Darnley; or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold

by G. P. R. James

The lady instantly put her hand into his. "Darnley!" said she, in a voice so low as to be inaudible to any one but himself, who, bending his head over her, trembled to catch every accent.

"Ah! Constance," he replied, in the same subdued tone, "what is it I have dared to say to you? what is it I have dared to hope? Friendless and fortuneless as I am, can you ever pardon my boldness?"

"Hush!" she said, "for pity's sake speak not in that way. Now I know you love me, that is enough. Friendless you are not, and fortuneless you cannot he, when all that is Constance's is yours. But see! they are going to dance; afterwards we will speak more. Do not think me bold, Darnley, or too easily won; but were I to affect that reserve which still perhaps might be right, we are so circumstanced that we might be ruined before we understood each other."

The knight poured forth a thousand thanks, and strove to explain to Lady Constance how deeply grateful he felt for that generous candour which is ever the companion of the truest modesty; and, the music now beginning, he led her through the dance with calm and graceful ease. As soon as the measure was ended, the queen's chamberlain pronounced, with a loud voice, that in the other halls the knights and ladies who had danced would find cool air and shady bowers; and, gladly taking advantage of this information, Sir Osborne led his partner into the chamber beyond, which by the queen's device had been divided into a thousand little arbours, where artificial trees and shrubs, mingled with real ones, and often ornamented with gilt fruit or flowers, formed a sort of enchanted garden, for the dancers to repose themselves; not very exquisite in its taste, indeed, but very much to the taste of the day.

Singling out the farthest of all the arbours, and the one which permitted its occupants most easily to observe the approach of any other party, Darnley led Lady Constance to one of the seats which it contained, and placing himself by her side, paused for a moment in silence, to enjoy the new delights that came thrilling upon his heart. "Oh, Constance!" said he at length, looking up to the sweet hazel eyes that gazed upon him through the meaningless mask; "never, never did I think to know such happiness on earth! Could I have dreamed of this when I left you for Flanders?"

"I do not know," replied Constance; "I have done nothing but think ever since--ever since you took my glove; and I have fancied that my dear father foresaw this, and wished it, as you tell me he was aware who you were; for never, even at that age, was I permitted to know, and converse with, and see intimately, any young cavalier but yourself. And then, do not you remember, when you used to teach me to shoot with the bow, how he would stand by and praise your shooting? Oh! I can call to mind a thousand things to make me think so."

"Could I but believe it," said Darnley, "I should be even happier than I am. But still, dear Constance, I hope, I trust, that in the end I may be enabled to seek your hand, not as an outcast wanderer. Your good cousin, Lord Darby, has brought me to the knowledge of the king, whose favour I have been happy enough to gain. He has retained me as one of the gentlemen of his privy chamber, appointed me apartments in the palace, which are just above your own; and I hope so far to win his regard by this opportunity, that he may be induced to hear my cause against the villain who has seized our inheritance, and do justice to us at last. And then, Constance, with rank, and fortune, and favour, all restored, Darnley may hope."

"And what if not restored, Darnley?" said Lady Constance. "Do you think that rank, or fortune, or favour, will make any difference in the regard of Constance de Grey? No, Darnley: if--but I won't say if---you love me, the cardinal may do what he will, but I will never wed another. He may find means, as they hint, to forfeit my English lands, yet he cannot take my French ones; and even if he did, I would rather be beggar and free than married to a man I do not love. Not that I do not love Darby as my cousin; he is kind, and generous, and frank; but oh!! it is very, very different. But you say that he introduced you to the king; I did not know you were even acquainted."

"It is a long story, dear Constance," replied the knight; "I will give it you some other time; but now tell me, while we are yet uninterrupted, how may I see you? To watch for you, even to catch a word during the day, certainly were delight; but still 'tis hard, situated as we are, not to be able to communicate together more freely. May not I come to see you?"

"Certainly," replied Lady Constance; "but you know that I can hardly have any private conversation with you even when you do; for good Dr. Wilbraham is with me the greater part of the morning, and one of my women always." She paused for a moment in thought, and, raising her eyes to his, "Darnley," she said, "I never could love a man in whose honour I could not entirely confide; therefore I do not think it shows me either weak or wrong when I say that I will be entirely guided by you. We are not situated as people in general, and therefore we cannot act as people in general do. Tell me, then, what you think right, and I will do it. But here are two of the maskers coming directly towards us. Say what must I do?"