ut the various gentlemen who shared with him the Queen's smiles,
and was quite sufficient for Cromwell's purpose. Hurrying the unfortunate
musician to the Tower in the strictest secrecy, Cromwell sent his nephew
Richard post haste to Greenwich with a letter divulging Smeaton's story to
the King. Richard Cromwell arrived at the tiltyard as the tournament was
in progress, the King and Anne witnessing the bouts from a glazed gallery.
Several versions of what then happened are given; but the most probable is
that as soon as Henry had glanced at the contents of the letter and knew
that Cromwell had succeeded, he abruptly rose and left the sports;
starting almost immediately afterwards for London without the knowledge of
Anne. With him went a great favourite of his, Sir Henry Norreys, Keeper of
the Privy Purse, who was engaged to be married to Madge Shelton, Anne's
cousin, who had at one time been put forward by the Boleyn interest as the
King's mistress. Norreys had, no doubt, flirted platonically with the
Queen, who had openly bidden for his admiration, but there is not an atom
of evidence that their connection was a guilty one.[154] On the way to
London the King taxed him with undue familiarity with Anne.
Horror-stricken, Norreys could only protest his innocence, and resist all
the temptations held out to him to make a clean breast of the Queen's
immorality. One of the party of Anne's enemies, Sir William Fitzwilliam,
was also in attendance on the King; and to him was given the order to
convey Norreys to the Tower. After the King's departure from Greenwich,
Anne learnt that he had gone without a word of farewell, and that Smeaton
was absent from the joust, detained in London.

The poor woman's heart must have sunk with fear, for the portents of her
doom were all around her. She could not cry for mercy to the flabby coward
her husband, who, as usual, slunk from bearing the responsibility of his
own acts, and ran away from the danger of personal appeal from those whom
he wronged. Late at night the dread news was whispered to her that Smeaton
and Norreys were both in the Tower; and early in the morning she herself
was summoned to appear before a quorum of the Royal Commissioners,
presided over by her uncle and enemy, the Duke of Norfolk. She was rudely
told that she was accused of committing adultery with Smeaton and Norreys,
both of whom had confessed. She cried and protested in vain that it was
untrue. She was told to hold he