1567.] THE MURDER OF DARNLEY. 50? promise secret ; the lords would be suspicious of their agreement, and must not know of it. He did not like the mention of the lords ; the lords, he said, had no right to interfere ; he would never ex- cite the lords against her, and she he trusted would not again make a party against him. She said that their past disagreements had been no fault of hers. He and he alone was to blame for all that had gone wrong. "With these words she left him. Mary Stuart was an admirable actress ; rarely perhaps on the world's stage has there been a more skilful player. But the game was a difficult one ; she had still some natural compunction, and the performance was not quite per-/ feet. Darnley, perplexed between hope and fear, affec- tion and misgiving, sent for Crawford. He related the conversation which had passed, so far as he could recollect it, word for word, and asked him what he thought. Crawford, unblinded by passion, answered at once ' that he liked it not ; ' if the Queen wished to have him living with her, why did she not take him to Holyrood ? Craigmillar a remote and lonely country house was no proper place for him ; if he went with her he would go rather as her prisoner than her husband. Darnley answered that he thought little less himself; he had but her promise to trust to, and he feared what she might mean ; he had resolved to go however ; ' he
