Produced by Al Haines. [Illustration: Cover] HIS MAJESTY’S WELL-BELOVED AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF MR. THOMAS BETTERTON AS TOLD BY HIS FRIEND JOHN HONEYWOOD BY BARONESS ORCZY AUTHOR OF "THE LEAGUE OF THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL," "FLOWER O’ THE LILY," "LORD TONY’S WIFE," ETC. NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY _Copyright, 1919,_ _By George H. Doran Company_ _Printed in the United States of America_ CONTENTS CHAPTER I. How it all Began II. The Rift Within the Lute III. A Criminal Folly IV. More than a Passing Fancy V. The Outrage VI. The Gathering Storm VII. An Assembly of Traitors VIII. The Lion’s Wrath IX. A Last Chance X. The Hour XI. Rumours and Conjectures XII. Poisoned Arrows XIII. The Lady Pleads XIV. The Ruling Passion XV. More Deaf than Adders XVI. The Game of Love HIS MAJESTY’S WELL-BELOVED CHAPTER I How it all Began 1 _From Mr. John Honeywood, clerk to Mr. Theophilus Baggs, attorney-at-law, to Mistress Mary Saunderson, of the Duke’s Theatre in Lincoln’s Inn Fields._ 1662. October the 10th at 85, Chancery Lane in the City of London. Honoured Mistress,—