d I will not return
thither till my lord's public acknowledgement of our marriage restore me
to my native home with all the rank and honour which he has bestowed on
me. I will go to Kenilworth, girl. I will see these revels--these
princely revels--the preparation for which makes the land ring from side
to side. Methinks, when the Queen of England feasts within my husband's
halls, the Countess of Leicester should be no unbeseeming guest."

"Dearest madam," said the maiden, "have you forgotten that the noble
Earl has given such strict charges to keep your marriage secret, that he
may preserve his Court favour? And can you think that your sudden
appearance at his castle, at such a juncture, and in such a presence,
will be acceptable to him?"

"I will appeal to my husband alone, Janet. I will be protected by him
alone. I will see him, and receive from his own lips the directions for
my future conduct. Do not argue against my resolution. And to own the
truth, I am resolved to know my fate at once, and from my husband's own
mouth; and to seek him at Kenilworth is the surest way to attain my
purpose."

"May the blessing of God wend with you, madam," said Janet, kissing her
mistress's hand.

_III.--At Kenilworth_

With pomp and magnificence, Leicester entertained the Queen at the
Castle of Kenilworth. Of the Countess he saw nothing for some days, and
Varney let it be thought that the unhappy lady who had made her way into
the castle was his wife, while Amy, mindful of the alarm which Leicester
had expressed at the Queen's knowing aught of their union, kept out of
the way of her sovereign.

Then, on one memorable morning, when a hunt had been arranged, Leicester
escorted the Queen to the castle garden, with another chase in view.
Without premeditation, but urged on by vanity and ambition, his
importunity became the language of love itself.

"No, Dudley," said Elizabeth, yet with broken accents. "No, I must be
the mother of my people. Urge it no more, Leicester. Were I, as others,
free to seek my own happiness, then indeed--but it cannot be. It is
madness, and must not be repeated. Leave me. Go, but go not far from
hence; and meantime let no one intrude on my privacy."

The Queen turned into a grotto in which her hapless, and yet but too
successful, rival lay concealed, and presently became aware of a female
figure beside an alabaster column.

The unfortunate countess dropped on her knee before the queen, and
look