"Thou shalt be banished the realm," decided the King, jestingly; for he was now convinced that her Adair was but a jest to tease him--a Roland for his Oliver.

"Banished!" cried Nell, with bated breath.

"Aye; beyond sea, witch!" answered the King, with pompous austerity.

"Virginia shall be thy home."

"Good, good!" laughed Nell, gaily. "Sire, the men grow handsome in Virginia, and dauntless; and they tell me there are a dearth of women there. Oh, banish me at once to--What's the name?"

"Jamestown," suggested York, recalling the one name because of its familiar sound.

"Yea, brother James," said Nell, fearlessly mimicking his brusque accent, "Jamestown."

"Savages, wild men, cannibals," scowled Charles.

"Cannibals!" cried Nell. "Marry, I should love to be a cannibal. Are there cannibals in Jamestown, brother James? Banish me, Sire; banish me to Jamestown of all places. Up with the sails, my merry men; give me the helm! Adair will sail in the same good ship, I trow."

"Adair! I trow thou wert best at home, cannibal Nelly," determined the King.

"Then set all the men in Britain to watch me, Sire," said Nell; "for, from now on, I'll need it."

The King shook his finger warningly at her, then leaned carelessly against the window.

"Ho there!" he cried out suddenly. "A night disturbance, a drunken brawl, beneath our very ears! Fellow-saints, what mean my subjects from their beds this hour of night? Their sovereign does the revelling for the realm. James, Rochester and all, see to 't!"

CHAPTER XVII

_The day will be so happy; for I've seen you at the dawn._

The room was quickly cleared, the King's courtiers jostling one another in their efforts to carry out the royal bidding.

Charles turned with a merry laugh and seized Nell in his arms almost fiercely.

"A subterfuge!" he cried eagerly. "Nell, quick; one kiss!"

"Nay; you question my constancy to-night," said Nell, sadly, as she looked into his eyes, with the look of perfect love. "You do not trust me."

"I do, sweet Nell," protested the King, earnestly.

"You bring me Portsmouth's lips," said Nell, with sad reproof.

"I left her dance for you," replied the King, drawing her closer to him.

"At near sunrise, Sire," sighed Nell, reprovingly, as she drew back the curtain and revealed the first gray streaks of the breaking light of day.

"Nay, do not tantalize me, Nell," besought the King, throwing himself upon the couch. "I am sad to-night."

The woman's forgiving heart was touched with sympathy. Her eyes sought his sadly beautiful face. She ran to him, fell upon her knees and kissed his hand tenderly.

"Tantalize my King!" she cried. "The day will be so happy; for I've seen you at the dawn." There was all the emotional fervour and pathetic tenderness which the great composer has compressed into the love-music of "Tristan and Isolde" in her voice.

"My crown is heavy, Nell," he continued. "Heaven gives us crowns, but not the eye to see the ending of our deeds."

"G.o.d sees them," said Nell. "Ah, Sire, I thank the Maker of the world for giving a crown to one whom I respect and love."

"And I curse it," cried the King, with earnest eyes; "for 'tis the only barrier to our united love. It is the sparkling spider in the centre of a great web of intrigue and infamy."

"You make me bold to speak. Cut the web, Sire, which binds thy crown to France. There is the only danger."

"Thou art wrong, Nelly, wrong!" He spoke in deep, firm accents. "I have decided otherwise."

He rose abruptly, his brow clouded with thought. She took his hand tenderly.

"Then, change your mind, Sire," she pleaded; "for I can prove--"

"What, girl?" he asked eagerly, his curiosity awakened by her manner.

Nell did not respond. To continue would reveal Adair, and she could not think of that.

"What, I say?" again asked Charles, impatiently.

"To-morrow, Sire," laughed Nell, evasively.

"Aye, to-morrow and to-morrow!" petulantly repeated the King.

He was about to demand a direct reply but was stayed by the sound of a struggle without.

It befell in the nick of time for Nell, as all things, indeed, in life seemed to befall in the nick of time for her. The impious huswives shook their heads and attributed it to the evil influence; the pious huswives a.s.serted it was providential; Nell herself laughingly declared it was her lucky star.

"Ho, without there!" Charles cried, impatiently--almost angrily--at the interruption. "Whence comes this noisy riot?"

James, Rochester and the others unceremoniously re-entered.

"Pardon, Sire," explained the Duke of York; "the guard caught but now an armed ruffian prowling by the house. They report they stayed him on suspicion of his looks and insolence."

"Adair! Adair! My life upon't!" laughed the King, ever ready for sport.

"Set him before us."

An officer of the guard departed quickly to bring in the offender. The courtiers took up the King's cry most readily; and there was a general cackle of "Adair!" "Adair!" "A trial!" "Sire!" "Bring in the coward!"

Nell stood in the midst of the scene, the picture of demure innocence.

"They've caught Adair!" she whispered to Moll, mischievously.