rriage just as if Mary had given her
solemn consent. The important work of providing the trousseau began at
once, and the more important matter of securing the loan from the
London merchants was pushed along rapidly. The good citizens might
cling affectionately to their angels, double angels, crowns and pounds
sterling, but the fear in which they held the king, and a little
patting of the royal hand upon the plebeian head, worked the charm,
and out came the yellow gold, never to be seen again, God wot. Under
the stimulus of the royal smile they were ready to shout themselves
hoarse, and to eat and drink themselves red in the face in celebration
of the wedding day. In short, they were ready to be tickled nearly to
death for the honor of paying to a wretched old lecher a wagon-load of
gold to accept, as a gracious gift, the most beautiful heart-broken
girl in the world. That is, she would have been heart-broken had she
not been inspired with courage. As it was, she wasted none of her
energy in lamentations, but saved it all to fight with. Heavens! how
she did fight! If a valiant defense ever deserved victory, it was in
her case. When the queen went to her with silks and taffetas and fine
cloths, to consult about the trousseau, although the theme was one
which would interest almost any woman, she would have none of it, and
when Catherine insisted upon her trying on a certain gown, she called
her a blackamoor, tore the garment to pieces, and ordered her to leave
the room.

Henry sent Wolsey to tell her that the 13th day of August had been
fixed upon as the day of the marriage, de Longueville to act as the
French king's proxy, and Wolsey was glad to come off with his life.

Matters were getting into a pretty tangle at the palace. Mary would
not speak to the king, and poor Catherine was afraid to come within
arm's length of her; Wolsey was glad to keep out of her way, and she
flew at Buckingham with talons and beak upon first sight. As to the
battle with Buckingham, it was short but decisive, and this was the
way it came about: There had been a passage between the duke and
Brandon, in which the latter had tried to coax the former into a duel,
the only way, of course, to settle the weighty matters between them.
Buckingham, however, had had a taste of Brandon's nimble sword play,
and, bearing in mind Judson's fate, did not care for any more. They
had met by accident, and Brandon, full of smiles and as polite as a
Frenchman, g