t her maidens to Sybill, to whom Hastings had proffered his
devoted attachment, though he was already bound by ties of policy and
early love to Margaret de Bonville.

Meanwhile, it became the interest of the king's brothers to act as
mediators between Edward and his powerful subject. The Duke of Clarence
was anxious to wed the proud earl's equally proud elder daughter Isabel;
the hand of the gentle Anne was sought more secretly by Richard of
Gloucester. At last the peacemakers effected their object.

But the peace was only partial, the final rupture not far off. The king
restored to Warwick the governorship of Calais--outwardly as a token of
honour; really as a means of ridding himself of one whose presence came
between the sun and his sovereignty. Moreover, he forbade the marriage
between Clarence and Isabel, to the mortification of his brother, the
bitter disappointment of Isabel herself, and the chagrin of the earl.

However, Edward had once more to experience indebtedness at the hands of
the man whom he treated so badly, but whose devotion to him it seemed
that nothing could destroy. There arose the Popular Rebellion, and
Warwick only arrived at Olney, where the king was sorely pressed, in
time to save him and to secure, on specific terms, a treaty of peace.

Again Edward's relief was but momentary. Proceeding to Middleham as
Warwick's guest, when he beheld the extent of the earl's retinue his
jealous passions were roused more than ever before; and he formed a plan
not only for attaching to himself the allegiance of the barons, but of
presenting the earl to the peasants in the light of one who had betrayed
them.

Smitten, too, by the charms of the Lady Anne, he meditated a still more
unworthy scheme. Dismissing the unsuspecting Warwick to the double task
of settling with the rebels and calling upon his followers to range
themselves under the royal banner, he commanded Anne's attendance at
court.

Events leading to the final breach between king and king-maker followed
rapidly. One night the Lady Anne fled in terror from the Tower--fled
from the dishonouring addresses of her sovereign, now grown gross in his
cups, however brave in battle. The news reached Warwick too late for him
to countermand the messages he had sent to his friends on the king's
behalf. And, so rapid were Edward's movements that Warwick, his eyes at
length opened to Edward's true character, was compelled to flee to the
court of King Louis at A