'A deputation to whom?' queried my mistress as he paused.
'To you, madam,' was the instant response. 'You see here,' waving his hand towards those that accompanied him, 'the Marquis of Northampton and the Earls of Arundel, Huntingdon and Pembroke. We have come to announce to you the sorrowful tidings of the death of the king, your cousin.'
'Dead! Is he dead?' exclaimed Lady Jane sadly.
'Yes, madam, he is dead.'
'Ah! poor Edward! Kings as well as paupers have to die.' The tears came into her eyes.
'Yes, madam,' said the Marquis of Northampton. 'Death comes to all alike. High and low, rich and poor, good and bad, all have to die.'
'Death is the last enemy,' observed the Earl of Arundel sententiously.
'I like better to think of him as a friend,' said Lady Jane, 'who comes when all others fail us, like a nurse saying, "My child, lie down and sleep. You are tired now, therefore all goes wrong. You will awake by and bye to a new life where everything is well."'
Her voice became lower and lower as she spoke, and a beautiful look shone in her face, as of one whose faith is great. One or two of the gentlemen seemed impressed, but the Duke of Northumberland frowned impatiently.
'We have no time to stand sentimentalizing here,' he said. Then, addressing Lady Jane more particularly, he continued, 'Madam, we have much to say to you, and there are great matters to consider. The king is dead, but there is the kingdom.'