“Temptress!” cried the earl, “you put frightful thoughts into my head.”

“Go your ways,” replied Judith, “and think no more about her.  All shall be done that you require.  I claim as my reward the contents of that chest.”

“Your reward shall be the gallows,” rejoined the earl, indignantly.  “I reject your proposal at once.  Begone, wretch! or I shall forget you are a woman, and sacrifice you to my fury.  Begone!”

“As your lordship pleases,” she replied; “but first, the Countess of Rochester shall be made acquainted with her rights.”  So saying, she broke from him, and rushed to the bed.

“What are you about to do?” he cried.

“Waken her,” rejoined Judith, slightly shaking the sleeper.

“Ah!” exclaimed Amabel, opening her eyes, and gazing at her with a terrified and bewildered look.

“His lordship is returned,” said Judith.

“Indeed!” exclaimed Amabel, raising herself in the bed.  “Where is he?—­Ah, I see him.—­Come to me, my dear lord,” she added, stretching out her arms to him, “Come to me.”

But evil thoughts kept Rochester motionless.  “Oh! come to me, my lord,” cried Amabel, in a troubled tone, “or I shall begin to think what I have dreamed is true, and that I am not wedded to you.”

“It was merely a dream, your ladyship,” observed Judith.  “I will bear witness you are wedded to his lordship, for I was present at the ceremony.”

“I did not see you,” remarked Amabel.

“I was there, nevertheless,” replied Judith.

“I am sorry to hear it,” replied Amabel.

“Your ladyship would rejoice if you knew all,” returned Judith, significantly.

“Why so?” inquired the other, curiously.

“Because the clergyman who married you is dead of the plague,” was the answer; “and it may chance in these terrible times that the two gentlemen who were present at the ceremony may die of the same distemper, and then there will be no one left but me and another person to prove that your marriage was lawful.”

“But its lawfulness will never be questioned, my dear lord, will it?” asked Amabel, looking beseechingly at Rochester.

“Never,” replied Judith, producing a small piece of parchment, “while I hold this certificate.”

“Give me that document,” said the earl, in an undertone, to her.

Judith directed her eyes towards the chest.  “It is yours,” said the earl, in the same tone as before.

“What are you whispering, my lord?” inquired Amabel, uneasily.

“I am merely telling her to remove that chest, sweetheart,” he replied.

“Do not send it away,” cried Amabel.  “It contains all the ornaments and trinkets you have given me.  Do you know,” she added in a whisper, “I caught her looking into it just now, and I suspect she was about to steal something.”

“Pshaw!” cried the earl, “she acted by my directions.  Take the chest away,” he added to Judith.