As I rode along I wondered that I had been content to wait in London so long, and had not, without the duke's command, sought to outwit the old man I had seen in the lonely house. For although I believed the old man had never imagined that I should escape alive, and therefore would not remove the contract from its hiding place until he was able to make terms with the king, I remembered that several days had elapsed wherein he might have carried it I know not whither. It was then I remembered that the great thought in my mind had not been to obtain the parchment which might alter the destiny of the nation, but to give help to the woman with whom I had so strangely been brought into contact. In truth it came to me that so eager had I been to hear news of her after I had returned to London town that I had scarcely ever thought of the mission which had brought us together. At this I grew angry with myself, for although she was very fair to look upon she was a Dissenter at heart, the wife of a man who had taken part in the death of the king's father, and was even then hiding from those who would bring her to punishment. As I said, I grew angry with myself because of this, yet in spite of my anger I wondered much concerning her, and prayed most earnestly for her safety and her welfare.
By the time daylight dawned I was far away from London, and was riding through one of the fairest tracts of country of which perchance our country can boast. I have, during my life, had occasion to ride through many parts of our land, but never do I remember thinking aught so fair as that through which I passed that day. The sun rose in a cloudless sky, the birds were singing all around me as they perched upon the leafy trees, while on my right hand, and on my left, the countryside rose and fell in gentle hills and dales.
"How quiet and restful everything is," I thought, and then I reflected that the day was the Sabbath, so I let Black Ben drop into a walk, in order that I might be able to enjoy with more comfort the beauty of the scene.
The sun was high in the heavens when I saw that I was drawing near a small town, so I determined that I would stay there for breakfast, never dreaming that I should pass through such a strange experience, and yet one the like of which was being witnessed all over the country.
CHAPTER XIX
THE SCENE AT THE PARISH CHURCH
"What place is this?" I asked of a peasant as I drew near the town I have mentioned.
"Maidstone," was the reply. "Be you going to the church?"