"For," cried the king, "be he prince or
peasant, I will see him hanged before my eyes, and then return his
wanton paramour, branded with infamy, to her disgraced family!"
Soulis now suggested that, as the delinquent was to be found with
Bruce, most likely that young nobleman was privy to his designs. "We
shall see to him hereafter," replied the king; "meanwhile, look that I
am obeyed."
The moment this order passed the king's lips, Gloucester, now not
doubting the queen's guilt, hastened to warn Bruce of what had
occurred, that he might separate himself from the crime of a man who
appeared to have been under his protection. But when he found that the
accused was no other than the universally feared, universally beloved,
and generous Wallace, all other considerations were lost in the desire
of delivering him from the impending danger. He knew the means, and he
did not hesitate to employ them.
During the recital of this narrative, Gloucester narrowly observed the
auditor, and the ingenuous bursts of his indignation, and the horror he
evinced at the crime he was suspected of having committed, the earl,
while more fully convinced of his innocence, easily conceived how the
queen's sentiments for him might have gone no further than a childish
admiration, very pardonable in a guileless creature hardly more than
sixteen.
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