"You did not then inform him of Count Heinrich's appeal until after your unsuccessful assault?"
"I have no remembrance of ever so informing him, your Majesty. Shortly after the first attack I was wounded in the mouth and could not speak for many days."
"You have entirely recovered, I am pleased to see, and no doubt your present speaking is much to the liking of the Archbishop. You shamelessly admit, then, that you deceived your master, and at the same time gravely wronged Count Heinrich of Thuron by neglecting to report his appeal."
"I fully admit it, your Majesty, and am prepared to suffer for my crime."
"Arrest this man, and see to it that he has no communication with any, until sentence is passed upon him."
The Archbishop of Treves, who had been visibly uneasy during the latter part of this cross-examination, now intervened.
"Your Majesty, permit me to mend an answer I gave to you. When I replied that I knew nothing of such an appeal as Heinrich of Thuron is said to have made——"
"Said to have made, my Lord? The appeal is proven through the mouth of your own envoy. It seems that the caution to speak the truth, of which you complained, has been more than justified. I warn you, my Lord, that you are treading on dangerous ground in thus attempting to juggle with me."
"I beg to say, your Majesty, that two years have passed since the events under discussion took place, and men's memories are sometimes at fault when even shorter periods are in question. For instance, my trusty ally, who leaped so quickly into your Majesty's favour, doubtless forgets that a few brief days since he bound himself solemnly to stand or fall with me, whereas he has fallen alone—at your Majesty's feet."
"I was coerced," explained Von Hochstaden.