Where have I heard the saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"? Well, there was no time for moralising. I sat down, and wrote an order without duress, granting free exit from the castle, without let or hindrance, for Sir Hugh Richmond and Lady Katharine, his wife, with whatsoever jewels and property either bore upon his or her person, and affording them immunity from capture for a space of two hours thereafter. After I had finished it, I sanded it carefully, left it upon the desk and once again resumed my weapons. "The prisoner, sir," said my wife, with marked gravity, "hath comported himself admirably under our gentle persuasion. He hath not stirred; yea, he hath scarcely even breathed." Then laughter overcame her. "Your Majesty," said I, "you can sign the order now." The King fell away from the wall and into the chair, almost like a dead man. He seized the pen and scrawled his name beneath it with a shaking hand. "Now the Royal signet." His hand trembled so he could scarcely drop the wax, but at last he managed to affix his seal to it. "Leave the seal on the table," I added. "There it is," he replied, slamming it down furiously. "I want to play fair with you," I said. "I am not a King; you had better read over the paper you have signed." The King glanced hastily over it and shoved it toward me. "Take it, damn you," he said. "If I but get my hands upon you..." "I know perfectly well what you would fain do with me," I replied coolly. "And if you catch me, you have leave, so far as I am concerned, to wreak whatever majestic vengeance you are inclined to." "Have you finished this baiting of me now?" he choked out. "Not yet. You have confiscated my own estates, also the property of the Earl of Clanranald, the father of my wife; we paid you ten thousand pounds for his liberty and for my wife's freedom; I will take that money, if you please." "Do you think I carry that much upon my person?" "Not in gold or silver perhaps," said I, "but in the stars and jewels that you wear." "Wouldst thou rob as well as murder me?" "I take but my own," returned I. "Off with them." The King tore the jewels from his breast, the rings from his fingers, the pins from his tie, and heaped them down upon the desk. I gathered them together and dropped them into my pocket. "Now," said I, "we have done with you. I served you long and served you well. My own offence was such as any noble gentleman might have forgiven; you repaid me by banishment, and then, ignobly, you tried to steal my wife. True it is that in old days you did heap benefits upon me; I requite them by sparing you now; and, with my wife, I go. Understanding that neither your spoken word nor your written pledge is worth much to me, who know you of old, I have here something I fancy which will cause you to respect what you have said and what you have written." "What is that?" "Your Chief Devil is locked up and under guard, his life is forfeit for mine."