"
(It appeared to him that he was astonishingly voluble, all at once. He
reflected that he must be careful.)
"And what did she say to that?"
"She declared herself guiltless of the plot ... that she knew nothing of
it; and that--"
"Now then; now then. You expect my lord to believe that?"
"I do not know.... But it was what was said."
"And you profess that you knew nothing of the plot till then?"
"I knew nothing of it till then," whispered the priest steadily. "But--"
(A face suddenly blotted out more of the light.)
"Yes?"
"Anthony--I mean Mr. Babington--had spoken to me a great while
before--in ... in some village inn.... I forget where. It was when I was
a lad. He asked whether I would join in some enterprise. He did not say
what it was.... But I thought it to be against the Queen of England....
And I would not."...
He closed his eyes again. There had begun a slow heat of pain in ankles
and wrists, not wholly unbearable, and a warmth began to spread in his
body. A great shudder or two shook him. The voice said something he
could not hear. Then a metal rim was pressed to his mouth; and a stream
of something at once icy and fiery ran into his mouth and out at the
corners. He swallowed once or twice; and his senses came back.
"You do not expect us to believe all that!" came the voice.
"It is the truth, for all that," murmured the priest.
The next question came sudden as a shot fired:
"You were at Fotheringay?"
"Yes.
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