Sentence:  Prince John: "I will <WSD>lay odds</WSD> that, ere this year expire, / We bear our civil swords and native fire / As far as France. I heard a bird so sing, / Whose music, to my thinking, pleas'd the King." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To offer a bet in which one stands more to lose than the opponent; or a bet in some other way favourable to the opponent.