"He's to be made a duke, I hear."
"After Denman's wife tried to send him to heaven?"
"Ay, and would have succeeded, but for a mishap."
"Nay, nay. She might have sent him to hell, but never to heaven."
"Well, from all I hear no one could wish to be sent to the other world by a fairer hand. Men have it that when Denman married Master Leslie's daughter, he wedded a face as fair as an angel's."
"Well, it'll not save her from the gallows. Had her father not been such a Puritan, it might have gained her favour with King Charles, but I hear that the very name stinks in his nostrils. I am told that she nearly escaped, but a man rode night and day to Dover to tell Monk that she had been captured, and was safely lodged in Bedford Gaol."
"She must be a brave woman. Were she not the wife of such a fellow as Denman I would strike a blow for her deliverance. Bedford Gaol is not a hard place to get out of, for the gaoler not only loves his wine, but will take a bribe. Besides, the woman who tried to send Monk into eternity deserves some help. But say, what are we to do with this young jackanapes?"
"Do you think he's dead?"
"No; he lives, although there's no knowing how much we've hurt him. We dare not let it be known that we've had aught to do with him. Duke James was very careful to tell us that everything must be done in secret."
"Then let him lie, while we make our way to London."