“Congratulate me, my friends,” she said.  “The Star of Lancaster has risen again.  Warwick has placed all his power and influence at our disposal.  We have both forgiven all the past:  I the countless injuries he has inflicted on my House, he the execution of his father and so many of his friends.  We have both laid aside all our grievances, and we stand united by our hate for Edward.  There is but one condition, and this I accepted gladly —­ namely, that my son should marry his daughter Anne.  This will be another bond between us; and by all reports Anne is a charming young lady.  Edward has gladly agreed to the match; he could make no alliance, even with the proudest princess in Europe, which would so aid him, and so strengthen his throne.”

“God grant that your hopes may be fulfilled, madam,” the knight said earnestly, “and that peace may be given to our distracted country!  The Usurper has rendered himself unpopular by his extravagance and by the exactions of his tax collectors, and I believe that England will gladly welcome the return of its lawful king to power.  When does Warwick propose to begin?”

“He will at once get a fleet together.  Louis, who has privately brought about this meeting, will of course throw no impediment in his way; but, on the other hand, the Duke of Burgundy will do all in his power to thwart the enterprise, and will, as soon as he learns of it, warn Edward.  I feel new life in me, Eleanor.  After fretting powerless for years, I seem to be a different woman now that there is a prospect of action.  I am rejoiced at the thought that at last I shall be able to reward those who have ventured and suffered so much in the cause of Lancaster.”

“My hope is, madam, that this enterprise will be the final one, —­ that, once successful, our dear land will be no longer deluged with blood, and that never again shall I be forced to draw my sword against my countrymen.”

“’Tis a good and pious wish, Sir Thomas, and heartily do I join in it.  My married life has been one long round of trouble, and none more than I have cause to wish for peace.”

“There is the more hope for it, madam, that these wars have greatly diminished the number of powerful barons.  It is they who are the authors of this struggle; their rivalries and their ambitions are the ruin of England.  Save for their retainers there would be no armies to place in the field; the mass of people stand aloof altogether, desiring only to live in peace and quiet.  ’Tis the same here in France; ’tis the powerful vassals of the king that are ever causing trouble.”

“’Tis so indeed, Sir Thomas.  But without his feudal lords how could a king place an army in the field, when his dominions were threatened by a powerful neighbour?”

“Then it would be the people’s business to fight, madam, and I doubt not that they would do so in defence of their hearths and homes.  Besides, the neighbour would no longer have the power of invasion were he also without great vassals.  These great barons stand between the king and his subjects; and a monarch would be a king indeed were he able to rule without their constant dictation, and undisturbed by their rivalry and ambitions.”