“Let us hear thy plan?” rejoined Somerset.
“Under pretence of showing his majesty some new pieces of ordnance, my lord hath obtained the king’s promise to accompany him to the Tower to-morrow. Once there, he will use all his efforts to induce his majesty to change his present government, and he hopes to succeed by representing to him that his royal father’s will was fraudulently stamped—”
“Ha!” exclaimed Somerset.
“Such is the assertion he will make,” pursued Ugo; “and he proposes to support it by some confession he pretends to have obtained. Be this as it may, he hopes to prevail upon the king to remain within the Tower, and to give him the command of the fortress and the custody of his person.”
“A boldly-conceived project, on my faith!” cried Warwick; “and, if the king consented, might prove successful.”
“But his majesty never would consent—of that I am certain,” said Somerset.
“But should persuasion fail,” pursued Ugo, “my lord will resort to force, and will seize upon the person of the king, and possess himself of the fortress.”
“Ha! does he meditate this desperate treason?” exclaimed the protector. “But ’tis a rash and insane design, which none but he would conceive.”
“‘Tis not so rash as it seems,” replied Ugo. “He will go to the Tower with a large and well-armed escort—and he has many friends in the fortress who will lend him their aid. For my own part, I nothing doubt his ability to execute his design.”
“What, to seize upon the king and hold the Tower?” cried Somerset.
“Ay, your Highness, hold it long enough to change the government,” rejoined Ugo. “But with proper precautions there will be no danger, and my lord can be taken in his own toils. Here is a list of his adherents in the Tower. Let all these be removed without delay, and trusty officers substituted, and no fear need be entertained. It is not for me to point out to your Highness, and to the lords of the council how the arrest should be made. You will make your own decision. But once within the Tower, my lord ought never to go forth again—except to the scaffold on Tower Hill.”
“The trap will be well baited,” said Somerset, “and if caught in it, he shall not break loose. We owe thee much for thy serviceable disclosures. Thou hast made ample amends for any share thou mayst have had in this conspiracy, and mayst calculate not only upon pardon, but reward.”
“I care not for reward, your Highness,” replied Ugo; “I shall be satisfied if I bring Lord Seymour to the scaffold.”
“What hath thy lord done to incur such deadly animosity on thy part?” asked Lord Russell.
“Ask me not to publish mine own shame,” cried Ugo, fiercely. “Enough that he hath inflicted an injury upon me which can only be washed out by blood. He should have died by my hand long ago, but that I preferred that he should die on the scaffold.”
“Thy desire will be gratified,” said Warwick.
“After the disclosures we have heard,” said Somerset, “there can be no doubt of the existence of a great and terrible conspiracy, contrived, I lament to say, by my own brother. But I shall close my heart towards him, and judge him with Roman stoicism and severity. Many arrests will have to be made to-morrow. Are there any others whom thou canst denounce?” he added to Ugo.
“There are several in the royal household who are in his pay,” replied the other, “but the chief of them is Fowler, a gentleman of the privy-chamber.”
“What! has Fowler played me false?” cried the protector. “He shall be arrested.”
“If your Highness will cast your eye over this list,” said Ugo, delivering him a paper, “you will find the names of all such nobles as belong to my lord’s faction, and are disaffected towards yourself.”
“Foremost among them I find the Marquis of Dorset,” returned Somerset, glancing at the list. “He shall undergo examination, as shall all the rest. Hast thou aught more to disclose?”
“No, your Grace. I have revealed all I know.”
“Thou art free then to depart,” said the protector. “I need not bid thee be cautious, since for thy own sake thou art sure to be so. To-morrow thou wilt accompany the admiral to the Tower.”