. Delecresse soon recovered himself. He was too
anxious to get his work done, to quarrel with his tools. It was
gratifying, too, to discover that Sir Piers was not a likely man to be
troubled by any romantic scruples about breaking the heart of the young
Margaret. Delecresse himself had been unpleasantly haunted by those,
and had with some difficulty succeeded in crushing them down and turning
the key on them. Belasez's pleading looks, and Margaret's bright,
pretty face, persisted in recurring to his memory in a very provoking
manner. Sir Piers was evidently the man who would help him to forget
them.

"Well!--go on," said the Minister, when Delecresse hesitated.

"I have good reason to believe that Sir Richard is on the point of
wedding the Damsel Margaret de Burgh; nay, I am not sure if they are not
married clandestinely. Could not this be used as a handle to ruin both
of them?"

The two pairs of eyes met, and a smile which was anything but angelic
broke over the handsome countenance of Sir Piers.

"Not a bad idea for one so young," he remarked. "Is it thine own?"

"My own," answered Delecresse, shortly.

"I could make some use of thee in the Kings service."

"Thank you," said Delecresse, rather drily. "I do not wish to have
_more_ to do with the Devil and his angels than I find necessary."

Sir Piers broke into a laugh. "Neat, that! I suppose I am one of the
angels? But I am surprised to hear such a sentiment from a Jew."

Nothing is more inconsistent than sin. In his anxiety to gratify his
revenge, Delecresse was enduring patiently at the hands of Sir Piers far
worse insults than that over which he had so long brooded from Richard
de Clare. He kept silence.

"It really is a pity," observed Sir Piers, complacently surveying
Delecresse, "that such budding talent as thine should be cast away upon
trade. Thou wouldst make far more money in secret service. It would be
easy to change thy name. Keep thy descent quiet, and be ready to eat
humble-pie for a short time. There is no saying to what thou mightest
rise in this world."

"And the other?" Delecresse felt himself an unfledged cherub by the
side of Sir Piers.

"Bah!" Sir Piers snapped his fingers. "What do such as we know about
that? There is no other world. If there were, the chances are that
both of us would find ourselves very uncomfortable there. We had better
stay in this as long as we can."

"As you please, Sir Knight. I am