“Cease, cease, fight no more; I will go with thee.”  A priest near her whispered,—­

“’Tis thy honour we fight for now, hold thy peace; ’tis not best for thee to go with them, ’twould be thy utter ruin and the undoing of our affairs!” His warning came too late; all had heard Katherine speak; and although two forms already lay upon the floor, there were other motives stronger than the thirst for blood, which on a sudden seemed quenched, and faces pale and blood-stained turned upon Buckingham as he coolly and with much dignity lifted Katherine’s cloak from the table and placed it about her shoulders, then had the audacity to offer his arm.  She ignored it, turned to Constantine and fell upon her knees; he blessed her, then whispered hurriedly in her ear.  She arose and passed down the bloody aisle, which was flanked on either side by an array of shining steel.  As she approached the door, it was flung wide by a figure that startled her, so like was it to Lord Cedric’s, but the light fell aslant his countenance and as she swept by saw ’twas Sir Julian Pomphrey.

A chaise stood some little distance from the cloister, into which Katherine was placed with great courtesy by his Grace of Buckingham.

She sunk back among the cushions with half-closed eyes; heeding not those that rode at either window of the equipage; she was trying to collect her thoughts and by degrees they shaped themselves and she was thinking of that that had but transpired.  First of all, she consoled herself like the selfish girl she was:  Cedric would not die; ’twas a sweet consolation, and she smiled; her thoughts dwelling not for a moment on her own conduct that had brought him to suffer such pain.  Then she lay back even more luxuriously as she thought that Sir Julian would not have opened the door for her, had she been going into danger.  To tell the truth, she sighed happily in contemplation of further exploit.  She grew bolder and bolder, fearing naught but some slight mischance that might prevent her being a Maid of Honour; for never, never could she go back to Cedric after she had made assertion of love in his ear, and his eyelids had trembled.  Nay, nay, she could not bear to look him in the face again.  Alas! she made vow she never would.  If she was not made a lady of her Majesty’s household, she would seek the patronage of some titled woman, who could help her.  Not for a moment did she think of the perils that surrounded and grew closer about her unprotected self with every turn of the wheels that carried her on.

It appeared now as if all barriers to the King’s presence had been levelled and Katherine’s hopes matured to confidence.  She drew her cloak about her with sedulous care, as if in so doing she wrapped and hid from the whole world her own poor cunning.  She found in her lonely condition no embarrassment, conceiving that her position as intermediary between her Church and the State was sufficient reason for her abrupt leaving of home.  Sir Julian would doubtless explain matters to the Duke and Duchess, whom she believed were more than half of her faith.  They would see she had been highly honoured by being entrusted with a great secret.