“O Humfrey, thou art hurt!  What is it?  Sit thee down.”

They then saw that his face was, indeed, very pale and jaded, and that his dress was muddied from head to foot, and in some places there were marks of blood; but as she almost pushed him down on the chest beside the bed, he said, in a voice hoarse and sunk, betraying weariness—­

“Naught, naught, Cis; only my beast fell with me going down a hill, and lamed himself, so that I had to lead him the last four or five miles.  Moreover, this cut on my hand must needs break forth bleeding more than I knew in the dark, or I had not frighted thee by coming in such sorry plight,” and he in his turn gazed reassuringly into her eyes as she stood over him, anxiously examining, as if she scarce durst trust him, that if stiff and bruised at all, it mattered not.  Then she begged a cup of wine for him, and sent Oil for water and linen, and Humfrey had to abandon his hand to her, to be cleansed and bound up, neither of them uttering a word more than needful, as she knelt by the chest performing this work with skilful hands, though there was now and then a tremor over her whole frame.

“Now, dear maid,” said Richard, “thou must let him come with us and don some dry garments:  then shalt thou see him again.”

“Rest and food—­he needs them,” said Cis, in a voice weak and tremulous, though the self-restraint of her princely nature strove to control it.  “Take him, father; methinks I cannot hear more to-night.  He will tell me all when we are away together.  I would be alone, and in the dark; I know he is come, and you are caring for him.  That is enough, and I can still thank God.”

Her face quivered, and she turned away; nor did Humfrey dare to shake her further by another demonstration, but stumbled after his father to the minister’s chamber, where some incongruous clerical attire had been provided for him, since he disdained the offer of supping in bed.

Mr. Heatherthwayte was much struck with the undemonstrativeness of their meeting, for there was high esteem for austerity in the Puritan world, in contrast to the utter want of self-restraint shown by the more secular characters.

When Humfrey presently made his appearance with his father’s cloak wrapped over the minister’s clean shirt and nether garments, Richard said, “Son Humfrey, this good gentleman who baptized our Cis would fain be certain that there is no lightness of purpose in this thy design.”

“Nay, nay, Mr. Talbot,” broke in the minister, “I spake ere I had seen this gentleman.  From what I have now beheld, I have no doubts that be she who she may, it is a marriage made and blessed in heaven.”

“I thank you, sir,” said Humfrey, gravely; “it is my one hope fulfilled.”

They spoke no more till he had eaten, for he was much spent, having never rested more than a couple of hours, and not slept at all since leaving Fotheringhay.  He had understood by the colour of the horse left at Nottingham which road to take, and at the hostel at Hull had encountered Gillingham, who directed him on to Mr. Heatherthwayte’s.