It was rank treason that he talked, such as would have brought him to Tyburn if it had been spoken in London in indiscreet company; it was that treason which her Grace herself had made possible by her faithlessness to God and man; such treason as God Himself must have mercy upon, since He reads all hearts and their intentions.

The others kept silence.
At the end he stood up.

Then he stooped for his boots.
"I must be riding, sir," he said.
Mr.Audrey raised his hand to the latten bell that stood beside him on the table.
"I will take Anthony to his horse," said Robin suddenly, for a thought had come to him.
"Then good-night, sir," said Anthony, as he drew on his second boot and stood up.
* * * * * The sky was all ablaze with stars now as they came out into the court.
On their right shone the high windows of the little hall where peace now reigned, except for the clatter of the boys who took away the dishes; and the night was very still about them in the grip of the frost, for the village went early to bed, and even the dogs were asleep.
Robin said nothing as they went over the paving, for his determination was not yet ripe, and Anthony was still aglow with his own talk.

Then, as the servant who waited for his master, with the horses, showed himself in the stable-arch with a lantern, Robin's mind was made up.
"I have something to tell you," he said softly.

"Tell your man to wait." "Eh ?" "Tell your man to wait with the horses." His heart beat hot and thick in his throat as he led the way through the screens and out beyond the hall and down the steps again into the pleasaunce.