oftly kissed the great lustrous eyes till they closed as if in sleep.
Then he fiercely sought the rich red lips, waiting soft and passive for
his caresses, while the fair head fell back upon the bend of his elbow in
a languorous, half-conscious sweet surrender to his will. Lord Rutland and
I had turned our backs on the shameless pair, and were busily discussing
the prospect for the coming season's crops.

Remember, please, that Dorothy spoke to John of Jennie Faxton. Her doing
so soon bore bitter fruit for me.

Dorothy had been too busy with John to notice any one else, but he soon
presented her to his father. After the old lord had gallantly kissed her
hand, she turned scornfully to me and said:--

"So you fell a victim to her wanton wiles? If it were not for Madge's
sake, I could wish you might hang."

"You need not balk your kindly desire for Madge's sake," I answered. "She
cares little about my fate. I fear she will never forgive me."

"One cannot tell what a woman will do," Dorothy replied. "She is apt to
make a great fool of herself when it comes to forgiving the man she
loves."

"Men at times have something to forgive," I retorted, looking with a
smile toward John. The girl made no reply, but took John's hand and looked
at him as if to say, "John, please don't let this horrid man abuse me."

"But Madge no longer cares for me," I continued, wishing to talk upon the
theme, "and your words do not apply to her."

The girl turned her back disdainfully on me and said, "You seem to be
quite as easily duped by the woman who loves you and says she doesn't as
by the one who does not care for you but says she does."

"Damn that girl's tongue!" thought I; but her words, though biting,
carried joy to my heart and light to my soul.

After exchanging a few words with Lord Rutland, Dorothy turned to John and
said:--

"Tell me upon your knightly honor, John, do you know aught of a wicked,
treasonable plot to put the Scottish woman on the English throne?"

I quickly placed my finger on my lips and touched my ear to indicate that
their words would be overheard; for a listening-tube connected the dungeon
with Sir George's closet.

"Before the holy God, upon my knighthood, by the sacred love we bear each
other, I swear I know of no such plot," answered John. "I would be the
first to tell our good queen did I suspect its existence."

Dorothy and John continued talking upon the subject of the plot, but were
soon interru