Sir Gareth and an unpleasant nameless "lady" are forced to seek shelter in Sir Persaunte's castle. Gareth retires to bed and finds his virtue sorely tested -- a recurring theme in these tales:
That evening he (Sir Persaunte) summoned his beautiful daughter, who was aged eighteen: "My daughter, if you would please me, go to Sir Gareth, lie in his bed, take him in your arms and kiss him, and make him welcome as only a woman can."
At her father's bidding, the daughter went to Sir Gareth's bed, quietly undressed, and got in beside him. Sir Gareth swore, and asked: "Pray, who are you?"
"Sir, I am Sir Persaunte's daughter, and I come at his command, not of my own free will."
"Are you a maid or a wife?"
"Sir, I am a maid."
"Then God forbid that you should remain. It would be as shameful for me as for your father; so I beg you, return to him."
The daughter duly returned to her father, and told him all that had happened. "He must indeed be of noble blood," her father responded.
In the morning Sir Persaunte asked the lady where she was taking Sir Gareth.
"To the Castle Dangerous," she replied.
From Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, A New Rendition by Keith BainesMentor/New American Library ©Copyright 1962
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