a)I know he couldn't see properly in the dark, but doesn't Theodore notice that Matilda's voice is different from Isabella's? ~ well, with Matilda and Isabella being such close friends for such a long time I'm sure their voices and the way they speak are very simular, also it is unlikely that Theodore really took the time to study their voices which where probably about the same pitch. But I agree, he is awfully wordy in a crisis! While he's making these pretty speaches a lady could already be halfway to being beheaded or being reclaimed by her enemy!

b) How is it that Theodore, who I assume is not a trained knight, manages to wound him three times while coming off scot-free himself? ~ well, Theodore is much younger and therefore more agile, and perhaps there's more we don't know about him yet, perhaps he has been trained or as a hero we are asked to just naturaly assume that he is an exelent swordsman! :)