The queen turned quickly toward her.
“Where didst thou see him?” she asked.
Mistress Betty hesitated, casting a doubtful glance at the others.
“Speak,” said Anne, impatiently; “here all are friends.”
“I saw him at Kimbolton, madam,” Betty answered softly, blushing at Mrs. Wyatt’s reproachful glance.
“Ah, a partisan of the princess dowager,” exclaimed Lady Rochford, with contempt; “you chose poor company, Mistress Wyatt, and a poor adviser.”
“A man does not carry his politics upon his face,” said Mary Wyatt, indignantly, “anymore than his heart upon his sleeve.”
“Hush!” said the queen, “it does not matter. Mistress Carew, how came he to Kimbolton, and wherefore?”
Betty briefly related the accidental encounter at the Blue Boar and the exploit of the piebald horse.
“Saw he the queen—I mean, the princess?” Anne asked quickly.