Jane, I am not merely your father, but your master also. And you
will obey me, will you not?"

"I will obey!" said she, almost inaudibly, as she kissed the hand
with the fatal ring.

"You will be to Catharine Parr, as you have expressed it, the
serpent, that seduces her to sin?"

"I will."

"You will beguile her into sin, and entice her to indulge a love
which must lead her to destruction?"

"I will do it, my father."

"I will now tell you whom she is to love, and who is to be the
instrument of destruction. You will so manage the queen that she
will love Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey."

Jane uttered a scream, and clung to the back of a chair to keep from
falling.

Her father observed her with penetrating, angry looks. "What means
this outcry? Why does this choice surprise you?" asked he.

Lady Jane had already gained her self-possession. "It surprised me,"
said she, "because the earl is betrothed."

A singular smile played about the earl's lips. "It is not the first