midnight before
He will be glad that thou shouldst find so proper a knight ; and he is kind of heart , and stanch to my service . Fear not , sweet Gertrude : ere three days have gone by thou shalt be a wedded wife ; and when the time comes thou mayest steal away with him thy plighted lord , and trust thy sister Joanna to make thy peace with the king , if he be in any way angered or grieved . '' Gertrude threw herself into Joanna 's arms and kissed her a hundred times ; and Joanna laughed , and said she deserved much credit for plotting to rid herself of her dearest friend , but was none the less loyal to the cause because Gertrude 's gain would be her loss . So there came a strange night , never to be forgotten by those who witnessed the proceedings , when Wendot ap Res Vychan and the Lady Gertrude Cherleton stood at midnight before the altar in the small private chapel of the castle , whilst the chaplain of the Princess Joanna 's private suite made them man and wife according to the law of the Church . And of the few spectators who witnessed the ceremony two were of royal blood -- Alphonso and Joanna -- and beside them were only one or two attendants , sworn to secrecy , and in full sympathy with the youthful lovers thus plighting their troth and being united in wedlock at one and the same time . Griffeth was not of the number who was present to witness this ceremony . He was unable to rise from his bed , a sudden access of illness having overtaken him , possibly as the result of the excitement of hearing what was about to take place .