"Who told you of it?" asked the duke.
Mary saw she had made a mistake, and, after hesitating for a moment,
answered: "Sir Edwin Caskoden. He had it from Master Brandon, I
suppose." Rather adroit this was, but equidistant from both truth and
effectiveness.
"I will go at once to London and arrange for Brandon's escape," said
Buckingham, preparing to leave. "But you must not divulge the fact
that I do it. It would cost me all the favor I enjoy with the people
of London, though I would willingly lose that favor, a thousand times
over, for a smile from you."
She gave the smile, and as he left, followed his retiring figure with
her eyes, and thought: "After all, he has a kind heart."
She breathed a sigh of relief, too, for she felt she had accomplished
Brandon's release, and still retained her dangerous secret, the
divulging of which, she feared, would harden Henry's heart against her
blandishments and strand her upon the throne of France.
But she was not entirely satisfied with the arrangement.
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