“I am ready to answer his questions,” said Gunnora. “Let him propose them.”
“First, let me tell you, dame,” said the stranger, “that your grandsons devotion to Queen Mary shall not pass unrequited. Ere many days—perchance many hours—shall have passed, he shall exchange his serge doublet for a suit of velvet.”
“You hear that, mother,” exclaimed Gilbert, joyfully.
“Who are you that make him the offer?” asked Gunnora, stedfastly regarding the stranger.
“You shall know, anon,” he replied. “Suffice it, I can make good my words. Your presence is required in the Tower.”
“By the Lady Jane,—I should say by the queen?” rejoined Gunnora.
“By the Privy Council,” returned the stranger.
“What do they seek from me?” demanded the old woman.
“To testify to the death of his late Majesty, King Edward the Sixth,” replied the other.
“Ha!” exclaimed Gunnora.