"Whatever betide," said the King, "remember this—I will never forsake my children's heritage nor my faith."
He had always scrupulously kept his promise never to discuss religion with his Papist Queen, and he did not emphasize his resolve to remain for ever faithful to the Church of England. She knew this constancy of his and admired it, but now she said nothing of these matters.
"Whatever befall," she replied, "you are always the King."
"I shall not forget it," he said, with a kind of passion.
Another moment of silence passed, during which their thoughts burnt like fire in their hearts and brains, then he moved to go, stammering farewells.
Thrice he turned back to embrace her again, thrice her hands clung to him with a desperation almost beyond her control, while her lips tried to form in words what no words could say.
Then at length he was gone, and she heard the door shut.
"I will not watch him ride away," she said to herself. "I will wait and watch his return."
Suddenly she thought of Lady Strafford and of the last time she had spoken with the Countess.
"O, God," she cried, "if I should never see Charles again!"