The King of France said that he would be his surety, and he begged that Margaret would pardon Warwick, and receive him into favor for _his_ sake, and for the great love that he, the king, bore to him. He would do more for him, he added, than for any man living.
Margaret at last allowed herself to be persuaded, and Warwick was forgiven.
There were several other great nobles, who had come over with Warwick, that were received into Margaret's favor at the same time, and, when the grand reconciliation was completely effected, the whole party set out together to go down the Loire to Angers, where the Countess of Warwick, the earl's wife, and his youngest daughter, Anne, were awaiting them. The countess and Anne were presented to the queen, and a short time afterward Louis ventured to propose a marriage between Anne and Prince Edward.
Margaret received this proposal with astonishment, and rejected it with scorn. She said she could see neither honor nor profit in it, either for herself or for her son. But at length, after a fortnight had been spent in reasoning with her on the advantages of the connection, and the aid which she would derive from such an alliance with Warwick in endeavoring to recover her husband's kingdom, she finally yielded. She was influenced at last, in coming to this decision, by the advice of her father, who counseled her to consent to the match.
[Sidenote: The match finally agreed upon.]
The parties united in a grand religious ceremony in the cathedral church of Angers to seal and ratify the covenants and agreements by which they were now to be bound.
There was a fragment of the true cross, so supposed, among the relics in the cathedral, and this was an object of such veneration that an oath taken upon it was considered as imposing an obligation of the highest sanctity. Each of the three great parties took an oath, in turn, upon this holy emblem.
First, the Earl of Warwick swore that he would, without change, always hold to the party of King Henry, and serve him, the queen, and the prince, as a true and faithful subject ought to serve his sovereign lord.
Next, the King of France swore that he would help and sustain, to the utmost of his power, the Earl of Warwick in the quarrel of King Henry.