Clarice noticed that Sir Ronald did admire Isabel Gordon. She overheard him say to Lady Hermione:
“If you had searched the world through, you could not have found a lovelier ‘Evening.’”
“I think Clarice is the more beautiful of the two,” Lady Hermione replied.
“I like the gleam of ‘starlight’ better than the glitter of ‘sunshine,’” he said, and Clarice Severn overheard the words.
“It will not be always,” she said to herself; “the time will come when he will love me best.”
“Those are two beautiful pictures,” said Kenelm; “but we must have variety. The next should be full of figures. What is it? A scene from ‘Henry VIII.’”
It was a simple little scene that Lady Hermione had read in some historical novel: Queen Anne Boleyn, dressed for some grand court ceremonial, was seated in an armchair waiting while a white ostrich plume was fastened in her dress. Her beautiful maid of honor, Jane Seymour, was standing behind the chair. The king, waiting half impatiently, half admiringly, for the queen, stood watching the little group. The attendant sewing on the plume let it fall. Jane Seymour raised it from the ground. Bluff Henry said with a smile:
“Never mind; keep it for your own adornment, Lady Jane.”
It was then, and for the first time, that the unhappy Anne Boleyn suspected the love of her false lord had left her. There was some discussion as to how the different characters should be distributed. Sir Ronald was to be King Henry.
“Clarice,” said Lady Hermione, “you will make a better queen than I can. I will be Jane Seymour.”