The day after the coronation, Miles stood outside the palace. He'd searched for Edward for two days but couldn't find the boy. So, Miles decided to seek help from his father's friend who worked at the palace.
Just then Marlow came through the gate.
"Do you work at the palace?" Miles asked. "Do you know Sir Marlow?"
"That's my father!" Marlow exclaimed.
"Tell him that Miles Hendon, son of Sir Richard Hendon, urgently needs to see him."
"Unfortunately, my father died last year," Marlow explained. "But I know someone who can help you."
Marlow led Miles into the palace courtyard and told him to wait.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Marlow hurried into the palace. "The king sent me to look for his friend. And there he was—right outside!"
As Miles leaned against a wall, a guard approached him.
"What are you doing here?" the guard said. "We can't have loafers around the palace!"
Suddenly Miles remembered Edward's note in his pocket and handed it to the guard. He'd forgotten about it amid all the trouble with Hugh.
"This ought to help me," Miles thought.
But the guard's face clouded over as he read the note. "Not another fellow claiming to be the king! I'm arresting you for—"
"For nothing!" Marlow hurried over to the guard and stopped him. Then he turned to Miles, bowed respectfully, and said, "Please come with me, sir."
Miles followed Marlow into a room where a line of people stood waiting to speak to the king. When the king looked up, Miles gasped.
"Is that my young friend?" Miles rubbed his eyes. "There's only one way to be sure."
Miles went over to a chair and sat down. Instantly a guard was at his side.
"You can't just come in here and sit down!" the guard said loudly.
The king laughed. "Oh yes, he can. This is Sir Miles, my trusty companion, and he's allowed to sit whenever I'm sitting. Hello, Miles, how are you today?"
"Very well, Your Majesty, though I'm surprised to see you here." On the outside Miles was laughing but inside he was embarrassed.
"I can't believe I bragged to King Edward that we have seventy rooms and thirty servants at Hendon Hall! That's nothing compared to what he's used to."
Struggling to believe Edward was really the king, Miles stared at the boy. "This is my pauper? This is the boy I vowed to protect?" Miles thought. "He has guards and a whole army to protect him!"
Miles stepped forward and bowed to the king. Then he stood aside while Edward scanned the people waiting to speak to him. The king spotted some people he recognized and beckoned them forward.
Miles drew his breath in sharply as Hugh and Edith approached the king. When Hugh asked to be made an earl, Edward's face hardened.
"You don't deserve the honor. Miles and I spent time in jail, thanks to you, and Miles spent time in the stocks." Edward called a guard. "Arrest this man. I strip him of his stolen title and property."
"I didn't know you were the king!" Hugh protested as he was led away, but Edward was no longer paying attention.
"Now, Lady Edith, you can tell me the truth," King Edward said kindly. "Did you recognize Miles at Hendon Hall?"
Miles held his breath, waiting for Edith's response.
"Yes," she said quietly. "My husband told me to lie and threatened to punish me if I didn't. When I said I didn't care, he threatened to hurt Miles."
"My Edith was trying to protect me!" Miles said fondly.
"I banish Hugh from my kingdom forever!" Edward declared. "Next!"
Tom stepped forward and bowed to the king.
"Tom Canty!" Edward smiled. "As a reward for taking care of my kingdom, you shall become head of the home for poor, abandoned children. You're welcome to live there with your mother and sister. Have you found them again?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, and I apologized to my mother for pretending not to know her," Tom said. "I wasn't quite myself, as you know, sir."
"I understand." King Edward smiled.
That day Edward wanted to arrest John Canty for cruelty to his family, but no one could find him.
In the years that followed, Hugh died in prison, which freed Edith to marry Miles. Tom became good friends with the king and was often seen at court. As for King Edward himself . . .
Whenever someone complained that he was too kind to the poor, he told a story. It was the tale of how he, a prince, had become a pauper.
"And that," he always said, "has made me a better king!"