Oh, Henry! have I deserved this of
you?"
"You have chanced to overhear part of a scene in a masquerade,
madam--that is all," said the king.
"I have chanced to arrive most opportunely for myself," said Anne. "As
for this slanderous and deceitful minion, I shall dismiss her from my
service. If your majesty is determined to prove faithless to me, it shall
not be with one of my own dames."
"Catherine of Arragon should have made that speech," retorted Jane
Seymour bitterly. "She had reason to complain that she was
supplanted by one much beneath her. And she never played the king
falsely."
"Nor have I!" cried Anne fiercely. "If I had my will, I should strike thee
dead for the insinuation. Henry, my lord - my love--if you have any
regard for me, instantly dismiss Jane Seymour."
"It may not be, madam," replied Henry in a freezing tone; "she has done
nothing to deserve dismissal. If any one is to blame in the matter, it is
myself."
"And will you allow her to make these accusations against me without
punishment?" cried Anne.
"Peace, madam!" cried the king sternly; "and thank my good-nature that
I go no further into the matter. If you are weary of the masque, I pray
you retire to your own apartments.
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