“You make me bold to speak. Cut the web, Sire, which binds thy crown to France. There is the only danger.”
“Thou art wrong, Nelly, wrong!” He spoke in deep, firm accents. “I have decided otherwise.”
He rose abruptly, his brow clouded with thought. She took his hand tenderly.
“Then, change your mind, Sire,” she pleaded; “for I can prove–”
“What, girl?” he asked eagerly, his curiosity awakened by her manner.
Nell did not respond. To continue would reveal Adair, and she could not think of that.
“What, I say?” again asked Charles, impatiently.
“To-morrow, Sire,” laughed Nell, evasively.
“Aye, to-morrow and to-morrow!” petulantly repeated the King.
He was about to demand a direct reply but was stayed by the sound of a struggle without.