“Do you believe it?”
“I do not, madame. If I did I should not be here at present.”
“Does any subject of mine believe it?”
“They suspend their judgment. They wait to learn the truth from the sequel.”
“You mean?”
“That if your motive prove to be such as de Quadra and others allege, they will be in danger of believing.”
“Be plain, man, in God’s name. What exactly is alleged?”
He obeyed her very fully.
“That my lord contrived the killing of his wife so that he might have liberty to marry your Majesty, and that your Majesty was privy to the deed.” He spoke out boldly, and hurried on before she could let loose her wrath. “It is still in your power, madame, to save your honour, which is now in peril. But there is only one way in which you can accomplish it. If you put from you all thought of marrying Lord Robert, England will believe that de Quadra and those others lied. If you persist and carry out your intention, you proclaim the truth of his report; and you see what must inevitably follow.”
She saw indeed, and, seeing, was afraid.