"He won't come," he said; "and if he came, he would be my ally, not yours."
She answered now haughtily and coldly:
"Sir, Lord Carford is a suitor for my hand. It is in your Grace's knowledge that he is."
"But he thinks a hand none the worse because I've kissed it," retorted Monmouth. "You don't know how amiable a husband you're to have, Mistress Barbara."
I was on my feet now, and, peering round the chair which hid me from them, I could see her standing against the wall, with Monmouth opposite to her. He offered to seize her hand, but she drew it away sharply. With a laugh he stepped nearer to her. A slight sound caught my ear, and, turning my head, I saw Carford on the lowest step of the stairs; he was looking at the pair, and a moment later stepped backwards, till he was almost hidden from my sight, though I could still make out the shape of his figure. A cry of triumph from Monmouth echoed low but intense through the hall; he had caught the elusive hand and was kissing it passionately. Barbara stood still and stiff. The Duke, keeping her hand still in his, said mockingly:
"You pretty fool, would you refuse fortune? Hark, madame, I am a King's son."
I saw no movement in her, but the light was dim. He went on, lowering his voice a little, yet not much.
"And I may be a King; stranger things have come to pass. Wouldn't you like to be a Queen?" He laughed as he put the question; he lacked the care or the cunning to make even a show of honesty.
"Let me go," I heard her whisper in a strained, timid voice.
"Well, for to-night you shall go, sweetheart, but not without a kiss, I swear."