His bright glance went from face to face. He came slowly to the head of the table, and seated himself in the wand-bottomed chair there; his ministers were on their feet waiting for him to speak. Surprised as they were by this unexpected appearance, their agitation showed in their faces, Shrewsbury in particular was colourless; only Lord Godolphin remained perfectly composed.
The King continued to look from one to the other; he wore a heavy brown velvet thickly braided with gold, and held in his right hand a paper written upon, and folded across.
"Affairs," he said, in his tired voice, with his peculiar short manner of speaking, "have reached a crisis, my lords, and I have come to acquaint you with my resolution."
He leant forward a little, and rested his right arm on the table, keeping his dark, powerful eyes fixed on these ministers whom he read so perfectly.
"My lords," he continued quietly, almost gently, "it is a year since I took up the government of this country, and in that time I have done nothing to please any one of you." He coughed and pressed his handkerchief to his lips. "I have done my best to govern justly," he added proudly, "but I confess I took up a task beyond my powers. My lords, I cannot rule a disaffected country with disaffected ministers. I admit I do not understand you. As I am often reminded, I am a foreigner."
The five nobles made a common movement as of painful expectation. The King's plain speaking took all words from them; Shrewsbury was painfully agitated.
"What doth Your Majesty propose?" asked Halifax anxiously.
The King opened out the paper on the dark walnut table, and laid his right hand on it. He wore round this wrist a bracelet of red glass or crystal, cut into facets, that caught and threw back the light; it gleamed now strongly through the thick Bruges lace of his ruffles.
"I mean," he said, "to resign the crown and return to Holland—where I am needed," he added strongly.
"My God!" exclaimed Caermarthen; the rest were silent.