ril to herself. And yet, so various is the nature of
woman, that, while steering straitly by one star, she levies upon the
light of other stars. Faithful and sincere, yet loving power, curious
and adventurous, she must needs, without intention, without purpose,
stray into perilous paths.

As Leicester stepped suddenly into Angele's gaze, she was only, as
it were, conscious of a presence in itself alluring by virtue of the
history surrounding it. She was surprised out of an instinctive dislike,
and the cue she had to loathe him was for the moment lost.

Unconsciously, unintentionally, she smiled at him now, then, realising,
retreated, shrinking from him, her face averted. Man or woman had found
in Leicester the delicate and intrepid gamester, exquisite in the choice
of detail, masterful in the breadth of method. And now, as though his
whole future depended on this interview, he brought to bear a life-long
skill to influence her. He had determined to set the Queen against her.
He did not know--not even he--that she had saved the Queen's life on
that auspicious May Day when Harry Lee had fought the white knight
Michel de la Foret and halved the honours of the lists with him. If
he had but known that the Queen had hid from him this fact--this vital
thing touching herself and England, he would have viewed his future
with a vaster distrust. But there could be no surer sign of Elizabeth's
growing coldness and intended breach than that she had hid from him the
dreadful incident of the poisoned glove, and the swift execution of the
would-be murderer, and had made Cecil her only confidant. But he did
know that Elizabeth herself had commanded Michel de la Foret to the
lists; and his mad jealousy impelled him to resort to a satanic cunning
towards these two fugitives, who seemed to have mounted within a few
short days as far as had he in thrice as many years to a high place in
the regard of the Majesty of England.

To disgrace them both; to sow distrust of the girl in the Queen's mind;
to make her seem the opposite of what she was; to drop in her own mind
suspicion of her lover; to drive her to some rash act, some challenge
of the Queen herself--that was his plan. He knew how little Elizabeth's
imperious spirit would brook any challenge from this fearless girl
concerning De la Foret. But to convince her that the Queen favoured
Michel in some shadowed sense, that De la Foret was privy to a dark
compact--so deep a plot was all wort