The countess, well knowing her son’s violent and arrogant disposition, and the obstinacy with which he pursued his desires, had reason to fear that his passion would lead to some unhappy result.  With a mother’s natural anxiety to gratify her son’s wishes, she promised to speak to the queen, not with the hope of succeeding in the impossible attempt to make her majesty break her word, but in order not to sit down in despair, while any remedy remained to be tried.  That morning Isabella was dressed by the queen’s orders with a magnificence which defies description.  With her own hands her majesty put on her neck a string of the largest pearls found in the galleon, valued at twenty thousand ducats, and a diamond ring on her finger worth six thousand crowns.  But whilst the ladies were in great glee anticipating the glad time so near at hand, the keeper of the robes presented herself before the queen, and implored her on her knees to postpone Isabella’s wedding for two days longer, declaring that if her majesty would only do so, it would more than reward her for all her past services.  The queen desired to know, in the first instance, why she made that request, so directly at variance with the royal promise given to Richard; but the countess would not explain until the queen, urged by curiosity to discover the cause of this strange request, promised that she would grant it.  Having thus succeeded in her immediate object, the lady keeper made the queen acquainted with her son’s passion, and how, fearing that unless he obtained Isabella he would commit some desperate deed against himself or others, she had asked for that delay of two days in order that her majesty might devise the best means of saving the life of her son.  The queen replied that had she not pledged her royal word, she would have found a way to smooth over that difficulty, but that, for no consideration, could she retract her promise or defraud Richard of the hope she had given him.

The lady keeper reported the queen’s answer to her son, but nothing could overcome his headstrong presumption.  Arming himself at all points he mounted a powerful charger, and presented himself before Clotald’s house, and shouted for Richard to come to the window.  Richard was dressed as a bridegroom, and was on the point of setting out for the palace with his friends, but hearing himself thus summoned, he went with some surprise and showed himself at an open window.  “Hark you, Richard; I have something to say to you,” said Count Ernest.  “Our lady the queen ordered you to go forth on her service and perform exploits that should render you worthy of the peerless Isabella.  You set out, and returned with ships laden with wealth, with which you think you have bought your title to Isabella.  But though our lady the queen promised her to you, it was under the belief that there was no one at her court who could serve her better than you, or more justly aspire to the fair Spaniard’s hand; but in this it may be that her majesty was mistaken.  Being of that opinion, and holding it for very truth, I say that you have done no such deeds as can make you worthy of Isabella, nor can you ever perform any to raise you to that honour; and if you dare to maintain the contrary, I defy you to the death.”