o small service to this poor
Queen, ay, and it may be to your own children."

"I may not meddle in any matters of the Queen's," returned Susan,
rather stiffly.

"Nay, but hear me, madam. It is only to hinder the sending of a
letter."

"That letter which her Grace was about to write yesterday?"

"Even so. 'Tis no secret, for she read fragments of it aloud, and all
her women applauded it with all their might, and laughed over the
stings that it would give, but Mr. Curll, who bad to copy it, saith
that there is a bitterness in it that can do nothing but make her
Majesty of England the more inflamed, not only against my Lady
Shrewsbury, but against her who writ the letter, and all concerned.
Why, she hath even brought in the comedy that your children acted in
the woodland, and that was afterwards repeated in the hall!"

"You say not so, Mistress Barbara?"

"Indeed I do. Mr. Curll and Sir Andrew Melville are both of them sore
vexed, and would fain have her withdraw it; but Master Nau and all the
French part of the household know not how to rejoice enough at such an
exposure of my Lady, which gives a hard fling at Queen Elizabeth at the
same time! Nay, I cannot but tell you that there are things in it that
Dame Mary Talbot might indeed say, but I know not how Queen Mary could
bring herself to set down--"

Barbara Mowbray ventured no more, and Susan felt hopeless of her task,
since how was she by any means to betray knowledge of the contents of
the letter? Yet much that she had heard made her feel very uneasy on
all accounts. She had too much strong family regard for the Countess
and for Gilbert Talbot and his wife to hear willingly of what might
imperil them, and though royal indignation would probably fly over the
heads of the children, no one was too obscure in those Tudor times to
stand in danger from a sovereign who might think herself insulted. Yet
as a Hardwicke, and the wife of a Talbot, it was most unlikely that she
would have any opening for remonstrance given to her.

However, it was possible that Curll wished to give her an opening, for
no sooner were the ladies settled at work than he bowed himself forward
and offered his mistress his copy of the letter.

"Is it fair engrossed, good Curll?" asked Mary.

"Thanks. Then will we keep your copy, and you shall fold and prepare
our own for our sealing."

"Will not your Majesty hear it read over ere it pass out of your
hands?" asked Curll.

"Even s