CHAPTER XVII.
THE EBBING WELL.
Cicely's thirst for adventures had received a check, but the Queen,being particularly well and in good spirits, and trusting that thiswould be her last visit to Buxton, was inclined to enterprise, andthere were long rides and hawking expeditions on the moors.
The last of these, ere leaving Buxton, brought the party to the hamletof Barton Clough, where a loose horseshoe of the Earl's caused a haltat a little wayside smithy. Mary, always friendly and free-spoken,asked for a draught of water, and entered into conversation with thesmith's rosy-cheeked wife who brought it to her, and said it was sureto be good and pure for the stream came from the Ebbing and FlowingWell, and she pointed up a steep path. Then, on a further question,she proceeded, "Has her ladyship never heard of the Ebbing Well thatshows whether true love is soothfast?"
"How so?" asked the Queen. "How precious such a test might be. Itwould save many a maiden a broken heart, only that the poor fools wouldne'er trust it."
"I have heard of it," said the Earl, "and Dr. Jones would demonstrateto your Grace that it is but a superstition of the vulgar regarding anatural phenomenon."
"Yea, my Lord," said the smith, looking up from the horse's foot; "'tisthe trade of yonder philosophers to gainsay whatever honest folkbelieved before them. They'll deny next that hens lay eggs, or blightrots wheat. My good wife speaks but plain truth, and we have seen ito'er and o'er again."
"What have you seen, good man?" asked Mary eagerly, and ready answerwas made by the couple, who had acquired some cultivation of speech andmanners by their wayside occupation, and likewise as cicerones to thespring.
"Seen, quoth the lady?" said the smith. "Why, he that is a true manand hath a true maid can quaff a draught as deep as his gullet canhold--or she that is true and hath a true love--but let one who hath aflaw in the metal, on the one side or t'other, stoop to drink, and thewater shrinks away so as there's not the moistening of a lip."
"Ay: the ladies may laugh," added his wife, "but 'tis soothfast for allthat."
"Hast proved it, good dame?" asked the Queen archly, for the pair werestill young and well-looking enough to be jested with.
"Ay! have we not, madam?" said the dame. "Was not my man yonder, Rob,the tinker's son, whom my father and brethren, the smiths down yonderat Buxton, thought but scorn of, but we'd taken a sup together at theEbbing Well, and it played neither of us false, so we held out against'em all, and when they saw there was no help for it, they gave Bob thesecond best anvil and bellows for my portion, and here we be."
"Living witnesses to the Well," said the Queen merrily. "How say you,my Lord? I would fain see this marvel. Master Curll, will you try theventure?"
"I fear it not, madam," said the secretary, looking at the blushingBarbara.
Objections did not fail to arise from the Earl as to the difficultiesof the path and the lateness of the hour but Bob Smith, perhapswilfully, discovered another of my Lord's horseshoes to be in aperilous state, and his good wife, Dame Emmott, offered to conduct theladies by so good a path that they might think themselves on theQueen's Walk at Buxton itself.
Lord Shrewsbury, finding himself a prisoner, was obliged to yieldcompliance, and leaving Sir Andrew Melville, with the grooms andfalconers, in charge of the horses, the Queen, the Earl, Cicely, MarySeaton, Barbara Mowbray, the two secretaries, and Richard Talbot andyoung Diccon, started on the walk, together with Dr. Bourgoin, herphysician, who was eager to investigate the curiosity, and make it asubject of debate with Dr. Jones.
The path was a beautiful one, through rocks and brushwood, mountain ashbushes showing their coral berries amid their feathery leaves, goldenand white stars of stonecrop studding every coign of vantage, and inmore level spots the waxy bell-heather beginning to come into blossom.Still it was rather over praise to call it as smooth as thecarefully-levelled and much-trodden Queen's path at Buxton, consideringthat it ascended steeply all the way, and made the solemn,much-enduring Earl pant for breath; but the Queen, her rheumatics forthe time entirely in abeyance, bounded on with the mountain steplearned in early childhood, and closely followed the brisk Emmott. Thelast ascent was a steep pull, taking away the disposition to speak, andat its summit Mary stood still holding out one hand, with a finger ofthe other on her lips as a sign of silence to the rest of the suite andto Emmott, who stood flushed and angered; for what she esteemed herlawful province seemed to have been invaded from the other side of thecountry.
They were on the side of the descent from the moorlands connected withthe Peak, on a small esplanade in the midst of which lay a deep clearpool, with nine small springs or fountains discharging themselves,under fern and wild rose or honeysuckle, into its basin. Steps bad beencut in the rock leading to the verge of the pool, and on the lowest ofthese, with his back to the new-comers, was kneeling a young man, hisbrown head bare, his short cloak laid aside, so that his well-knit formcould be seen; the sword and spurs that clanked against the rock, aswell as the whole fashion and texture of his riding-dress, showing himto be a gentleman.
"We shall see the venture made," whispered Mary to her daughter, who,in virtue of youth and lightness of foot, had kept close behind her.Grasping the girl's arm and smiling, she heard the young man's voicecry aloud to the echoes of the rock, "Cis!" then stoop forward andplunge face and head into the clear translucent water.
"Good luck to a true lover!" smiled the Queen. "What! starting, sillymaid? Cisses are plenty in these parts as rowan berries."
"Nay, but--" gasped Cicely, for at that moment the young man, risingfrom his knees, his face still shining with the water, looked up at hisunsuspected spectators. An expression of astonishment and ecstasylighted up his honest sunburnt countenance as Master Richard, who hadjust succeeded in dragging the portly Earl up the steep path, met hisgaze. He threw up his arms, made apparently but one bound, and waskneeling at the captain's feet, embracing his knees.
"My son! Humfrey! Thyself!" cried Richard. "See! see what presencewe are in."
"Your blessing, father, first," cried Humfrey, "ere I can see aughtelse."
And as Richard quickly and thankfully laid his hand on the brow, somuch fairer than the face, and then held his son for one moment in aclose embrace, with an exchange of the kiss that was not then only aforeign fashion. Queen and Earl said to one another with a sigh, thathappy was the household where the son had no eyes for any save hisfather.
Mary, however, must have found it hard to continue her smiles when,after due but hurried obeisance to her and to his feudal chief, Humfreyturned to the little figure beside her, all smiling with startledshyness, and in one moment seemed to swallow it up in a hugeoverpowering embrace, fraternal in the eyes of almost all thespectators, but not by any means so to those of Mary, especially afterthe name she had heard. Diccon's greeting was the next, and was notquite so visibly rapturous on the part of the elder brother, whoexplained that he had arrived at Sheffield yesterday, and finding noone to welcome him but little Edward, had set forth for Buxton almostwith daylight, and having found himself obliged to rest his horse, hehad turned aside to---. And here he recollected just in time that Ciswas in every one's eyes save his father's, his own sister, and lamelyconcluded "to take a draught of water," blushing under his brown skinas he spoke. Poor fellow! the Queen, even while she wished him in thefarthest West Indian isle, could not help understanding that strangedoubt and dread that come over the mind at the last moment before alonged-for meeting, and which had made even the bold young sailor gladto rally his hopes by this divination. Fortunately she thought onlyherself and one or two of the foremost had heard the name he gave, aswas proved by the Earl's good-humoured laugh, as he said,
"A draught, quotha? We understand that, young sir. And who may thisyour true love be?"
"That I hope soon to make known to your Lordship," returned Humfrey,with a readiness which he certainly did not possess before his voyage.
The ceremony was still to be fulfilled, and the smith's wife calle
dthem to order by saying, "Good luck to the young gentleman. He is astranger here, or he would have known he should have come up by ourpath! Will you try the well, your Grace?"
"Nay, nay, good woman, my time for such toys is over!" said the Queensmiling, "but moved by such an example, here are others to make theventure, Master Curll is burning for it, I see."
"I fear no such trial, an't please your Grace," said Curll, bowing,with a bright defiance of the water, and exchanging a confident smilewith the blushing Mistress Barbara--then kneeling by the well, anduttering her name aloud ere stooping to drink. He too succeeded inobtaining a full draught, and came up triumphantly.
"The water is a flatterer!" said the Earl. "It favours all."
The French secretary, Monsieur Nau, here came forward and took hisplace on the steps. No one heard, but every one knew the word he spokewas "Bessie," for Elizabeth Pierrepoint had long been the object of hisaffections. No doubt he hoped that he should obtain some encouragementfrom the water, even while he gave a little laugh of affectedincredulity as though only complying with a form to amuse the Queen.Down he went on his knees, bending over the pool, when behold he couldnot reach it! The streams that fed it were no longer issuing from therock, the water was subsiding rapidly. The farther he stooped, themore it retreated, till he had almost fallen over, and the guidescreamed out a note of warning, "Have a care, sir! If the water fleesyou, flee it will, and ye'll not mend matters by drowning yourself."
How he was to be drowned by water that fled from him was not clear, butwith a muttered malediction he arose and glanced round as if he thoughtthe mortification a trick on the part of the higher powers, since theEarl did not think him a match for the Countess's grandchild, and theQueen had made it known to him that she considered Bess Pierrepoint tohave too much of her grandmother's conditions to be likely to be a goodwife. There was a laugh too, scarce controlled by some of the lesswell-mannered of the suite, especially as the Earl, wishing to punishhis presumption, loudly set the example.
There was a pause, as the discomfited secretary came back, and theguide exclaimed, "Come, my masters, be not daunted! Will none of youcome on? Hath none of you faith in your love? Oh, fie!"
"We are married men, good women," said Richard, hoping to put an end tothe scene, "and thus can laugh at your well."
"But will not these pretty ladies try it? It speaks as sooth to lassas to lad."
"I am ready," said Barbara Mowbray, as Curll gave her his hand to boundlightly down the steps. And to the general amazement, no sooner had"Gilbert" echoed from her lips than the fountains again burst forth,the water rose, and she had no difficulty in reaching it, while no onecould help bursting forth in applause. Her Gilbert fervently kissedthe hand she gave him to aid her steps up the slope, and Dame Emmott,in triumphant congratulation, scanned them over and exclaimed, "Ay,trust the well for knowing true sweetheart and true maid. Come younext, fair mistress?" Poor Mary Seaton shook her head, with a lookthat the kindly woman understood, and she turned towards Cicely, whohad a girl's unthinking impulse of curiosity, and had already put herhand into Humfrey's, when his father exclaimed, "Nay, nay, the maid isyet too young!" and the Queen added, "Come back, thou silly little one,these tests be not for babes like thee."
She was forced to be obedient, but she pouted a little as she wasabsolutely held fast by Richard Talbot's strong hand. Humfrey wasdisappointed too; but all was bright with him just then, and as theparty turned to make the descent, he said to her, "It matters not,little Cis! I'm sure of thee with the water or without, and after all,thou couldst but have whispered my name, till my father lets us speakall out!"
They were too much hemmed in by other people for a private word, and alittle mischievous banter was going on with Sir Andrew Melville, whowas supposed to have a grave elderly courtship with Mistress Kennedy.Humfrey was left in the absolute bliss of ignorance, while the oldhabit and instinct of joy and gladness in his presence reasserteditself in Cis, so that, as he handed her down the rocks, she answeredin the old tone all his inquiries about his mother, and all else thatconcerned them at home, Diccon meantime risking his limbs by scramblingoutside the path, to keep abreast of his brother, and to put in hisword whenever he could.
On reaching the smithy, Humfrey had to go round another way to fetchhis horse, and could hardly hope to come up with the rest before theyreached Buxton. His brother was spared to go with him, but his fatherwas too important a part of the escort to be spared. So Cicely rodenear the Queen, and heard no more except the Earl's version of Dr.Jones's explanation of the intermitting spring. They reached home onlyjust in time to prepare for supper, and the two youths appeared almostsimultaneously, so that Mistress Talbot, sitting at her needle on thebroad terrace in front of the Earl's lodge, beheld to her amazement anddelight the figure that, grown and altered as it was, she recognised inan instant. In another second Humfrey had sprung from his horse,rushed up the steps, he knew not how, and the Queen, with tearstrembling in her eyes was saying, "Ah, Melville! see how sons meettheir mothers!"
The great clock was striking seven, a preposterously late hour forsupper, and etiquette was stronger than sentiment or perplexity. Everyone hastened to assume an evening toilette, for a riding-dress wouldhave been an insult to the Earl, and the bell soon clanged to call themdown to their places in the hall. Even Humfrey had brought in hiscloak-bag wherewithal to make himself presentable, and soon appeared, awell-knit and active figure, in a plain dark blue jerkin, with whiteslashes, and long hose knitted by his mother's dainty fingers, andwell-preserved shoes with blue rosettes, and a flat blue velvet cap,with an exquisite black and sapphire feather in it fastened by acurious brooch. His hair was so short that its naturally strong curlcould hardly be seen, his ruddy sunburnt face could hardly be calledhandsome, but it was full of frankness and intelligence, and beamingwith honest joy, and close to him moved little Diccon, hardly able torepress his ecstasy within company bounds, and letting it find vent inodd little gestures, wriggling with his body, playing tunes on hisknee, or making dancing-steps with his feet.
Lord Shrewsbury welcomed his young kinsman as one who had grown from amere boy into a sturdy and effective supporter. He made the new-comersit near him, and asked many questions, so that Humfrey was the chiefspeaker all supper time, with here and there a note from his father,the only person who had made the same voyage. All heard with eagerinterest of the voyage, the weeds in the Gulf Stream, the strange birdsand fishes, of Walter Raleigh's Virginian colony and its ill success,of the half-starved men whom Sir Richard Grenville had found only tooready to leave Roanoake, of dark-skinned Indians, of chases of Spanishships, of the Peak of Teneriffe rising white from the waves, ofphosphorescent seas, of storms, and of shark-catching.
Supper over, the audience again gathered round the young traveller, aperfect fountain of various and wonderful information to those who hadfor the most part never seen a book of travels. He narrated simply andwell, without his boyish shy embarrassment and awkwardness, andlikewise, as his father alone could judge, without boasting, though, ifto no one else, to Diccon and Cis, listening with wide open eyes, heseemed a hero of heroes. In the midst of his narration a message camethat the Queen of Scots requested the presence of Mistress Cicely.Humfrey stared in discomfiture, and asked when she would return.
"Not to-night," faltered the girl, and the mother added, for thebenefit of the bystanders, "For lack of other ladies of the household,much service hath of late fallen to Cicely and myself, and she sharesthe Queen's chamber."
Humfrey had to submit to exchange good-nights with Cicely, and she madeher way less willingly than usual to the apartments of the Queen, whowas being made ready for her bed. "Here comes our truant," sheexclaimed as the maiden entered. "I sent to rescue thee from thewestern seafarer who had clawed thee in his tarry clutch. Thou didstact the sister's part passing well. I hear my Lord and all his meinehave been sitting, open-mouthed, hearkening to his tales of savages andcannibals."
"O madam, he to
ld us of such lovely isles," said Cis. "The sea, hesaid, is blue, bluer than we can conceive, with white waves of dazzlingsurf, breaking on islands fringed with white shells and coral, and withpalms, their tops like the biggest ferns in the brake, and laden withred golden fruit as big as goose eggs. And the birds! O madam, mymother, the birds! They are small, small as our butterflies andbeetles, and they hang hovering and quivering over a flower so thatHumfrey thought they were moths, for he saw nothing but a whizzing anda whirring till he smote the pretty thing dead, and then he said that Ishould have wept for pity, for it was a little bird with a long bill,and a breast that shines red in one light, purple in another, andflame-coloured in a third. He has brought home the little skin andfeathers of it for me."
"Thou hast supped full of travellers' tales, my simple child."
"Yea, madam, but my Lord listened, and made Humfrey sit beside him, andmade much of him--my Lord himself! I would fain bring him to you,madam. It is so wondrous to hear him tell of the Red Men with crownsof feathers and belts of beads. Such gentle savages they be, and theirchiefs as courteous and stately as any of our princes, and yet thosecruel Spaniards make them slaves and force them to dig in mines, sothat they die and perish under their hands."
"And better so than that they should not come to the knowledge of thefaith," said Mary.
"I forgot that your Grace loves the Spaniards," said Cis, much in thetone in which she might have spoken of a taste in her Grace forspiders, adders, or any other noxious animal.
"One day my child will grow out of her little heretic prejudices, andlearn to love her mother's staunch friends, the champions of HolyChurch, and the representatives of true knighthood in these degeneratedays. Ah, child! couldst thou but see a true Spanish caballero, oragain, could I but show thee my noble cousin of Guise, then wouldstthou know how to rate these gross clownish English mastiffs who nowturn thy silly little brain. Ah, that thou couldst once meet a trueprince!"
"The well," murmured Cicely.
"Tush, child," said the Queen, amused. "What of that? Thy name is notCis, is it? 'Tis only the slough that serves thee for the nonce. Thegood youth will find himself linked to some homely, housewifely Cis indue time, when the Princess Bride is queening it in France or Austria,and will own that the well was wiser than he."
Poor Cis! If her inmost heart declared Humfrey Talbot to be princeenough for her, she durst not entertain the sentiment, not knowingwhether it were unworthy, and while Marie de Courcelles read aloud aFrench legend of a saint to soothe the Queen to sleep, she lay longingafter the more sympathetic mother, and wondering what was passing inthe hall.
Richard Talbot had communed with his wife's eyes, and made up his mindthat Humfrey should know the full truth before the Queen should enjoinhis being put off with the story of the parentage she had invented forBride Hepburn; and while some of the gentlemen followed their habit ofsitting late over the wine cup, he craved their leave to have his sonto himself a little while, and took him out in the summer twilight onthe greensward, going through the guards, for whom he, as the gentlemanwarder, had the password of the night. In compliment to the expeditionof the day it had been made "True love and the Flowing Well." Itsounded agreeable in Humfrey's ears; he repeated it again, and thenadded "Little Cis! she hath come to woman's estate, and she hath caughtsome of the captive lady's pretty tricks of the head and hands. Howlong hath she been so thick with her?"
"Since this journey. I have to speak with thee, my son."
"I wait your pleasure, sir," said Humfrey, and as his father paused amoment ere communicating his strange tidings, he rendered the matterless easy by saying, "I guess your purpose. If I may at once wed mylittle Cis I will send word to Sir John Norreys that I am not for thisexpedition to the Low Countries, though there is good and manly work tobe done there, and I have the offer of a command, but I gave not myword till I knew your will, and whether we might wed at once."
"Thou hast much to hear, my son."
"Nay, surely no one has come between!" exclaimed Humfrey. "Methoughtshe was less frank and more coy than of old. If that sneaking traitorBabington hath been making up to her I will slit his false gullet forhim."
"Hush, hush, Humfrey! thy seafaring boasts skill not here. No _man_hath come between thee and yonder poor maid."
"Poor! You mean not that she is sickly. Were she so, I would so tendher that she should be well for mere tenderness. But no, she was thevery image of health. No man, said you, father? Then it is a woman.Ah! my Lady Countess is it, bent on making her match her own way? Sir,you are too good and upright to let a tyrannous dame like that severbetween us, though she be near of kin to us. My mother might scrupleto cross her, but you have seen the world, sir."
"My lad, you are right in that it is a woman who stands between you andCis, but it is not the Countess. None would have the right to do so,save the maiden's own mother."
"Her mother! You have discovered her lineage! Can she have oughtagainst me?--I, your son, sir, of the Talbot blood, and not illendowed?"
"Alack, son, the Talbot may be a good dog but the lioness will scarceesteem him her mate. Riddles apart, it is proved beyond question thatour little maid is of birth as high as it is unhappy. Thou canst besecret, I know, Humfrey, and thou must be silent as the grave, for ittouches my honour and the poor child's liberty."
"Who is she, then?" demanded Humfrey sharply.
His father pointed to the Queen's window. Humfrey stared at him, andmuttered an ejaculation, then exclaimed, "How and when was this known?"
Richard went over the facts, giving as few names as possible, while hisson stood looking down and drawing lines with the point of his sword.
"I hoped," ended the father, "that these five years' absence might havemade thee forget thy childish inclination;" and as Humfrey, withoutraising his face, emphatically shook his head, he went on to add-- "So,my dear son, meseemeth that there is no remedy, but that, for her peaceand thine own, thou shouldest accept this offer of brave Norreys, andby the time the campaign is ended, they may be both safe in Scotland,out of reach of vexing thy heart, my poor boy."
"Is it so sure that her royal lineage will be owned?" muttered Humfrey."Out on me for saying so! But sure this lady hath made light enough ofher wedlock with yonder villain."
"Even so, but that was when she deemed its offspring safe beneath thewaves. I fear me that, however our poor damsel be regarded, she willbe treated as a mere bait and tool. If not bestowed on some foreignprince (and there hath been talk of dukes and archdukes), she may serveto tickle the pride of some Scottish thief, such as was her father."
"Sir! sir! how can you speak patiently of such profanation and cruelty?Papist butchers and Scottish thieves, for the child of your hearth!Were it not better that I stole her safely away and wedded her insecret, so that at least she might have an honest husband?"
"Nay, his honesty would scarce be thus manifest," said Richard, "evenif the maid would consent, which I think she would not. Her head istoo full of her new greatness to have room for thee, my poor lad. Bestthat thou shouldest face the truth. And, verily, what is it but herduty to obey her mother, her true and veritable mother, Humfrey? It isbut making her ease harder, and adding to her griefs, to strive toawaken any inclination she may have had for thee; and therefore it isthat I counsel thee, nay, I might command thee, to absent thyself whileit is still needful that she remain with us, passing for our daughter."
Humfrey still traced lines with his sword in the dust. He had alwaysbeen a strong-willed though an obedient and honourable boy, and hisfather felt that these five years had made a man of him, whom, in spiteof mediaeval obedience, it was not easy to dispose of arbitrarily.
"There's no haste," he muttered. "Norreys will not go till my Lord ofLeicester's commission be made out. It is five years since I was athome."
"My son, thou knowest that I would not send thee from me willingly. Ihad not done so ere now, but that it was well for thee to know theworld and men, and Sheffie
ld is a mere nest of intrigue and falsehood,where even if one keeps one's integrity, it is hard to be believed.But for my Lord, thy mother, and my poor folk, I would gladly go withthee to strike honest downright blows at a foe I could see and feel,rather than be nothing better than a warder, and be driven distractedwith women's tongues. Why, they have even set division between my Lordand his son Gilbert, who was ever the dearest to him. Young as he is,methinks Diccon would be better away with thee than where the very airsmells of plots and lies."
"I trow the Queen of Scots will not be here much longer," said Humfrey."Men say in London that Sir Ralf Sadler is even now setting forth totake charge of her, and send my Lord to London."
"We have had such hopes too often, my son," said Richard. "Nay, shehath left us more than once, but always to fall back upon Sheffieldlike a weight to the ground. But she is full of hope in her son, nowthat he is come of age, and hath put to death her great foe, the Earlof Morton."
"The poor lady might as well put her faith in--in a jelly-fish," saidHumfrey, falling on a comparison perfectly appreciated by the oldsailor.
"Heh? She will get naught but stings. How knowest thou?"
"Why, do none know here that King James is in the hands of him theycall the Master of Gray?"
"Queen Mary puts in him her chief hope."
"Then she hath indeed grasped a jelly-fish. Know you not, father,those proud and gay ones, with rose-coloured bladders and long bluebeards--blue as the azure of a herald's coat?"
"Ay, marry I do. I remember when I was a lad, in my first voyage,laying hold on one. I warrant you I danced about till I was nearlyoverboard, and my arm was as big as two for three days later. Is thefellow of that sort? The false Scot."
"Look you, father, I met in London that same Johnstone who was one ofthis lady's gentlemen at one time. You remember him. He breakfastedat Bridgefield once or twice ere the watch became more strict."
"Yea, I remember him. He was an honest fellow for a Scot."
"When he made out that I was the little lad he remembered, he was verycourteous, and desired his commendations to you and to my mother. Hehad been in Scotland, and had come south in the train of this rogue,Gray. I took him to see the old Pelican, and we had a breakfast aboardthere. He asked much after his poor Queen, whom he loves as much asever, and when he saw I was a man he could trust, your true son, hesaid that he saw less hope for her than ever in Scotland--her friendshave been slain or exiled, and the young generation that has grown uphave learned to dread her like an incarnation of the scarlet one ofBabylon. Their preachers would hail her as Satan loosed on them, andthe nobles dread nothing so much as being made to disgorge the lands ofthe Crown and the Church, on which they are battening. As to her son,he was fain enough to break forth from one set of tutors, and themessages of France and Spain tickled his fancy--but he is nought. Heis crammed with scholarship, and not without a shrewd apprehension;but, with respect be it spoken, more the stuff that court fools aremade of than kings. It may be, as a learned man told Johnstone, thatthe shock the Queen suffered when the brutes put Davy to death beforeher eyes, three months ere his birth, hath damaged his constitution,for he is at the mercy of whosoever chooses to lead him, and hath nowill of his own. This Master of Gray was at first inclined to theQueen's party, thinking more might be got by a reversal of all things,but now he finds the king's men so strong in the saddle, and theQueen's French kindred like to be too busy at home to aid her, whatdoth he do, but list to our Queen's offers, and this ambassage of his,which hath a colour of being for Queen Mary's release, is verily tomake terms with my Lord Treasurer and Sir Francis Walsingham for thepension he is to have for keeping his king in the same mind."
"Turning a son against a mother! I marvel that honourable counsellorscan bring themselves to the like."
"Policy, sir, policy," said Humfrey. "And this Gray maketh a fine showof chivalry and honour, insomuch that Sir Philip Sidney himself hathdesired his friendship; but, you see, the poor lady is as far fromfreedom as she was when first she came to Sheffield."
"She is very far from believing it, poor dame. I am sorry for her,Humfrey, more sorry than I ever thought I could be, now I have seenmore of her. My Lord himself says he never knew her break a promise.How gracious she is there is no telling."
"That we always knew," said Humfrey, looking somewhat amazed, that hishonoured father should have fallen under the spell of the "sirenbetween the cold earth and moon."
"Yes, gracious, and of a wondrous constancy of mind, and evenness oftemper," said Richard. "Now that thy mother and I have watched hermore closely, we can testify that, weary, worn, and sick of body and ofheart as she is, she never letteth a bitter or a chiding word pass herlips towards her servants. She hath nothing to lose by it. Theirfidelity is proven. They would stand by her to the last, use them asshe would, but assuredly their love must be doubly bound up in her whenthey see how she regardeth them before herself. Let what will be saidof her, son Humfrey, I shall always maintain that I never saw woman,save thine own good mother, of such evenness of condition, andsweetness of consideration for all about her, ay, and patience inadversity, such as, Heaven forbid, thy mother should ever know."
"Amen, and verily amen," said Humfrey. "Deem you then that she hathnot worked her own woe?"
"Nay, lad, what saith the Scripture, 'Judge not, and ye shall not bejudged'? How should I know what hath passed seventeen years back inScotland?"
"Ay, but for present plots and intrigues, judge you her a true woman?"
"Humfrey, thou hadst once a fox in a cage. When it found it vain todash against the bars, rememberest thou how it scratched away the earthin the rear, and then sat over the hole it had made, lest we should seeit?"
"The fox, say you, sir? Then you cannot call her ought but false."
"They tell me," said Sir Richard, "that ever since an Italian namedMachiavel wrote his Book of the Prince, statecraft hath been craftindeed, and princes suck in deceit with the very air they breathe. Ay,boy, it is what chiefly vexes me in the whole. I cannot doubt that sheis never so happy as when there is a plot or scheme toward, not merelyfor her own freedom, but the utter overthrow of our own graciousSovereign, who, if she hath kept this lady in durance, hath shieldedher from her own bloodthirsty subjects. And for dissembling, I neversaw her equal. Yet she, as thy mother tells me, is a pious and devoutwoman, who bears her troubles thus cheerfully and patiently, becauseshe deems them a martyrdom for her religion. Ay, all women are riddles,they say, but this one the most of all!"
"Thinkest thou that she hath tampered with--with that poor maiden'sfaith?" asked Humfrey huskily.
"I trow not yet, my son," replied Richard; "Cis is as open as ever tothy mother, for I cannot believe she hath yet learnt to dissemble, andI greatly suspect that the Queen, hoping to return to Scotland, may bewilling to keep her a Protestant, the better to win favour with herbrother and the lords of his council; but if he be such a cur as thousayest, all hope of honourable release is at an end. So thou seest,Humfrey, how it lies, and how, in my judgment, to remain here is but towring thine own heart, and bring the wench and thyself to sore straits.I lay not my commands on thee, a man grown, but such is my opinion onthe matter."
"I will not disobey you, father," said Humfrey, "but suffer me toconsider the matter."