Mortimer was no longer treasurer. The staff was as yet given to no
successor, though my Lord Bolingbroke would undoubtedly be the man. And
now the time was come, the queen's Abigail said: and now my Lord
Castlewood ought to be presented to the sovereign.

After that scene which Lord Castlewood witnessed and described to his
cousin, who passed such a miserable night of mortification and jealousy as
he thought over the transaction; no doubt the three persons who were set
by nature as protectors over Beatrix came to the same conclusion, that she
must be removed from the presence of a man whose desires towards her were
expressed only too clearly; and who was no more scrupulous in seeking to
gratify them than his father had been before him. I suppose Esmond's
mistress, her son, and the colonel himself, had been all secretly debating
this matter in their minds, for when Frank broke out, in his blunt way,
with:--"I think Beatrix had best be anywhere but here,"--Lady Castlewood
said:--"I thank you, Frank, I have thought so too"; and Mr. Esmond, though
he only remarked that it was not for him to speak, showed plainly, by the
delight on his countenance, how very agreeable that proposal was to him.

"One sees that you think with us, Henry," says the viscountess, with ever
so little of sarcasm in her tone: "Beatrix is best out of this house
whilst we have our guest in it, and as soon as this morning's business is
done, she ought to quit London."

"What morning's business?" asked Colonel Esmond, not knowing what had been
arranged, though in fact the stroke next in importance to that of bringing
the prince, and of having him acknowledged by the queen, was now being
performed at the very moment we three were conversing together.

The Court-lady with whom our plan was concerted, and who was a chief agent
in it, the Court-physician, and the Bishop of Rochester, who were the
other two most active participators in our plan, had held many councils in
our house at Kensington and elsewhere, as to the means best to be adopted
for presenting our young adventurer to his sister the queen. The simple
and easy plan proposed by Colonel Esmond had been agreed to by all
parties, which was that on some rather private day, when there were not
many persons about the Court, the prince should appear there as my Lord
Castlewood, should be greeted by his sister-in-waiting, and led by that
other lady into the closet of the queen. And according to her Majes