If Charles accepted the French king's offer, I
should pass by her wearing my hat, and she would know that her help would
not be needed. If the king refused, I should carry my hat in my hand, and
she could take her own course with Charles.
"Do you fear?" I asked, being myself very much afraid, for we were
dealing with an absolute monarch, devoid of conscience, devoid of caution
save when prompted by cowardice, but plenteously imbued with venom in his
heart and all things evil in his soul.
"I fear?" cried Frances, tossing her head defiantly.
I thought surely no woman ever was as beautiful as this one, in whose
heart there was no fear, no doubt of self, no faltering in the face of
danger. I asked her to tell me of her plans, and she answered:--
"I have no plan save to see the king. Then the plans will come of
themselves."
CHAPTER XIII
FRANCES DELIVERS THE TREATY
George went to the Shield Gallery in Whitehall at ten o'clock the next
morning, where he found his Majesty, the Lord Chancellor, and a half
score of the king's creatures, including Berkeley, Wentworth, Crofts,
Jermyn, and others of like quality.
These were the men with whom George had to deal. He was known intimately
to each of them, and was hated most heartily by all save the Chancellor.
When George entered the Gallery, the king took his seat in a great chair
of state on a dais at one end of the room, while his counsellors ranged
themselves on either side.
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