! How?

AUBESPINE.
My Lord,
Consider well----

BURLEIGH.
Your passport was discovered
In the assassin's pocket.

KENT.
Righteous heaven!

AUBESPINE.
Sir, many passports are subscribed by me;
I cannot know the secret thoughts of men.

BURLEIGH.
He in your house confessed, and was absolved.

AUBESPINE.
My house is open----

BURLEIGH.
To our enemies.

AUBESPINE.
I claim a strict inquiry.

BURLEIGH.
Tremble at it.

AUBESPINE.
My monarch in my person is insulted,
He will annul the marriage contract.

BURLEIGH.
That
My royal mistress has annulled already;
England will not unite herself with France.
My Lord of Kent, I give to you the charge
To see Count Aubespine embarked in safety.
The furious populace has stormed his palace,
Where a whole arsenal of arms was found;
Should he be found, they'll tear him limb from limb,
Conceal him till the fury is abated--
You answer for his life.

AUBESPINE.
I go--I leave
This kingdom where they sport with public treaties
And trample on the laws of nations. Yet
My monarch, be assured, will vent his rage
In direst vengeance!

BURLEIGH.
Let him seek it here.

[Exeunt KENT and AUBESPINE.

SCENE III.

LEICESTER, BURLEIGH.

LEICESTER.
And thus you loose yourself the knot of union
Which you officiously, uncalled for, bound!
You have deserved but little of your country,
My lord; this trouble was superfluous.

BURLEIGH.
My aim was good, though fate declared against it;
Happy is he who has so fair a conscience!

LEICESTER.
Well know we the mysterious mien of Burleigh
When he is on the hunt for deeds of treason.
Now you are in your element, my lord;
A monstrous outrage has been just committed,
And darkness veils as yet its perpetrators:
Now will a court of inquisition rise;
Each word, each look be weighed; men's very thoughts
Be summoned to the bar. You are, my lord,
The mighty man, the Atlas of the state,
All England's weight lies upon your shoulders.

BURLEIGH.
In you, my lord, I recognize my master;
For such a victory as your eloquence
Has gained I cannot boast.

LEICESTER.
What means your lordship?

BURLEIGH.
You were the man who knew, behind my back,
To lure the queen to Fotheringay Castle.

LEICESTER.
Behind your back! When did I fear to act
Before your face?

BURLEIGH.
You led her majesty