"Yes, Henry, your brother, the fool John Heywood, had on that night the proud honor of accompanying your consort on her holy errand; but, I assure you, that he was less like the king, than the king is just now like the fool." A murmur of surprise ran through the assembly.

The king leaned back in his royal seat speechless.

"And now, King Henry," said Catharine, calmly--"now I will tell you whither I went with John Heywood on that night." She was silent, and for a moment leaned back on her seat.

She felt that the looks of all were directed to her; she heard the king's wrathful groan; she felt her lover's flashing, reproachful glances; she saw the derisive smile of those haughty ladies, who had never forgiven her--that she, from a simple baroness, had become queen.

But all this made her only still bolder and more courageous.
She had arrived at the turning-point of her life, where she must risk everything to avoid sinking into the abyss.
But Lady Jane also had arrived at such a decisive moment of her existence.