[CHAPTER V.]
HOW CHARLES ARRIVED AT TRENT.
Next day, about an hour before noon, Colonel Wyndham and his lovely cousin mounted their steeds and rode towards Sherborne to meet the king. They had not got beyond the colonel's domain when he went into a field to speak to some of his men, leaving Juliana beneath a tree, which threw its branches across the road. She had been alone for a few minutes, when a solitary horseman was seen coming from the direction of Sherborne.
For a moment her expectations were raised, but as the horseman drew nearer she judged from his garb and general appearance that he could only be a farmer's son. Presently the young man rode up, and doffed his cap respectfully. He was excessively swarthy, and his hair was clipped very close to his head. With a certain freedom of manner, which Juliana did not at all like, he inquired whether Colonel Wyndham dwelt thereabouts.
"The colonel is in yonder field," she replied. "You can go to him, if you think proper."
"No; I will wait for him here," said the young man. "If I am not mistaken, you are his cousin, Mistress Juliana Coningsby."
The young lady regarded him haughtily, as much as to say, "What can it matter to you who I am?"
"Nay, I meant no offence," he said, construing the look correctly. "If you are Mistress Juliana Coningsby, as I shrewdly suspect, report has done you scant justice."
Juliana's proud lip slightly curled.
"You are reported to be very handsome, but more might be said, methinks," continued the young man, scarcely repressing his admiration.