Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-12-10

! This was her wedding robe. She was
/ to be married to the king In those
next hours she would become q queen,
! the highest lady in the land.
Oh, If only 1t we're her own hand
some lad who was coming to herl But
! that could never be nowhere had
been no hope for them since the king
had condescended to her. They said
she would be happy, would love the
king as was her duty and her honor.
They said
She would not look ahead She
would see only this vision of her own
decked-out pride. When she was queen
indeed all would be well with her.
Slowly the image faded as If the
glass we're misting, and then 1t was
her own older face that she was star
ing at. Her first clear waking thought
was that at last she held clue-a
country. girl who, had been Queen OF
England She could hurry to histories
A sharp aversion made her finch
from that. Deep within her sounded
a cold warning that to look would
break the spell. She told herself that
it would be absurd to look, since this
was all a dream. All that she wanted
now was to go on with the dreaming,
hurrying to the sharp, dangerous &C.
stasy that was foreboded
Riding the gentle mare that had re-
placed Black Knight, she trotted
along, turning over in her mind the
odd manner Of the owl-eyed little
man who had come down to spend
some days with them a friend OF
Halls.
Hal had demurred at her riding
alone and the man had said. Nothing
like fresh air TO blow out cobwebs." He
had said 1t as If he had authority and
Hal had deferred to him and that was
strange in Hal
She wondered what cobwebs he
meant. Perhaps she had been answer
ing vaguely or impatiently; people
broke in so troublingly upon her abb
sorbed moods.
She set the mare at a gallop across
a field. It was good TO be riding alone.
She was not alone. Horsemen were
galloping about her, bright colored fig /
ures on stout horses with flying names. |
She was riding side saddle, her skirt |
her hat plumes streaming. {
On one gauntleted, leather guarded /
wrist she held falcon, hooded.
Her heart was thudding like the /
horses hoofs. Henry was riding close /
Oh, it was madness for them to look /
at each other before the courtierS yet
she must look, she must smile, quickly /
their eyes must tell each other that
they would meet that night.
She would die, she thought, II the
king came to her again that night. She
was distraught with this love that had
torn at her ever since she was a child.
And now that she was a woman, II,
now that she could give herself
Her mare swerved at a ditch and
put for her quick thighs and knees,
gripping the cross saddle, she. would
have lost her seat. Refining In, she
.rotted home. All that she wanted,
low, was for the day to pass, for night
% bring her to her lover.
Her eyes opened on darkness. Jane
was crouching at the door, listen
ng. The watchman's steps were dying
away. Now was the time. Hurriedly
he slipped on gown Of soft, heavy
ituff that would not rustic. Jane
1reathed, "Ah, but / be feared, my
ady." Jane never called her highness
when they we're alone. Queer for Jane
o be afraid. She felt only q wild reck-
essness that laughed at fear.
Clutching James hand she stole out
nto the palace hall. They dared not
isk a candle but made their way eau
iously past heavy doors through which
he SHORES came muffleo, to the door
n the paneling at the head Of the
,itchen stairs, where Jane was 70
tay on watch. Down at the foot Of
hose stairs was q safe place for low
one would think to look for
queen at the foot Of the kitchen
tairs.
Down she went, carefully, feeling
ach oak tread, one hand against the
1all, the other holding up her gown.
Ter blood was racing with the mortal
weetness Of what lay ahead -.
A touch transformed her. She was
landing on her own backstairs, fac
1g a binding light. It moved from
Ter face and she was aware of Hal,
a his dressing gown nashlight tn