“But whither he went, or what he did, nobody knew nor cared to know.
“It was in the month of June, and on the greenest turf beneath an old oak tree there sat three persons.
“Two of the three were the adopted sons, and the third a most lovely maiden, whose parents, when dying, had left her to the care of old Warbeck.
“They were conversing most merrily, when the elder one, who was called Edward, said, playfully,
“‘You have twined a chaplet for my brother, dearest Leoline; have you not a flower for me?’
“The beautiful maid blushed deeply, and culling from her flowers the freshest of the roses, began to weave them into a chaplet for him.
“At this moment a servant came up to them, saying that my lord desired to see Leoline immediately.
“The maiden rose, and hastened to the old lord, her guardian, leaving the two young men alone.
“For a moment they spoke not, but maintained a dead silence.
“Charley braced on his sword, which he had carelessly thrown on the grass; but Ned gathered up the flowers that had been plucked by the fair hands of Leoline.