At their head were seen striding along Gardiner and Earl Douglas, and at their side the lieutenant of the Tower.
The king's countenance assumed a lowering and angry expression and his cheeks were suffused with crimson.

With the quickness of youth he rose from his chair, and, raised to his full height, he looked with flaming eyes at the procession.
The queen seized his hand and pressed it to her breast.
"Ah," said she, with a low whisper, "protect me, my husband, for fear already overpowers me again! It is my enemy--it is Gardiner--that comes, and I tremble." "You shall no longer tremble before him, Kate!" said the king.

"Woe to them, that dare make King Henry's consort tremble! I will speak with Gardiner." And almost roughly pushing aside the queen, the king, utterly heedless in his violent excitement of the pain of his foot, went in a quick pace to meet the advancing troop.
He ordered them by his gesture to halt, and called Gardiner and Douglas to him.

"What want you here?
And what means this strange array ?" asked he, in a rough tone.
The two courtiers stared at him with looks of amazement, and durst not answer him.
"Well!" asked the king, with ever-rising wrath, "will you at length tell me by what right you intrude into my garden with an armed host--specially at the same hour that I am here with my consort?
Verily, there is no sufficient excuse for such a gross violation of the reverence which you owe your king and master; and I marvel, my lord master of ceremonies, that you did not seek to prevent this indecorum!" Earl Douglas muttered a few words of apology, which the king did not understand, or did not want to understand.
"The duty of a master of ceremonies is to protect his king from every annoyance, and you, Earl Douglas, offer it to me yourself.

Perchance you want thereby to show that you are weary of your office.