never let thee go till they have choked thee. I fear I shall have
hard labour to get thee out of this scrape. I will do all I can, be
thou sure, but thou wist that I am not in favour with the new King as I
was with King Richard, whose soul God rest! Madge, wilt forgive me,
wife?"

"With a very good will, my Lord," said Margery. "I wis well that thou
wottedst not all that thou didst."

"Not I, by Saint James of Compostella!" exclaimed Lord Marnell. "Were
the good King Richard alive and reigning, I would soon let both the
Archbishop and the Abbot feel the place too hot for to hold them. But I
can do nothing with Harry of Bolingbroke, looking, too, that he hateth
the Lollards as he hateth the devil--and a deal more, I trow, for I
count that that prince and he be old friends," added Lord Marnell, with
an air of great disgust.

Margery smiled gravely. She felt sorry for her husband, who she saw was
very miserable himself at the unexpected result of his conduct; but she
did not allow herself for an instant to hope that he could save her.

"Mine own good Lord," she said, "I pray you torment not yourself in
assaying my relief, neither in thinking that you be the cause of my
trouble; for I forgive you as freely as Christ hath forgiven me, and I
count that is free enough."

Lord Marnell stood leaning against the wall, and looking at Margery, who
lay outside the bed.

"Of a truth, wife, I conceive thee not. Thou art here in the Tower
dungeon, and thou lookest for no good outcoming, and lo! thou art calm
and peaceful as if thou wert on King Henry's throne! What means it,
Madge?"

"I trow I am much happier here than I should be on King Henry's throne!"
answered Margery, with a smile. "Christ is with me, good husband, and
where Christ is, is peace. `_Pees I leeue to ghou, my pees I ghyue to
ghou; not as the world ghyueth I ghyue to ghou_' [John xiv. 27].
`_These thingis I haue spoken to ghou, that ghe haue pees in me. In the
world ghe schulen haue disese; but triste ghe, I haue ouercome the
world_?'" [John xvi. 33.]

When Lord Marnell quitted Margery that evening, he hastened to Court,
and attempted to gain the ear of the King. Since the deposition of his
friend and master, King Richard, he had never appeared there. He was
consequently a stranger to the pages and porters, who tried to get rid
of him as politely as they could. At length Lord Marnell caught sight
of the Earl of Surrey, who with some hesitation