In her Guinevere and Elaine were moulded into one person with the tenderness, purity, and fierceness of each.
To postpone further the time of the Stanley visit, Dorothy suggested that the betrothal should take place in the presence of the queen.

Sir George acquiesced, and in his heart grew less eager for the Stanley match as Dorothy apparently became more tractable.

He was, however, engaged with the earl to an extent that forbade withdrawal, even had he been sure that he wished to withdraw.
At the time of which I speak the Earl of Leicester was the most exalted subject of the realm.

He was ardently devoted to the cause of the ladies, and, although he had fixed his hope on Elizabeth and longed for a seat beside her on the throne, his inflammable heart was constantly catching fire from other eyes.

He, of course, made desperate efforts to conceal these manifold conflagrations from the queen, but the inflammable tow of his heart was always bringing him into trouble with his fiery mistress.
The earl's first glance toward Dorothy was full of admiration.