It was in vain that Edward sought to absorb the fire of his nature in
state affairs, in all needful provisions against the impending perils,
in schemes of war and vengeance. The fatal frenzy that had seized him
haunted him everywhere, by day and by night. For some days after the
unsuspected visit which he had so criminally stolen to his guest's
chamber, something of knightly honour, of religious scruple, of common
reason,--awakened in him the more by the dangers which had sprung up and
which the Neviles were now actively employed in defeating,--struggled
against his guilty desire, and roused his conscience to a less feeble
resistance than it usually displayed when opposed to passion; but the
society of Anne, into which he was necessarily thrown so many hours in
the day, and those hours chiefly after the indulgences of the banquet,
was more powerful than all the dictates of a virtue so seldom exercised
as to have none of the strength of habit. And as the time drew near when
he must visit the archbishop, head his army against the rebels (whose
force daily increased, despite the captivity of Lord Welles and
Sir Thomas Dymoke, who, on the summons of the king, had first taken
sanctuary, and then yielded their persons on the promise of pardon and
safety), and restore Anne to her mother,--as this time drew near, his
perturbation of mind became visible to the whole court; but, with the
instinct of his native craft, he contrived to conceal its cause. For the
first time in his life he had no confidant--he did not dare trust his
secret to Hastings. His heart gnawed itself. Neither, though constantly
stealing to Anne's side, could he venture upon language that might
startle and enlighten her. He felt that even those attentions, which
on the first evening of her arrival had been noticed by the courtiers,
could not be safely renewed. He was grave and constrained, even when by
her side, and the etiquette of the court allowed him no opportunity for
unwitnessed conference. In this suppressed and unequal struggle with
himself the time passed, till it was now but the day before that fixed
for his visit to the More. And, as he rose at morning from his restless
couch, the struggle was over, and the soul resolved to dare the crime.
His first thought was to separate Anne from Sibyll. He affected to
rebuke the queen for giving to his high-born guest an associate below
her dignity, and on whose character, poor girl, rested the imputation
of wit