“ This is the romance of history, savouring of that mediæval worship of a woman which we meet with once and again, the Lauras and Beatrices of life; stories scattered here and there to show us what so few realize, the spiritual side of the life of man and woman; love which is content to live, asking for nothing, looking for nothing that this earth can give, wholly unselfish, content to serve, content to worship.
Both Reginald and Ann knew Lord Craven's story well, they knew his devotion to the queen and to the Protestant faith, also his untiring goodness to the whole Stuart family. ”

“ Ewan, laughing. "You are too young to do that. What if someone fetches you away?"
Agnes coloured. "I cannot leave Aunt Patience," she answered. "Think what she has done and suffered for me. Can I ever repay her?"
"We can never repay love; we can but give it in return," answered Mr. Ewan.
After the first two or three days life resumed its even course for them all.
If the Ewans and Patience and Agnes had been friends before, they were more than friends now. It seemed as if they could not bear to be parted.
"If we could only live all together, Aunt Patience," Agnes said one morning. ”

“ You knew I should not be far."
"Because you forget you are alone now," was the quiet answer, "and you must not wander away; it is not safe for a young girl like you to be alone. You know how seldom I left you and the princess, and then you had an attendant."
"I thought that was for the princess," said Agnes, "because of her high dignity. It does not matter about me; I am nobody."
A slight smile played round Patience's mouth. "We are all somebody," she said; "we have our honour to safeguard, and a young maiden cannot be seen alone, in these times especially." ”

“ Court life is not good for children."
"I would I could do it," said Patience; "but I am not mistress."
"Shall you go back to France with the queen?" asked Ann.
"No, I will not do that," said Patience; "I would rather carry her away and hide her. King Charles's court is bad enough; what the Duke of Orleans will be I dare not even think. No, I will keep my sweet lamb unspotted if I can. She knows no evil, therefore she sees none, though she be hedged in with wrong-doers. But that will not always be. I promised her dear mother I would protect her, and so, help me God, I will." ”

“ The queen's eyes passed over her and rested on Agnes: "Verily a beauty!" she whispered. "Well, ma mie," she said aloud, as Agnes approached her, "have you quite forgotten your queen-mother?"
"I have not forgotten her at all, your majesty," answered Agnes, as she followed her aunt's example, knelt, and kissed the royal hand; but Henrietta lifted her face between her hands and looked at her, tears filling her eyes.
"Patience," she said, "she is the most beautiful thing I have seen for many a day; she is father and mother welded together. Is she as good as she is beautiful?" ”

“ What does the king want with me?"
"Nothing," answered Mr. Ewan, "except to give back to you what by right is yours, the lands and estates of De Lisle Abbey."
"There is no De Lisle Abbey; it is Newbolt Manor," said Agnes sharply, "and I won't have it."
"You cannot help yourself. I think you must," said Patience.
"No, Aunt Patience, you may say what you will, but I will never go there. It would never be to me like home; I would sooner remain with you always. I will write and tell the king as much; I do not want to be Lady of De Lisle Abbey." ”

“ I think I like the town better than the river."
"Happily, it is a stained window, so people do not see you," said Patience. "It is not seemly for a maiden to be staring on to the public road."
"But people do see me," said Agnes. "Reginald saw me, and he saluted. You know he is my knight, Patience."
"I know I will not suffer you to behave thus," said Patience. "A cavalier saluting a maiden at her window, above all things a maiden in Somerset House! It must not be, Agnes; you are old enough to know better."
"I do not know what I am," answered the girl impetuously. ”

“ You are an English girl, and must love your own country best."
"So she will in years to come," said Patience. "There is so much in habit. She has always lived in France. The sun shines more brightly there, and the days are longer."
"And people are less stiff, and they are kinder and more courteous," said Agnes. "You English are so cold! I have lived a long time here now, and I have only one friend--that is you, Ann."
"And is it not a grand thing to have one friend?" said Mr. Delarry. "We may have many acquaintances, little lady, but a friend is a rare gem." ”

“ She was a lovely babe, with soft, golden curls clustering round her little face, and large brown eyes. She was laughing, too--laughing with the merry gurgle of a happy babe--stretching out her little hands towards the princess. She looked the very child of joy, and yet she was a child born of bitter sorrow.
"She is like her father," said the queen. "I never knew a man more gloriously happy than he was; and she has the same look in her eyes."
"She never weeps; she never moans," said Patience. ”

“ The grey of the stone of Somerset House, and of other buildings looked white from the dry heat; the river below shone like silver. Looking towards the city they could see the spires and turrets of a hundred churches rising in the clear air. St. Paul's seemed very near to them. It was now under repair and surrounded by a net-work of scaffold poles, all exceedingly dry, almost as if dried in an oven, so hot had the summer been. In the city of London itself there were many picturesque wooden houses, so close one to another in the narrow streets that they almost touched. ”

“ So they went, and Patience was taken up-stairs and put to bed in the sweet lavender-scented sheets, with open windows looking out over the moors; and as she lay there it seemed to her as if the past were an ugly dream from which she had just awakened. As she listened to the birds singing, and the voices of Agnes and Jessie as they went and came, she buried her face in the pillow and wept tears of gladness and thanksgiving. All the bitterness of her soul for those dark years of mourning passed away. ”

“ So they went down the magnificent staircase, through the gorgeous banqueting-hall, on to the terrace.
Though the day was over and the sun had set, the heat was beyond description. The whole city seemed to glow with the after-math. The girl was tired, and quietly, without knowing it, she began again to weep.
"Oh Agnes, my child, what is it?" said Patience.
"I don't know," she answered; "my soul is heavy within me. I am afraid."
Patience did not ask her what she was afraid of; she knew only too well she was afraid of everything. ”

“ He told him how he had refused to have anything to do with Cromwell and the Commonwealth, how he had vowed allegiance to King Charles and the Stuarts, how his father had been, so to speak, done to death, and how he himself, seeing what the court of Charles II. was, had lost heart.
"You have been serving a man and not a cause," said Lord Craven; "that is why you are in this plight. Forget the man, and think of the cause. You do not know the Stuarts as I know them. They are a wild race--they will not be curbed either for good or evil--daring, brilliant, beautiful!" ”

“ He paused, his eyes turning involuntarily to the portrait of his queen. Then he continued, "They hold men's hearts in their hands, and they break them without more ado than if they were of common clay. Look back to their past history!" he exclaimed, and his face had in it a strange beauty as he stood before the two young people and spoke to them. "Think of Mary Stuart; she lost her crown, her kingdom, everything, for love, and others lost everything for her. It is in their blood; they cannot help it any more than men can help kneeling before their shrine and worshipping them. ”

“ Ann was equally joyous. They were a merry trio when they joined Patience and Mistress Newbolt under a great oak tree, where a cloth had been spread, pies, and cakes, and a heap of ripe strawberries presenting a tempting meal.
Verily there are bright days in life which leave their mark in our hearts, and bring a rush of gladness to the eyes and a smile to the lips when we recall them. ”

“ Never had a king been so popular. There was laughter and merriment everywhere, dancing and songs even in the streets. The only place where any decorum was observed was at Somerset House. There the queen-dowager dwelt, and the people did not love her. She never had been a favourite. Many people were ready to lay the blame of her dead husband's errors upon her shoulders, so they frowned upon the queen-dowager and her sombre court, while they laughed at the merry court at Whitehall, and would not listen to the evil reports of the goings-on within its precincts. ”

“ Have you heard anything of Aunt Patience or of Ann?"
"Nothing," answered Reginald. "You know I left home immediately after my father's death, and I have not been back since. I have been wandering half over the earth, or rather the seas, and communication is not easy. But we shall hear soon now," he said.
"Alas, if they have died of the plague!" said Agnes; "what shall I do? It was awful when I was there!"
"We will hope not; we must not look on the black side of things. Let us trust we shall find them safe and well," answered the young man. ”

“ There are always pessimists, and people do not heed them. A small evil, therefore, remains unchecked until it becomes a great evil; then, and then alone, when it is too late, men take note of it. Such was the case at the present time. At Whitehall feasting and revelling were the order of the day throughout this month of May. The king and his court were to be seen in St. James's Park, gilded coaches rolled through the narrow streets of the city, despite the overpowering heat. It was as if that blazing comet, unseen by day, burnt the land up. ”

“ My son the king noticed her the other day and remarked upon her beauty, and he is no mean judge," she added with a light laugh.
But Patience flushed crimson. "I would sooner his majesty did not cast his eyes on her," she said in a low voice.
"Pshaw!" answered the queen, "she is but a child."
"A child who will be a woman before we know it," said Patience. "His majesty's court is too gay for such young fledgelings."
"Well spoken, Patience!" said a man's voice behind the queen. "Why, methinks my lord Cromwell's spirit still dwells amongst us in our own house. You will be a Puritan yet, Patience." ”

“ I have been very wilful, as wilful as you could be if you were driven to it."
"I hope that will never be," said Agnes. "Do you know, Aunt Patience, I heard you tell the queen that I had never been tempted. Surely to be tempted is not a necessity. I always stop in my prayers and say twice over, 'Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil'."
"As long as you do that, you will never go far wrong," said Patience, stroking the fair face which she loved so well.
"Now, what shall we do this afternoon, little one? It is very hot."
"Yes, it is very hot," said Agnes; "this London is stifling." ”