"It is beyond my capacity, sire," replied Cecil, "and it only remains for me to inquire what your Majesty would have further done."
"They must all be tried, man; they must all be tried," said King James; "but the plague being still in London, we will have them brought to Winchester. Though it may be as well to have the man called Markham and the two priests fetched hither; for we would fain ask our fair cousin Arabella whether they are the men she saw in Cambridgeshire."
"May not that be better done at the trial, sire?" asked Cecil, who would fain have prevented the King, if possible, from stepping out of the usual course of proceeding.
"No, no, man," cried James, "we will have it so. A little preliminary investigation by ourselves will save the lawyers a great deal of trouble. And you, sir," he continued, addressing William Seymour, "as you have behaved yourself very discreetly in this affair, shall go over on the Wednesday morning,--was it not Wednesday, we said?--with another gentleman, to escort the Lady Arabella to our court. What, sir, you do not look pleased!"
William Seymour, who, to say truth, was only displeased at having any one else joined with him in the commission, immediately replied, "I am here only to obey your Majesty's command, and am always well pleased to do so."
"That is right, sir, that is right," said the King; "always act as wisely as you have done in this, and you shall have advancement;--you may now retire."
Seymour gladly obeyed the monarch's commands; for though he was of a loyal race and disposition, it was very difficult to keep up a remembrance of what is always due to a monarch for his very office sake, in the presence of one whose character as well as his demeanour, whose acts as well as his person, had so little in them to secure respect. He had pleasant anticipations before him, however; and the rest of the evening was passed in thinking of the sweet task appointed for the following Wednesday, or in building airy structures, with the aid of those master architects, Hope and Imagination.
Alas! how often does it happen that the events to which we look forward with the brightest expectations, which seem to our eyes full of coming joy, are fraught with sorrow and disaster! We must not exactly say, that the day to which Seymour stretched the longing eyes of love and hope, proved the most unfortunate in his life, for such was not the case. There was a far darker and more fatal one beyond; but still the events it brought forth were amongst the most unpleasant which had yet befallen him in life.
The morning of that Wednesday dawned brightly; the sky was clear and serene; there was sufficient air to refresh the traveller as he rode along; and William Seymour, followed by his own servants, and accompanied by Sir Lewis Lewkenor, who held the office of master of the ceremonies at the King's court, proceeded at a quick pace to the temporary residence of the Lady Arabella Stuart.
They found her dressed and waiting for them, her servants all prepared, and her own horse saddled, and at the door. She could not refrain from greeting Seymour with more warmth than a mere stranger; and, to say the truth, her countenance fell a little at the sight of his companion; for she had hoped that they might enjoy, during their two hours' ride, some of that private conversation which they had now but too few opportunities of obtaining. Sir Lewis, perhaps, remarked this difference of manner towards himself and Seymour, with whom he had been giving himself some airs of importance as they came along, to which the young gentleman, occupied with his own thoughts, had paid but little attention. The knight, at all events, chose the moment of their departure for the display of his official consequence; and when Arabella, after taking leave of her aunt, approached the side of her horse, in order to mount, he advanced as of right to assist her. But Seymour took one step forward between him and the lady, and, with a light and easy hand, lifted her at once to the saddle.