"Ha!" cried the Lord of Imbercourt, "this must be looked to. Some one hand him a book. Methinks thou turnest mighty pale," he added, speaking to the trooper as his command was obeyed; and a volume of the archives of Burgundy was placed in the man's hand. "There, read me that sentence!"
With trembling hands the man held the book, gazing with a white face, and lack-lustre eyes, upon the characters which it contained, and which were evidently to him meaningless enough. After a moment's vain effort to perform the impossible task, he lifted his eyes, and rolled them, full of dismay and detected guilt, round the faces of all present; while Maillotin du Bac, in rage and disappointment, set his teeth firm in his pale lip, and stamped his foot heavily upon the ground.
The brow of the Chancellor Hugonet darkened; and, pointing to the man who had so evidently committed a gross and wilful perjury, he exclaimed, "Take him away, and let him be well guarded." The command was immediately obeyed, and the trooper was hurried out of the chamber by two of the attendants.
"Do you not think, my lords," said the low, sweet voice of Mary of Burgundy, "that we may dismiss this cause? If it be supported by such witnesses as these, it will bring more disgrace upon our nation than can be well wiped off."
"We must not forget, madam," replied Imbercourt, "that here is justice to be done to the characters of two persons, the accused and his accuser; and though the nature of the testimony offered as yet may well induce us to view this charge with suspicion, yet we should be doing less than justice to this young citizen of your good town of Ghent, did we not give him the opportunity of clearing his character fully from even a shade of doubt. Sir Maillotin du Bac," he added somewhat sternly, "have you any other testimony to produce in support of your accusation?"
"Methinks," replied the Prevot boldly, "that my own word and testimony should be enough."
"Not here, sir," replied Imbercourt. "You, young gentleman," he added, addressing the young burgher, "you have heard the charge against you; do you desire to speak in your defence?"
"I pray thee, do so, young sir," said the princess, bending slightly forward; "we would fain believe you wholly innocent, for we cannot believe that our noble father, the Duke Charles, can have done anything to turn one true heart against him; and we would fain hear that such a word as treason is unknown in the good land of Flanders, except in the mouths of base calumniators, such as the man who, but now, has been taken hence."
Albert Maurice bent low his head, and then raising his eyes, he replied, "Madam, for your good opinion I would plead long; and, that I felt conscious of my innocence, and able to establish it before you, you may, in some degree, see, by the bold appeal I have made to your justice, rather than trust myself in the hands of one whose character is not famous for equal dealing. It seldom happens, lady, that even in this evil world one man persecutes another without some motive, springing from either avarice, ambition, or revenge; and yon Prevot's bare word, perhaps, might weigh even against the fair character I trust I have hitherto borne, could I not prove that, besides the general hate which he bears towards the citizens of Ghent, he has cause of personal animosity against myself. The tale is soon told, and the proofs of its veracity are in my hand," he added, laying his finger upon the papers which he had collected to prove his innocence. "In the small town of Gembloux, whither I had gone, on business relating to the traffic of my house, I heard a woman's scream, and saw the wife of an honest burgher insulted and ill-treated at her own door by one of the brutal soldiers of that Prevot's band; a band, lady, which, by their insolent contempt of all the ordinary charities and feelings of civil life, have brought more hatred upon the rulers of Flanders than ever your noble father dreamt of, and than ever their services against the brigands can repay. But no more on that score," he continued, as the Lord of Imbercourt held up his hand with a warning gesture. "Suffice it, I saw a woman ill-treated by one of the soldiers of his band, and I struck the miscreant to the earth in the very deed; and where is there a Christian man, be he knight or noble, citizen or peasant, who shall say that I did wrong? Before I was aware, however, I was seized and overpowered by numbers, my arms tied with cords, my horse-boy beaten and driven out of the town, my baggage plundered, and several sealed letters which I was bearing from Namur to Ghent broken open, and read for the purpose of forging accusations against me."
"You hear, lords, you hear!" exclaimed Maillotin du Bac; "he acknowledges the fact of the letters, mark that."