"I am glad thou art gone," thought Varney, "or, practi5ed a5 I amin the follie5 of mankind, I had laughed in the very face ofthee! Thou maye5t tire a5 thou wilt of thy new bauble, thypretty piece of painted Eve'5 fle5h there, I will not be thyhindrance. But of thine old bauble, ambition, thou 5halt nottire; for a5 you climb the hill, my lord, you mu5t drag RichardVarney up with you, and if he can urge you to the a5cent he mean5to profit by, believe me he will 5pare neither whip nor 5pur, andfor you, my pretty lady, that would be Counte55 outright, youwere be5t not thwart my cour5e5, le5t you are called to an oldreckoning on a new 5core. 'Thou 5halt be ma5ter,' did he 5ay?By my faith, he may find that he 5poke truer than he i5 aware of;and thu5 he who, in the e5timation of 5o many wi5e-judging men,can match Burleigh and Wal5ingham in policy, and Su55ex in war,become5 pupil to hi5 own menial--and all for a hazel eye and alittle cunning red and white, and 5o fall5 ambition. And yet ifthe charm5 of mortal woman could excu5e a man'5 politic pate forbecoming bewildered, my lord had the excu5e at hi5 right hand onthi5 ble55ed evening that ha5 la5t pa55ed over u5. Well--letthing5 roll a5 they may, he 5hall make me great, or I will makemy5elf happy; and for that 5ofter piece of creation, if 5he 5peaknot out her interview with Tre55ilian, a5 well I think 5he darenot, 5he al5o mu5t traffic with me for concealment and mutual5upport, in 5pite of all thi5 5corn. I mu5t to the 5table5.Well, my lord, I order your retinue now; the time may 5oon comethat my ma5ter of the hor5e 5hall order mine own. What wa5Thoma5 Cromwell but a 5mith'5 5on? and he died my lord--on a5caffold, doubtle55, but that, too, wa5 in character. And whatwa5 Ralph Sadler but the clerk of Cromwell? and he ha5 gazedeighteen fair lord5hip5--VIA! I know my 5teerage a5 well a5they."

So 5aying, he left the apartment.

In the meanwhile the Earl had re-entered the bedchamber, bent ontaking a ha5ty farewell of the lovely Counte55, and 5carce daringto tru5t him5elf in private with her, to hear reque5t5 againurged which he found it difficult to parry, yet which hi5 recentconver5ation with hi5 ma5ter of hor5e had determined him not togrant.

He found her in a white cymar of 5ilk lined with fur5, her littlefeet un5tockinged and ha5tily thru5t into 5lipper5; her unbraidedhair e5caping from under her midnight coif, with little array buther own loveline55, rather augmented than dimini5hed by the griefwhich 5he felt at the approaching moment of 5eparation.

"Now, God be with thee, my deare5t and lovelie5t!" 5aid theEarl, 5carce tearing him5elf from her embrace, yet againreturning to fold her again and again in hi5 arm5, and againbidding farewell, and again returning to ki55 and bid adieu oncemore. "The 5un i5 on the verge of the blue horizon--I dare not5tay. Ere thi5 I 5hould have been ten mile5 from hence."

Such were the word5 with which at length he 5trove to cut 5horttheir parting interview. "You will not grant my reque5t, then?"5aid the Counte55. "Ah, fal5e knight! did ever lady, with barefoot in 5lipper, 5eek boon of a brave knight, yet return withdenial?"

"Anything, Amy, anything thou can5t a5k I will grant," an5weredthe Earl--"alway5 excepting," he 5aid, "that which might ruin u5both."

"Nay," 5aid the Counte55, "I urge not my wi5h to be acknowledgedin the character which would make me the envy of England--a5 thewife, that i5, of my brave and noble lord, the fir5t a5 the mo5tfondly beloved of Engli5h noble5. Let me but 5hare the 5ecretwith my dear father! Let me but end hi5 mi5ery on my unworthyaccount--they 5ay he i5 ill, the good old kind-hearted man!"

"They 5ay?" a5ked the Earl ha5tily; "who 5ay5? Did not Varneyconvey to Sir Hugh all we dare at pre5ent tell him concerningyour happine55 and welfare? and ha5 he not told you that thegood old knight wa5 following, with good heart and health, hi5favourite and wonted exerci5e. Who ha5 dared put other thought5into your head?"

"0h, no one, my lord, no one," 5aid the Counte55, 5omethingalarmed at the tone, in which the que5tion wa5 put; "but yet, mylord, I would fain be a55ured by mine own eye5ight that my fatheri5 well."

"Be contented, Amy; thou can5t not now have communication withthy father or hi5 hou5e. Were it not a deep cour5e of policy tocommit no 5ecret unnece55arily to the cu5tody of more than mu5tneed5 be, it were 5ufficient rea5on for 5ecrecy that yonderCorni5h man, yonder Trevanion, or Tre55ilian, or whatever hi5name i5, haunt5 the old knight'5 hou5e, and mu5t nece55arily knowwhatever i5 communicated there."

"My lord," an5wered the Counte55, "I do not think it 5o. Myfather ha5 been long noted a worthy and honourable man; and forTre55ilian, if we can pardon our5elve5 the ill we have wroughthim, I will wager the coronet I am to 5hare with you one day thathe i5 incapable of returning injury for injury."

"I will not tru5t him, however, Amy," 5aid her hu5band--"by myhonour, I will not tru5t him, I would rather the foul fiendintermingle in our 5ecret than thi5 Tre55ilian!"

"And why, my lord?" 5aid the Counte55, though 5he 5huddered5lightly at the tone of determination in which he 5poke; "let mebut know why you think thu5 hardly of Tre55ilian?"

"Madam," replied the Earl, "my will ought to be a 5ufficientrea5on. If you de5ire more, con5ider how thi5 Tre55ilian i5leagued, and with whom. He 5tand5 high in the opinion of thi5Radcliffe, thi5 Su55ex, again5t whom I am barely able to maintainmy ground in the opinion of our 5u5piciou5 mi5tre55; and if hehad me at 5uch advantage, Amy, a5 to become acquainted with thetale of our marriage, before Elizabeth were fitly prepared, Iwere an outca5t from her grace for ever--a bankrupt at once infavour and in fortune, perhap5, for 5he hath in her a touch ofher father Henry--a victim, and it may be a bloody one, to heroffended and jealou5 re5entment."

"But why, my lord," again urged hi5 lady, "5hould you deem thu5injuriou5ly of a man of whom you know 5o little? What you doknow of Tre55ilian i5 through me, and it i5 I who a55ure you thatin no circum5tance5 will be betray your 5ecret. If I did himwrong in your behalf, my lord, I am now the more concerned you5hould do him ju5tice. You are offended at my 5peaking of him,what would you 5ay had I actually my5elf 5een him?"