376 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH 44 many times, and had threatened to break the lock, the Queen drew back the bolt. He entered and she appeared to be alone, but on searching he found Rizzio half-dressed in a closet. 1 Darnley's word was not a good one : he was capable of inventing such a story to compass his other purposes, or if it was true it might have been innocently explained. The Queen of Scots frequently played cards with Kizzio late into the night, and being a person entirely careless of appearances she might easily have been alone with him with no guilty intention under the conditions which Darnley described. However it was, he believed or pre- tended that he had found evidence of his dishonour, and communicated his discovery to Sir George Douglas an- other of his mother's brothers, who at Darnley's desire on the loth of February informed the Earl of Ruthven. Once before, it appeared, ' the nobility had given Darnley counsel suitable to his honour ' that is to say, they had intimated to him their own views of Eizzio's proceedings and character. Darnley had betrayed them to the Queen, whe had of course been exasperated. Ruthven had been three months ill; he was then 1 'L'une cause de la mort de David est que le Roy quelques jours auparavant, environ une hcure apres minuict, seroit alle heurter a, la chambre de ladicte dame, qui estoit audcssus de la sienne ; et d'aultant que apres avoir plusieurs fois heurte i'on ne luy respoiidoit point il auroit apelle souvent la Royne, la priant de ouvrir, et snfin } a menacant do rompre la porte ; a cause de quoy elle lui auroit ouvert. Laquelle ledict Roy trouva seule dedans ladicte chambre ; mais ayant cberche par- tout il auroit trouve dedans son cabinet ledict David en cbemise, couvert seullement d'une robbe fourree.' Analyse d'une depeche de M. de Foix a la Reyne mere : TEULET, vol. ii. p. 267.
