PART IV HIS GRACE OF WESSEX XXX. THOUGHTS 225 XXXI. MARYE, THE QUEENE 229 XXXII. A BARGAIN 243 XXXIII. IN THE LORD CHANCELLOR'S COURT 252 XXXIV. WESTMINSTER HALL 269 XXXV. THE TRIAL 279 XXXVI. AFTERWARDS 294 XXXVII. THE CARDINAL'S PUPPETS 300 XXXVIII. THE LAST FAREWELL 306 XXXIX. A FORLORN HOPE 314 XL. POOR MIRRAB 318 XLI. THE END 331 PART I MIRRAB--THE WITCH THE TANGLED SKEIN CHAPTER I EAST MOLESEY FAIR Even Noailles, in his letters to his royal master, admits that the weather was glorious, and that the climatic conditions left nothing to be desired. Even Noailles! Noailles, who detested England as the land of humid atmospheres and ill-dressed women! Renard, who was more of a diplomatist and kept his opinions on the fogs and wenches of Old England very much to himself, declared enthusiastically in his letter to the Emperor Charles V, dated October 2nd, 1553, that never had he seen the sky so blue, the sun so bright, nor the people of this barbarous island more merry than on the memorable first day of East Molesey Fair: as all who will, may read for themselves in Vol. III of the Granvelle Papers:-- "_Aulcungs ne pourroient contempler ciel plus bleu soleil plus brillianct ni peuple plus joieult._" Yet what have we to do with the opinions of these noble ambassadors of great and mighty foreign monarchs? Our own chroniclers tell us that East Molesey Fair was the maddest, merriest, happiest time the goodly folk of the Thames Valley had had within memory of the oldest inhabitant. Was not good Queene Marye, beloved daughter of the great King Henry VIII, crowned at last? crowned in Westminster Abbey, as all her loyal subjects had desired that she should be, despite His Grace of Northumberland and his treasonable faction, whom God and the Queene's most lawful Majesty would punish all in good time? In the meanwhile let us be joyful and make merry! Such a motley crowd as never was seen. Here's a sheriff from London City, pompous and dignified in dark doublet and hose, with scarlet mantle and velvet cap; beside him his lady trips right merrily, her damask kirtle held well above her high-heeled shoes, her flowered paniers looped in the latest style, with just the suggestion of a farthingale beneath her robes, to give dignity to her figure and value to the slimness of her waist. Here a couple of solemn burgesses in velvet cloaks edged with fur, and richly slashed doublets, are discussing the latest political events; whilst a group of Hampton merchants, more soberly clad, appraise the wares of a cutler lately hailed from Spain.