"By the Rood of Broomholme! I will slay him, even as Fynart slew his ancestor at Lithgow Bridge, by one thrust of a sharp rapier—yea, in the face of men!" exclaimed Bolton.
"Whom meanest thou?"
"The Lord Darnley!"
"Soh! a rare speech, and a bold one too, for the lieutenant of the guard!" said the Earl. "This is treason."
"But even-handed justice though," began Ormiston; "and by"——
"Now, peace with thy 'cock and pie.'"
"Bear with me a moment, my lord and friend, and I will tell thee how and whence this anger sprung."
But the cause thereof is of so much importance to this history, that it deserves a chapter to itself.
CHAPTER XIX.
MARIETTE AND DARNLEY.