The king’s manner and his evident knowledge of what was going on convinced me that Hamilton was the subject of inquiry, and I greatly feared an effort was being made to charge him with Roger Wentworth’s death or to arraign him because of his threats against the king’s life.

I was about to leave the king when he stopped me, saying “Please go to my Lady Castlemain’s lodging over Holbein’s Gate and ask her to go with us down to London.  And Clyde, have my barge at the Bowling Green stairs at one o’clock so that we may take our leisure going down the river and still reach the law courts on time.  Our punctuality will flatter the city folk.”

At one o’clock, according to instructions, I went to the royal barge waiting at Bowling Green stairs, where presently came the king, the duchess with one of her ladies, Frances, my Lord Clarendon, and my Lady Castlemain, the last named bearing in her arms a young baby.  In a barge which was to follow us were several gentlemen of the court and a halfscore of the king’s guardsmen.  Evidently the occasion was to be in the nature of a frolic; poor Frances to furnish the entertainment.

On thinking it all over, I was convinced that the investigation, whatever it should turn out to be, had been instigated by the king.

When we entered the barge, Frances clung to my hand and sat down beside me, but the king, who was sitting with the duchess on one hand and Castlemain on the other, beckoned Frances to sit beside him.  She went to him reluctantly, and he moved toward the duchess, making room for Frances between himself and Castlemain.  But that fair lady objected and moved up to the king, indicating by a nod that Frances might sit on the spot her Ladyship had vacated.

But the king said, “You are to sit by me, Mistress Jennings.”

“She’ll do nothing of the sort,” exclaimed Castlemain, with an oath.  “She’ll sit on the other side of me or in the bottom of the barge, or in the river, I care not which.”

“You shall make room, or I’ll have you put out of the barge,” said the king, displaying a flash of temper.

Immediately a torrent of profanity and piercing screams came from her Ladyship.

“Let any man lay hands on me,” she cried, turning to the king, “and this brat of yours goes into the water!”

“Sit down, in God’s name, sit down and have your way,” said the king, waving his hand to the man on the wharf to throw the warps aboard.

The duchess laughed and offered to give her place to Frances, but of course my cousin refused and came back to me.

* * * * *

When we reached the courtroom, we found it filled with men, women, and children, most of them belonging to the lower walks of life and all of them eager to see the king, whom they seemed to know was coming.

As we entered, the High Sheriff, in his gown, rose and cried:  “Oyez!  Oyez!  His Majesty is now in presence!” Whereupon the audience rose and remained standing till the king left.