she
whispered between the hands that covered her face:

"Yes; I--I--d-did;" and I--well, I delivered the rest of Mary's
message, and that, too, without a protest from Jane.

Truthfulness is a pretty good thing after all.

So Jane was conquered at last, and I heaved a sigh as the battle
ended, for it had been a long, hard struggle.

I asked Jane when we should be married, but she said she could not
think of that now--not until she knew that Mary was safe; but she
would promise to be my wife sometime. I told her that her word was as
good as gold to me; and so it was and always has been; as good as fine
gold thrice refined. I then told her I would bother her no more about
it, now that I was sure of her, but when she was ready she should tell
me of her own accord and make my happiness complete. She said she
would, and I told her I believed her and was satisfied. I did,
however, suggest that the intervening time would be worse than
wasted--happiness thrown right in the face of Providence, as it
were--and begged her not to waste any more than necessary; to which
she seriously and honestly answered that she would not.

We went back to the castle, and as we parted Jane said timidly: "I am
glad I told you, Edwin; glad it is over."

She had evidently dreaded it; but--I was glad, too; very glad. Then I
went to bed.

_CHAPTER XVII_

_The Elopement_

Whatever the king might think, I knew Lord Wolsey would quickly enough
guess the truth when he heard that the princess was missing, and would
have a party in pursuit. The runaways, however, would have at least
twenty-four hours the start, and a ship leaves no tracks. When Mary
left me she was perhaps two-thirds of a league from the rendezvous,
and night was rapidly falling. As her road lay through a dense forest
all the way, she would have a dark, lonely ride of a few minutes, and
I was somewhat uneasy for that part of the journey. It had been agreed
that if everything was all right at the rendezvous, Mary should turn
loose her horse, which had always been stabled at Berkeley Castle and
would quickly trot home. To further emphasize her safety a thread
would be tied in his forelock. The horse took his time in returning,
and did not arrive until the second morning after the flight, but when
he came I found the thread, and, unobserved, removed it. I quickly
took it to Jane, who has it yet, and cherishes it for the mute message
of comfort it brought her. In case the hors