"I will obey the King in all things," I began.
"Well said, well said," murmured Arlington.
"Saving," I proceeded, thinking it my duty to make this addition, and not conceiving that there could be harm in it, "the liberties of the Kingdom and the safety of the Reformed Religion."
I felt Arlington's hand drawn half-away, but in an instant it was back, and he smiled no less pleasantly than before. But the Duke, less able or less careful to conceal his mood, frowned heavily, while Hudleston cried impatiently,
"Reservations! Kings are not served with reservations, sir."
He made me angry. Had the Duke said what he did, I would have taken it with a dutiful bow and a silent tongue. But who was this priest to rate me in such a style? My temper banished my prudence, and, bending my head towards him, I answered:
"Yet the Crown itself is worn with these reservations, sir, and the King himself allows them."
For a moment nobody spoke. Then Arlington said,
"I fear, sir, Mr Dale is as yet less a courtier than an honest gentleman."