le task for her, she was wise with
a woman's wisdom, calm with a woman's calmness, and bold with a woman's
boldness, which knows no equal when the motive springs from the heart
rather than the head.

We discussed the matter in all its phases, and then I went to the palace
to see Frances. When she arose, I was waiting to tell her that the Abbe
would see the king at ten o'clock and to ask her to wait in the anteroom
of the duchess's parlor. If Charles accepted the French king's offer, I
should pass by her wearing my hat, and she would know that her help would
not be needed. If the king refused, I should carry my hat in my hand, and
she could take her own course with Charles.

"Do you fear?" I asked, being myself very much afraid, for we were
dealing with an absolute monarch, devoid of conscience, devoid of caution
save when prompted by cowardice, but plenteously imbued with venom in his
heart and all things evil in his soul.

"I fear?" cried Frances, tossing her head defiantly.

I thought surely no woman ever was as beautiful as this one, in whose
heart there was no fear, no doubt of self, no faltering in the face of
danger. I asked her to tell me of her plans, and she answered:--

"I have no plan save to see the king. Then the plans will come of
themselves."

CHAPTER XIII

FRANCES DELIVERS THE TREATY

George went to the Shield Gallery in Whitehall at ten o'clock the next
morning, where he found his Majesty, the Lord Chancellor, and a half
score of the king's creatures, including Berkeley, Wentworth, Crofts,
Jermyn, and others of like quality.

These were the men with whom George had to deal. He was known intimately
to each of them, and was hated most heartily by all save the Chancellor.

When George entered the Gallery, the king took his seat in a great chair
of state on a dais at one end of the room, while his counsellors ranged
themselves on either side. I, with a dozen other gentlemen, had been
commanded to be present, not as advisers, but as attendants on the king
to give dignity to the occasion.

George, having been sent to England secretly, had brought no retinue,
since it was desired by every one connected with the affair that his
presence should attract as little attention as possible and thus avoid
alarming London. When George went to Whitehall, he was accompanied only
by De Grammont and a gentleman of the count's household.

While George knelt before his Majesty, asking leave to speak for