William's turn came next. Ah, what a parting was this! Undying love sat in their eyes as they kissed each other, and William said—
"Would God I had died for thee, my brother!"
And last of all came Susan, her sweet face suffused with tears and her grief so great that she was voiceless as she embraced her brother and kissed his lips again and again.
Many of the guests then crowded round, each with a loving word to comfort and console.
Then the Deputy Sheriff gave the signal, his men closed round the prisoner, and in a moment the march began which was to end in the Fleet prison.
When the Sheriff's posse had left the hall, and the doors were closed, a great silence fell upon the assembled guests; all looked upon Sir John, who, in reply to their questioning gaze, spoke briefly with agitated voice.
"My friends," said he, "a great trouble has fallen upon my house; I am smitten and afflicted, yet do I not despair! I will not disguise to you the terrible fact that my nephew Ralph has committed a crime against the laws of his country, and I know that to-morrow, when he will stand his trial in the Court of the Star Chamber, he will plead 'guilty.'
"Yet the deed he committed was but a boyish freak, and no blood was shed by him or his fellows. But in the eyes of the law it was 'conspiracy,' and the penalty may be imprisonment, with a heavy fine, or even the pillory and mutilation."
At these words a shudder ran through the throng, and some of the ladies wept uncontrollably.
The men's faces were sternly set, they maintained a rigid silence.