The Prince and the Pauper

Miles Hendon takes Edward to an inn on London Bridge. On the way there, Edward and Miles see the heads of those convicted of treason mounted for display, intended as lessons and warnings to children. When the pair arrives at the inn, John Canty finds them. He attempts to take Edward but is stopped by Miles.

Arriving in Miles’s room, Edward quickly takes the bed and goes to sleep. While he is sleeping, Miles considers what to do with him. Miles believes that Edward is “mad” but promises to himself that he will care for the boy until he is cured and that he will humor his claims to royalty. When Edward wakes, he begins to treat Miles as his servant, demanding that he prepare water, fetch a towel, and not sit within his presence. Miles accepts these demands, and they begin to discuss their lives.

Miles reveals that he was a minor noble from Kent who wanted to marry the Lady Edith, his cousin and a local noblewoman. In his family, he had a kind father and elder brother but also a cruel younger brother named Hugh. Hugh conspired to cause Miles’s exile, after which Miles served as a soldier and was captured during the wars in Europe.