Everything he heard about that princely boy seemed to agree with what he remembered of him in bygone years.  He and not the gentle and half-imbecile king would be the real monarch of the realm; and who better fitted to reign than such a prince?

The kindly welcome he received at the Priory from Brother Lawrence and the prior himself was pleasant to one who had so long been a mere wanderer on the face of the earth.  The beautiful medieval building, with its close-shorn turf and wide fish ponds, was a study in itself, and lay so peacefully brooding in the pale November sunshine, that it was hard to realize that the country might only too soon be shaken from end to end by the convulsions of civil war.

Paul was eagerly questioned as to what he knew of the feeling of the country, and he could not deny that there was great discontent in many minds at the thought of the return to power of the Lancastrian king.  The monks and friars shook their heads, and admitted with a sigh that they feared the whole county of Essex was Yorkist to the core, and that it was the leaven of heretical opinions which was at the root of their rebellion against their lawful king.  It was difficult to believe that the warlike Edward would long remain an exile, content to deliver up a kingdom which had once been his without striking a single blow, especially when his own party was so powerful in the land..  London, a hotbed of Lollardism, would soon raise its voice in the call for Edward of York.  The present hour was calm and bright, and Henry of Windsor wore his crown again; but the mutterings of the coming storm seemed already to be heard in the distance, and the brothers of the monastery did not blind their eyes to the fact that the wheel of fortune might still have strange turns in store.

“Wherefore we must walk warily, and not stir up strife,” quoth the rubicund prior, who looked at once a benevolent and a strong-willed man.  “We will pray for the restoration—­the permanent restoration of the good king; but we must avoid stirring up the hearts of his subjects in such a way as will make them his foes.

“Young sir, what think you of your hosts at the farm?  Are they quiet and well-disposed people, seeking in all things the good of the people, and giving due reverence to Holy Church?”

Paul answered eagerly in the affirmative.  He had heard or seen nothing of a suspicious character of late, and had grown very fond of the kindly folks, who made him so welcome to the best of what they had.  His reply was considered very satisfactory, and the prior dismissed him with his blessing; for Paul had no wish to be belated in the forest, and proposed to return immediately after the midday meal which he had shared with the brothers.

It was in somewhat thoughtful mood that he pursued his way through the woodland paths.  Conversation about the burning questions of the day always left him with a feeling akin to depression.  He longed for the restoration of the house he loved and served, but knew that a transitory triumph was not a true victory.  There was still much to be done before Henry’s seat upon the throne could be called secure; and what would be the result of the inevitable struggle of the next months?