I should not have gone to see her, for while in France I had heard from
De Grammont, with whom I have had some correspondence, that I was out of
favor with the king and that Crofts had been trying to fix on me the
guilt of a crime which he himself committed.
"Grammont wrote me, also, of the triumphs of Mistress Jennings, the new
beauty of the court, but I paid little heed to the gossip, though I
confess I was thrown into great fear by what he wrote about her. I knew
also that the king would help Crofts make trouble for me, so I felt it
was just as well that my presence in London should remain unknown. But I
did go in to see Nelly, and, much to my surprise, found the other
person."
It was to my surprise, also, but I said only: "Yes, yes, George. Your
story is growing interesting. Proceed!"
After a moment, he continued: "Nelly offered to present me to the other
person, whom she designated as 'the king's new favorite.' Naturally I
said that I already had the honor of knowing Mistress Jennings. Then your
cousin looked up to me and remarked calmly that I was mistaken; that I
did not have the honor of knowing her, nor she the humiliation of knowing
me. So I made my bow, went back to the taproom, and in a moment the fight
occurred, of which you already know."
"But what has all this to do with your grievance against me?" I asked.
He turned his face away from me, looked out the window for a minute or
two, and answered: "These are my causes of offence, Baron Clyde.
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