"Nay, nay, that is impossible," and the king smiled upon her, and as he smiled I hated him, for it was the smile of a bad man. "You see," he went on, "that we are not treating you like one who hath been guilty of great naughtiness, rather, we have brought you to our own house, amongst our own friends. Nevertheless, it is known that the king must do justice to all, and we promised his Grace of Albermarle that this matter should be looked into. You say then that it was not you, but your sister, the wife of the man Denman, who made this murderous attack upon him." "I have never said so, sire." "What!" I noticed the change in the king's tone, and saw that his beady eyes became hard. "I have never said so, sire." "Then do you plead guilty to the charge?" "Else why should I have flown from General Monk's anger?" For a moment Charles was silent, as though he knew not what to say, but presently he burst out laughing. "Why, here my lords and ladies is a strange thing," he said; "and in truth it is worth coming to England to see. The sight of one who seeks to bear the shame of another is surely rare. Come closer, fair Constance, and let me have a closer look at thee!" Again I wondered what she would do, for if I saw evil in the king's eyes, so also I believe did she. "I may not come closer to Your Majesty," she said. "And why prithee?" "I am afraid to dazzle my eyes too much." The king did not notice the scorn in her voice, else he had been angry. Instead he laughed gaily. "We must do something to help you, fair Constance," he said, "for you please us much, and I would fain have you near me often. Nevertheless, justice is justice, and I must e'en keep my word and probe this thing to the bottom. Now whether it was you or another who sought to lay murderous hands upon the Duke of Albermarle can easily be proved. What say you, Your Grace? You say you saw the woman; can you assert that it was those pretty hands which held the bloody knife?" I turned and saw the Duke of Albermarle. He had been standing in the shadow, so that I had not recognized him, but now he stood out clearly, and I noted that his dark searching eyes travelled slowly up and down Constance's form. "No, Your Majesty, it was not she. At first I thought it was, for truly the other is like her; but there is much difference, and the longer I look the more difference do I see. The murderous woman was not so tall as this fair maid by at least three inches, neither are the features altogether alike, although there is a resemblance." "You could take your oath on this, Albermarle?" said the king. "Certainly, Your Majesty."