But what was this? Oh joy! The men whom I now saw more clearly were none other than my two good knights, returning to me in all haste. Sir Hubert seized my trembling hands. 'You have been left too long, my love!' he said. 'But indeed we could not help it. What do you think? The men we ran after were no foes, after all. Far from it, they were friends. When we had knocked them down, and they found out who we were, mostly from Sir William, whom they had seen before, they informed us that they belonged to a small party of men that the Duke of Suffolk had sent out here to look for me. They had come down to Kingston by boat, and were hoping to meet with me and take me to London City by water.' 'Then that was why they stared so hard at us, and followed us about?' I said inquiringly. 'Exactly. They were not sure that it was I, until Sir William and I had knocked a little sense into them!' 'Shall you go with them?' I asked. 'And I, what shall I do?' 'Well, you mast come too. You want to be with Lady Jane. I think that I had better take you to her father, whom the queen has pardoned and set free. He will know best how to get you into the Tower, and to his daughter.' 'But it is night,' I said. Sir Hubert was eager to go that very moment to the Duke, but, looking down upon me, he suddenly perceived my weariness and weakness. 'Poor Margery!' he said, with infinite tenderness, 'you are worn out! What shall we do with her, Sir William?' 'Leave her with me,' said Sir William at once. 'I will take her straight to Lady Caroline, and we will all three follow you to London to-morrow, probably by water, as that will attract the least observation.' After a hurried discussion we agreed to this, and Sir Hubert, who I saw must have received some political information which greatly excited him, took a hasty, though affectionate, leave of me there, by the Thames, within sight of Kingston Bridge, which was so soon to be the scene of a very daring exploit. And we parted, little knowing what was to happen before we met again, he going to the boat to be rowed down to London City, I going with Sir William through the subterranean passage to the great house, where Lady Caroline received me as a sister, and assisted me to bed with her own hands. I was so tired that I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow. But my dreams were troubled. For in them, over and over again, I saw Sir Hubert in a boat, pulling against the stream, and unable to get on, whilst I, standing on the river bank, besought him to make haste to Lady Jane, who in the Tower was in sore need of succour. And still he tried to go to her, but in vain; the boat heaved and tossed, but did not advance at all, in spite of every effort. And I wept in my sleep, because he could not go to Lady Jane. CHAPTER XXI Queen Mary's Boon 'Oh, help me!' I implored. 'Help me to get into the Tower!' The Court physician to whom I appealed shook his head gravely.