"Sh!" said Dempsy, "there is other work for thee now. 'Tis best for
thee to bide here awhile, at least until a courier shall return from
the tree, where thou sayest thy cousin will place the billet. And if
everything is well, then there will be found for thee a guide to lead
thee through the forest to the monastery, where thou shalt first sign
thyself for the strict carrying out of our plans; then thou shalt be
wed, if there is no remissness, and carried safely to London, where
thou shalt remain until thy lady has audience, and gains that we seek
of the King. Ah! there are times when we sigh and almost weep for
those good old _pro_-Reformation days, when such ecclesiastical bodies
as ours took their grievances to--Rome. Bah! to have to bribe a
profligate king for--the signing of his name. What does he know about
bequests and inheritances--" The count started and Dempsy all alert
broke in with,--"and freeholds. Thou dost know, count, the monastery
is a freehold in the very centre of Lord Cedric's lands; but--I am
telling secrets; forget what I said.
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