y of my life," said Humfrey, low and hoarsely.

"And I fear me she will be the sorrow of it. Not by her fault, poor
wench, but what hope canst thou have, my son?"

"None, sir," said Humfrey, "except of giving up all if I can so defend
her from aught." He spoke in a quiet matter-of-fact way that made his
father look with some inquiry at his grave settled face, quite calm, as
if saying nothing new, but expressing a long-formed quiet purpose.

Nor, though Humfrey was his eldest son and heir, did Richard Talbot try
to cross it.

He asked whether he might see Cicely before going on to London, but Sir
Amias said that in that case she would not be allowed to return to the
Queen, and that to have had any intercourse with the prisoners might
overthrow all his designs in London, and he therefore only left with
Humfrey his commendations to her, with a pot of fresh honey and a
lavender-scented set of kerchiefs from Mistress Susan.

CHAPTER XXX.

TETE-A-TETE.

During that close imprisonment at Tixall Cicely learnt to know her
mother both in her strength and weakness. They were quite alone;
except that Sir Walter Ashton daily came to perform the office of
taster and carver at their meals, and on the first evening his wife
dragged herself upstairs to superintend the arrangement of their
bedroom, and to supply them with toilette requisites according to her
own very limited notions and possessions. The Dame was a very homely,
hard-featured lady, deaf, and extremely fat and heavy, one of the old
uncultivated rustic gentry who had lagged far behind the general
civilisation of the country, and regarded all refinements as effeminate
French vanities. She believed, likewise, all that was said against
Queen Mary, whom she looked on as barely restrained from plunging a
dagger into Elizabeth's heart, and letting Parma's hell-hounds loose
upon Tixall. To have such a guest imposed on her was no small
grievance, and nothing but her husband's absolute mandate could have
induced her to come up with the maids who brought sheets for the bed,
pillows, and the like needments. Mary tried to make her requests as
moderate as necessity would permit; but when they had been shouted into
her ears by one of the maids, she shook her head at most of them, as
articles unknown to her. Nor did she ever appear again. The
arrangement of the bed-chamber was performed by two maidservants, the
Knight himself meanwhile standing a grim sentinel over