red himself up sheepishly. "My name is Myles Falworth,"
said he, "and I am one of the squires of the body."

"Oh! aye!" said the Lady Alice, suddenly. "Me thought I knew thy face.
Art thou not the young man that I have seen in Lord George's train?"

"Yes, lady," said Myles, wrapping and twining a piece of the broken vine
in and out among his fingers. "Lord George hath often had me of late
about his person."

"And what dost thou do here, sirrah?" said Lady Anne, angrily. "How
darest thou come so into our garden?"

"I meant not to come as I did," said Myles, clumsily, and with a face
hot and red. "But I slipped over the top of the wall and fell hastily
into the garden. Truly, lady, I meant ye no harm or fright thereby."

He looked so drolly abashed as he stood before them, with his clothes
torn and soiled from the fall, his face red, and his eyes downcast, all
the while industriously twisting the piece of clematis in and around his
fingers, that Lady Anne's half-frightened anger could not last. She and
her cousin exchanged glances, and smiled at one another.

"But," said she at last, trying to draw her pretty brows together into a
frown, "tell me; why didst thou seek to climb the wall?"

"I came to seek a ball," said Myles, "which I struck over hither from
the court beyond."

"And wouldst thou come into our privy garden for no better reason than
to find a ball?" said the young lady.

"Nay," said Myles; "it was not so much to find the ball, but, in good
sooth, I did truly strike it harder than need be, and so, gin I lost the
ball, I could do no less than come and find it again, else our sport is
done for the day. So it was I came hither."

The two young ladies had by now recovered from their fright. The Lady
Anne slyly nudged her cousin with her elbow, and the younger could not
suppress a half-nervous laugh. Myles heard it, and felt his face grow
hotter and redder than ever.

"Nay," said Lady Anne, "I do believe Master Giles--"

"My name be'st Myles," corrected Myles.

"Very well, then, Master Myles, I say I do believe that thou meanest
no harm in coming hither; ne'theless it was ill of thee so to do. An my
father should find thee here, he would have thee shrewdly punished for
such trespassing. Dost thou not know that no one is permitted to enter
this place--no, not even my uncle George? One fellow who came hither to
steal apples once had his ears shaven close to his head, and not more
than a year ago one of