A terrible state of affairs, indeed, for the haughty pride of Lord Wentworth!
"No matter!" he said beneath his breath, still pale with astonishment and rage,—"no matter! I will make them pay dear for their triumph. Calais is theirs now only too inevitably; but I will at all events hold out to the bitter end, and will sell them their priceless conquest at the price of as many dead bodies as possible. And as for the lover of beauteous Diane de Castro—"
He checked himself, while a hellish thought caused his sombre features to light up with a joyous gleam.
"As for the lover of the fair Diane," he resumed, with a sort of satisfaction, "if I bury myself, as I ought and will, under the ruins of Calais, we will try and see to it, at least, that he has not any reason to rejoice too heartily at our death; his suffering and vanquished rival has in store for him a fearful surprise, and let him beware!"
Thereupon he rushed from the house to encourage his troops and make his dispositions.
Soothed and hardened at once in a measure by reflecting on some evil project, he exhibited such imperturbable sang-froid that his very despair inspired hope in more than one doubting heart.
It is no part of the plan of this book to relate the story of the siege of Calais in all its details. François de Rabutin, in his "Guerres de Belgique," gives them in all their prolixity.
The days of the 5th and 6th of January were passed in equally energetic efforts on the one side and the other. Miners and soldiers on both sides did their duty with like courage and heroic obstinacy.
But the superb resistance of Lord Wentworth was rendered hopeless by the great superiority of the force opposed to him; Maréchal Strozzi, who had charge of the operations, seemed to divine all the means of defence and every movement of the English as if the ramparts of Calais had been transparent.
"The enemy must have a plan of the city in their possession," thought Lord Wentworth.