Lucas' Skills In Deduction And Flattery

Rogue Sword, PROLOGUE.

Speaking Catalan ungrammatically but intelligibly, Lucas deduces that the knight:

is from Catalonia province in the Kingdom of Aragon;

would have been involved in the Sicilian War (googling, I find the phrase, "Sicilian Wars," applied to a Greco-Punic conflict between 580-265 B.C.);

must be a member of a powerful baronial family;

is "'...wealthier in birth than gold.'" (pp. 21-22);

perhaps owns an estate that was devastated during the French invasion seven years previously;

but would have fought well and contributed to the expulsion of the French.

The knight introduces himself as Jaime de Caza, in the service of the Lord King of Aragon.

Lucas knows enough to go down on one knee and to address his new master as "'En Jaime,'" not "Don Jaime," which would have been appropriate if Jaime had come from the Kingdom of Castile. (p. 22)

Lucas will be able to:

teach Jaime some Greek in preparation for his mission to Byzantium;
perform the tasks of "'...a confidential amanuensis.'" (p. 22);
cook;
brush Jaime's clothes;
tell scandalous stories;
recount chivalric romances;
deliver a ballade or sirvente.

And that at last brings us to the end of the extended PROLOGUE.