"We will defend your majesty to the last," cried the Lords Talbot and Wilmot, and several others.
"Alas! how many are gone!" exclaimed Charles. "Brave Sir John Douglas dead—the Duke of Hamilton mortally wounded. Where is Lord Sinclair?—where are others of my Scottish peers?—where is Sir James Hamilton?—where is Sir Alexander Forbes?"
"Sir James Hamilton is killed, my liege," replied Careless. "Sir Alexander Forbes is badly hurt—perhaps dead. Several of the Scottish nobles have been taken prisoners in the city. But think not of them—think of your own safety. What will you do?"
"Make all haste to London," replied the king. "By riding hard I shall arrive there before tidings of the battle can be received."
"A good plan," cried Lord Wilmot. "Your majesty has many staunch adherents in London."
"I like not the plan," cried the Duke of Buckingham. "If adopted, it will end in your majesty's destruction. The moment your defeat is known, your adherents will fall from you, and you will be at the mercy of your enemies."
Almost all the others concurred with the duke in opinion, and were strenuously opposed to the king's plan.
"Nay, then," he exclaimed, "there is nothing for it but Scotland. I will go thither."
"Your majesty has decided right," observed Lesley.
"His approval is enough to make me change my mind," observed Charles, withdrawing to a short distance with the Earl of Derby.