"I see nothing for it but to wait," said Reginald. "It is not likely that our father will be passed over; indeed, I am not sure myself that I shall not come in for a certain amount of opprobrium."
"They cannot touch you, you were only a child," said Ann.
"No, they cannot touch me. I am in the king's service, and I did him homage before he came to the throne; but still there are so many with better claims seeking advancement, it is difficult for me to hold my own."
Even while they were speaking there was a sound of many steps outside in the street and in the hall, and a porter came in in haste.
"Sir," he said, "there are men here asking for the master in the king's name!"
Ann's face turned deathly white.
"So soon!" she exclaimed.
"The sooner the better," Reginald answered; "it will be the quicker over."
"My father is not here," he said, going into the hall and addressing the men. "I do not know even if he is in the house. You had better assure yourselves of this; but first let me see your order."
The commander of the company handed him a sheet of parchment. The colour mounted to the young man's face as he read the order of his father's arrest, "to answer certain questions as to his having been treasonably concerned in the late king's death".