Francis related all that had happened. Lord Stafford listened intently.
“Sir Amyas is an austere jailer,” he observed. “He thinketh to do his duty more acceptably to Elizabeth by treating Mary with rigor. Mary is quick of wit, and I doubt not that this will put her on the alert. Child, I 65 must trust to thy wit to help me in this. Canst thou compass it?”
“I am sure so,” answered Francis with the confidence of youth. “To-morrow I will again repair to the forked roads, and mayhap she will be there.”
“Mayhap,” said her father, “but I misdoubt it. Paulet may be suspicious of thee, but ’twill do no harm to be there. We will try to get the letters to her, but if we do not succeed then must Ballard, or Captain Fortescue as he calls himself, find some other means of communicating with her.”
“We will succeed. Never fear,” said Francis with conviction.
CHAPTER VII
FRANCIS TO THE FRONT
The next morning Francis was early at the crossroads but although she waited for several hours neither Mary nor any of her party appeared.