IV + 

The King His Triumph + 

Sir Jasper came slowly into his wife’s room. Lady Frances knew from his face that he was troubled. She could guess the cause. She was reading a letter from Christopher, but it fell to the ground as she sprang up. + 

“Oh, Jasper⁠—no!” + 

Montgomery took her hands. + 

“My dear.⁠ ⁠…” + 

Unaccustomed tears came to her eyes. + 

“They won’t let him die! Oh, they cannot!” + 

“The sentence was read today.” + 

Lady Frances pulled her hands away. + 

“It’s too awful! too cruel! He never had a thought of⁠—plotting! He was so sweet⁠—so⁠—” She broke down. + 

Montgomery watched her pitifully. + 

“Dear.⁠ ⁠…” + 

“They cannot believe⁠—him guilty of⁠—these monstrous charges!” + 

“They do not. But public feeling is too strong. My lord made an excellent defence, but to no avail. The judges affected to believe Tuberville’s lies. Tuberville swore that Stafford had engaged him to murder the King, five years ago.” + 

Lady Frances tried to check her tears. + 

“The King⁠—will not⁠—intervene?” + 

“My dear, I have long since given up expecting aught but selfishness from the King.” + 

She twisted her hands. + 

“It is death?” + 

“Yes. I’ll not revolt you with the details.” + 

She shuddered. + 

“He is⁠—so old! They surely⁠—cannot hang him⁠—and⁠—oh, it is too awful!” + 

“It is believed that the King will refuse his consent to that. We can only hope for decapitation.” + 

Lady Frances turned away, biting her lip. + 

“I knew him so well! Papa⁠—was one of his⁠—dearest friends. I⁠—oh, there’s naught but cruelty and⁠—lowness in England!” + 

“We are indeed come to a pretty pass,” sighed Montgomery. “I never heard palpable lies so easily swallowed. The whole affair was disgraceful. The King was present, and the Duchess of Portsmouth. Her Grace might have comported herself more decently, I thought.” + 

“I daresay.” Lady Frances picked up Christopher’s letter. Her voice still trembled. + 

“Chris⁠—seems more at ease. He⁠—writes cheerfully. He is very busy.” + 

“I am glad he went away before all this trouble came to a head,” said Montgomery. “I wonder what part Roxhythe plays?” + 

“I had rather⁠—not know,” said his wife. + 

Bit by bit Shaftesbury’s adherents fell away from him. Roxhythe still ostensibly helped on his cause, but the Earl neither trusted nor mistrusted him. He believed that Roxhythe wanted the Exclusion but he knew that he had intrigued with the Orangist faction. The Cause was practically hopeless now, for the execution of Stafford had somewhat appalled the mob. Monmouth still blazed through England, and James clamoured for his arrest. It was Roxhythe who counselled the King to hold his hand. + 

Divining the calming temper of the mob, Shaftesbury tried to revive the terror of the Popish Plot. Roxhythe urged him to take action, knowing that, as a result, more members would join the Crown. + 

Then came the Exclusion Bill again, and the King moved at last. + 

“David,” he said, “I shall now prorogue Parliament.” + 

“You could not do better, Sir,” agreed Roxhythe. “Your popularity with the people is growing. They have begun to consider.” + 

“What do they consider?” + 

“Your attitude. They laud you for refusing to listen to Monmouth’s claim. They see in it a just regard for your brother.” + 

“How do you know, David? ’Pon my soul, you are sublime!” + 

“I am indeed. I have done more work in these past months than I ever thought to do in a lifetime. And I am a frequenter of taverns and public meetings. It is most amusing.” + 

“No one suspects you?” + 

“On the contrary, everyone suspects me. Sunderland guesses that I informed you of his duplicity; Halifax will no longer traffic with me; Essex warns Shaftesbury to have no dealings with me. My day is nearly done, but I know enough. Shaftesbury’s ruin is in sight, and it but remains to snare the rest. One man alone trusts me.” + 

“Who is he?” + 

“Monmouth.” + 

The King recoiled a little. + 

“I don’t want him ruined, David! I love him.” + 

“Certainly, Sir. But through him I can catch at the rest.” + 

“I⁠—cannot⁠—believe that he is willingly against me!” + 

Roxhythe looked down at his hands for a moment. + 

“Why, Sir,” he said slowly, “do not distress yourself. Monmouth is weak; he has been led away.” + 

“You say that to console me,” answered Charles. “I will not conceal from you, David, that it has hurt me more than all else.” + 

“I repeat, Sir: he is weak. And very young.” + 

“Yes,” assented Charles. “He is young, of course.⁠ ⁠…” He sighed. “Well, David, repinings will not help me. I am minded to appeal to the nation.” + 

“A declaration.⁠ ⁠… Well, I think the nation will support you.” + 

“So do I,” nodded the King, more cheerfully. + 

He was right. The Declaration was the one thing needed to seal the change in the people’s temper. The country was plunged into a sea of loyalty, and Shaftesbury, almost despairing, withdrew to his house in Aldersgate Street, where he proceeded to gather round him certain citizens of London who, he boasted, would rise at a moment’s notice. + 

Then came a diversion in the shape of William Nassau, who visited London again with Charles’ consent, although the Duke of York, already wary of him, besought the King to forbid his coming. + 

William was as secret as ever, but his uncle could guess his intentions. He wanted to bring England into league with him against France. He wanted Charles to summon a new Parliament. During his stay in London he very frequently visited the Duke of Monmouth and his followers. Charles lifted his brows at that, confessing to Roxhythe that he would give much for a peep into his nephew’s mind. + 

When William at length left England he had extracted a promise from the King that he would call a new Parliament if Louis again invaded the Low Countries. + 

“Sir,” said Bentinck. “Does Your Highness trust His Majesty at last?” + 

“I trust no Englishman,” answered William shortly. “But I think to see upheavals in England.” More he would not vouchsafe. + 

“Sir,” said Roxhythe. “What of Louis?” + 

“Dear David,” replied Charles. “Am I a fool? I have placated M. Barillon. Louis plans to attack Luxembourg.” + 

“Ah! And you?” + 

“I believe I shall be blind to it,” answered Charles placidly. + 

“I see,” said Roxhythe. “To what figure does he go?” + 

“He is very mean. Only a million livres,” sighed Charles. “I must recall James once more. He grows a thought too violent in Scotland.” + 

Meanwhile Roxhythe was sowing hesitancy in Monmouth’s mind. The Young Duke was planning a rising all over the country, but Roxhythe, by some miraculous means or other, kept him uncertain, not daring to move boldly in any one direction, ever procrastinating, and ploughing through what seemed to him a bog of insurmountable difficulties. + 

Shaftesbury, already desperate, and fearing to be betrayed by the Duke’s wavering spirit, found that his brave London citizens were not to be relied on, and gave up the struggle, broken. He had reason to think that he would be arrested again, and, this time, not released. He feared Roxhythe, although he had no proof of my lord’s duplicity. Ill bodily, and more ill in spirit, he left London hurriedly and arrived in Holland in the middle of November, 1682. + 

He was suffering from an internal disease, and that, coupled with the many worries gathered about his head, hastened on his end. Some few weeks after his arrival in Amsterdam he died, brokenhearted, conscious of utter failure. + 

“So I win,” remarked the King. + 

“I told you, Sir, that you should give him rope,” replied Roxhythe. + 

“I had not dared without you, Davy.” + 

“Oh, I think you would!” smiled my lord. “We can now almost touch the end.” + 

“It is ended,” said Charles. + 

“Not while Russell and Essex are at large, Sir,” replied the favourite. “Wait!” + 