George followed her into the other boat, and as it drew away, I saw him bending low to kiss her hand.  Then he shouted “Good-by!” and soon we could see nothing but the black water between us.

Betty began to weep, and after a moment I began to swear, for I did not like to see my cousin go off in this manner.  De Grammont relieved his mind by a shrug of his shoulders, took the oar that George had abandoned, and without a word we started up-stream again.

CHAPTER XIV

HER LADYSHIP’S SMILE

We landed at the Old Swan stairs below the Bridge on Lower Thames Street, and went to the end of the Bridge, where De Grammont waited till I had taken Bettina home.

When I returned to the Bridge, the count and I took coach, and after a rapid journey across silent London, I arrived at the palace just as Old Tom of Westminster was striking eleven.

I climbed over the porch to my closet and reached there none too soon, for I was hardly in bed when my door opened and in walked the king followed by two men bearing candles.  I pretended to be in a deep sleep and when aroused sprang from my bed seemingly half dazed and ready to defend myself, till the king spoke, when, of course, I was humble enough.

“How long have you been here?” demanded the king.

“All night I suppose, your Majesty; what time is it now?”

“Past eleven!” the king answered.

“In what may I serve your Majesty?” I asked.

“By telling me the truth!” he said, glaring at me and whining out his words.  “Do you know anything about the attack on my closet this evening?”

Nothing is ever gained by denying, so I took a leaf from woman’s logic, and answered his question by another.

“An attack on your Majesty’s closet?” I cried.  Then after a long pause, and with a manner of deep injury, I demanded:  “Has anything untoward befallen my cousin?  I carried out your Majesty’s instructions without objection or protest.  I intrusted her to your care, and it is my right and my duty to demand an account of her and to hold your Majesty responsible for her welfare.”

He looked at me for a moment with a hang-dog expression on his face, but he could not stand my gaze, so he turned on his heel and left the room without another word.

He was not convinced of my guilt, nor would he believe me innocent.  Evidently the royal verdict was “not proven.”  But in any case I knew that my favor at court was at an end.

During the next week I constantly importuned the king to tell me what had become of my cousin, and intimated my intention to make trouble in terms so plain—­for I knew the king’s favor was lost to me—­that my Lord Clarendon was instructed to offer me a sum of money to say nothing more about the matter.  I agreed to accept the money, it was paid, and I remained silent.

Frequently the difference between an acted lie and a spoken lie is the difference between success and failure.  Then, too, the acted lie has this advantage; there is no commandment against it.  We should congratulate ourselves that so many pleasant sins were omitted on Sinai.