'No! no! no!' I cried.
'But I repeat, they would,' he said. 'The penalty of high treason is execution——'
'Oh, what must he do? How can he be saved?' wailed I, for it seemed to me my beloved, between the villainy of Sir Claudius and the vengeance of Queen Mary's adherents, was like one between Scylla and Charybdis, bound to perish in any case.
'He ought to have a friend,' said the wily voice of Sir Claudius, 'a friend who would set him free and counsel him to quit the country, and procure him a secret passage to Holland——'
'Will you do it?' I interrupted, falling upon my knees before him. 'You say you love me. Then do this thing for me. I will believe you, if you will do it for me,' I went on, beseechingly. 'Set Sir Hubert free, let him leave the country, get him across to Holland, and I will——' I paused. I was going to say, 'esteem you highly and pray for you all my life,' but recognized that would not content him, that indeed he would not care for that.
'You will what?' he asked sharply.
'I will——' again I paused. He would not be content with that which I would promise.
'I will do it on one condition,' he said, 'and only one.'
'And that is?'
But I knew, and my heart almost ceased beating, whilst a giddiness to which I was never subject made my head swim.