"And did the Pursuivant come—only to find the Vicarage empty?"
"No," said Susan, "and that is my trouble! I showed the letter to Ralph, little thinking that any harm would ensue from my doing so.
"On the Wednesday, when I expected to see the Queen's officer, Ralph was absent from home all day, and on making inquiries I found he had gone on horseback into the woods.
"I began to be anxious, and I made inquiries about him in the stables and elsewhere. Then I found to my alarm that many of our young men were missing from Chiddingly that day.
"Ralph returned home in the afternoon, but he would tell me nothing—'these were not women's matters,' he said. That same night he took the road for London."
"And since then have you heard nothing?" said Sir John eagerly.
"Not until to-day," replied Susan. "This morning a messenger from Chiddingly brought me another letter from Mr. Geoffrey Fynes; he did not know that I had left home for London. It is this letter which fills me with anxiety and no little astonishment. I will read you the passage which deals with this business."
Susan's fair face flushed as she glanced over the letter which she held in her hand; then she read as follows—
"'There is danger abroad for some members of your house, I fear.
"'I am revealing a State secret to you at the risk of the loss of place, reputation, and, perhaps, even life itself! Yet I do not hesitate to tell you, my sweet Susan, all I know, for your interests are dearer to me than aught else in this world.