knighthood. This was not well. " "Lady," said the Duke, "we left the / King because my brother Benes had slain the Prince Lothair, and we / are afraid. " "For all that," answered the Duchess, "do you serve the / King and obey him, for to do so becomes a true man. " Then said the / Duke, "I would lose my castle and the half of my land, if only my / brother Benes had not slain the Prince Lothair."