Act Five
The scene is that of Act One.66
Scene One
Hanna Kennedy, dressed in deep mourning, her eyes red with weeping, is tying up packets and sealing letters. Her work is often broken by grief and pauses for prayer. Paulet and Drury, also in black, enter, followed by servants carrying gold and silver vessels, mirrors, paintings, and other treasures, which then fill the background. Paulet delivers a jewelry case to Hanna and a list of its contents, as he indicates by gestures. The sight renews the Nurse’s pain. The others withdraw. Melvil enters.
KENNEDY (cries out as she sees him).
Melvil! It’s you! I see you once again!
MELVIL. Dear Kennedy, yes. We meet here again.2180
KENNEDY. After a long, long painful separation!
MELVIL. A sorrowful and painful meeting again!
KENNEDY. Oh, God! You’ve come—
MELVIL. To take last leave of my Queen.
KENNEDY. Now at last, on the morning of her death,
It’s granted her to see her people again.
Oh, I’ll not ask how you have fared meanwhile,
Nor will I tell how we have suffered since
The long-ago day you were torn from our side.
There will be time for that yet. Oh, Melvil, that we
Should have to see the dawn of this day!2190
MELVIL. Let us
Not weaken one another. I shall weep
As long as I live, no smile brighten these cheeks,
Nor shall I lay aside black mourning. Always
Shall I mourn. But today I would stand firm.
Promise me you will master your grief and,
When others give way to despair, let us go
Before her, her staff on the way to her death!
KENNEDY. Melvil, you are mistaken if you believe
The Queen needs our support to go to her death. She
Sets an example for us. Never fear!2200
For Mary Stuart dies a heroine and a queen.
MELVIL. And how did she receive the news of her death?
I heard it said she had not been prepared.
KENNEDY. She had not. Wholly different fears disturbed her,
Not death but rescue. Mortimer had promised
To free her last night, and between hope and fear—
Whether she trust him with her honor and person—
The Queen awaited him and looked for the morning.
A sudden thud of footsteps, hammering and knocking.
We think we hear our rescuers come at last.2210
Hope beckons, will to live assails us— The door
Opens, Sir Paulet comes to say carpenters
Are setting up a scaffold down below us.
(She turns away, overcome by grief.)
MELVIL. Dear God in heaven! How did Mary respond?
KENNEDY (after a pause in which she steadies herself).
One does not lay life aside slowly. All
At once, swift, in an instant must come the change
From Time to the Eternal. And God granted
My Lady in this moment strength to cast off
All earthly hope with a firm spirit and
Attach herself to Heaven full of faith.2220
No sign of fear, no complaint tarnished her honor.
Only on learning of Lord Leicester’s bad faith,
Of the fate of that boy who gave his life
For her, on seeing the old knight’s distress,
Whose last hope had died for her cause and for her,
Did she shed tears. She passed the rest of the night
In prayer, wrote to her dearest friends, and made
Her will with her own hand. She’s resting now, her
Last sleep.
MELVIL. Who’s with her?
KENNEDY. Her physician, her women.
Scene Two
As above. Margaret Curle enters.
KENNEDY. Mistress, what news? The Lady is awake?2230
CURLE (drying her eyes).
Already dressed. And asking for you.
KENNEDY. I’m coming.
(To Melvil, who is about to follow)
Not yet. Wait till I have prepared the Lady. (She goes off.)
CURLE. It’s Melvil, our old steward!
MELVIL. Yes, it’s me.
CURLE. Oh, this house needs no steward anymore!
You come from London? Have you news of my husband?
MELVIL. He’s to be freed when—
CURLE. When the Queen is no more!
And it’s his witness that condemned her?
MELVIL. Just so.
CURLE. He gave false witness—
MELVIL. But consider, Mistress—
CURLE. I’ll swear to it in court, swear to his face.
She dies without guilt.2240
MELVIL. God grant it be so!
Scene Three
As above. Burgoyne enters, then Hanna Kennedy.
BURGOYNE (seeing Melvil).
Ah, Melvil!
MELVIL (embracing him). Burgoyne!
BURGOYNE (to Margaret Curle). Bring us a glass of wine for
Our Lady. Quickly!
(Curle goes off.)
MELVIL. Is the Queen not well?
BURGOYNE. She believes herself strong and she will not eat, but
Hard struggle awaits her. Let no one say
Fear blanched her cheek, when it was Nature’s weakness.
MELVIL (to the Nurse, who enters). Will she see me?
KENNEDY. She’ll be here right away. —
You look about, see these magnificent things?
In life we suffered need, in death we have plenty.
Scene Four
As above. Two other waiting women enter, dressed in mourning.
Seeing Melvil, they burst into tears.
MELVIL. What a reunion! Gertrude! Rosamond!
SECOND ATTENDANT. She sent us out, to speak with God alone.2250
(Two more waiting women enter, in mourning and expressing deep grief.)
Scene Five
Margaret Curle returns. She carries a golden cup of wine,
sets it on the table, and supports herself on a chair.
MELVIL. What is it, Mistress?
CURLE. Oh, God!
BURGOYNE. What is wrong?
CURLE. Oh, what I saw!
MELVIL. Be calm. Tell us what it is.
CURLE. As I came up the grand stair with this wine cup,
The door sprang open in the hall. Oh, God!
MELVIL. You saw what?
CURLE. Walls draped in black. Before them
A scaffold hung in black rose from the floor.
A block, a cushion, both black, a gleaming axe,
The room of men with greedy, blood-thirsty looks.
THE WOMEN. God bless our Lady!
MELVIL. Steady now! She is coming.
Scene Six
As above. Mary. She is dressed in festive white, an Agnus Dei67 hangs on a chain at her neck, a rosary at her belt. She carries a Crucifix and, in her hair, a diadem. Her long black veil is thrown back. At her entrance all present step back to both sides, with expressions of pain. Melvil instinctively sinks to his knees.
MARY (looking about, poised and calm).
Why do you weep? Why grieve? Be joyful with me.2260
The end of all my sorrow is here at last,
My fetters fall, my prison doors swing open,
And my soul mounts toward freedom on angels’ wings.
When I was in the power of my proud rival,
Suffering disgrace, what a great queen is spared—
That was the proper time to weep for me.
Beneficent and healing, Death now approaches,
That grave friend. With his dusky wings he will cover
Base pain. Last fate ennobles fallen mankind.2270
I feel the crown on my head, pride in my soul!
(Advancing a few steps)
What? Melvil here? Not thus, brave Knight! Stand up!
You’ve come to your Queen’s triumph, not her death.
I had not hoped to know such happiness:
My history will not rest in enemies’ hands,
One friend, of my faith witnesses my death.
Tell me, Knight, how you fared in this hostile land
Since they took you away from me.
MELVIL. I suffered
No want but care for you, whom I could not serve.
MARY. And Didier, my old chamberlain? He sleeps an
Eternal sleep? He was advanced in years.2280
MELVIL. He’s not so blessed. He lives to mourn your youth.68
MARY. Had I but lived to embrace my loved kinsmen!
I die among strangers, see your tears only.
Last wishes for my own I lay in your hands.
I bless the Most Christian King, my brother,69
The royal house of France, my uncle the Cardinal,
And Henry Guise, my cousin. I bless the Pope,
Vicar of Christ, who blesses me, and the
Catholic King,70 who wished to be my savior.
They all are named in my will and testament,2290
They will not scorn my gifts, however poor.
(Turning to her servants)
You I commend all to my brother in France.
He’ll give you a new country. Honor my last
Request: Do not remain in England, let
The Briton not feed on your sorrow. (Showing her Crucifix) By
The Savior, promise me not to remain in
This wretched land.
MELVIL (touching the Crucifix). I swear in the name of all.
MARY. What I possessed once I give to you all. My
Last will be honored. What I wear to my death
Is yours, too. Grant me once more to enjoy2300
An earthly brilliance on my way to Heaven!
(To the Attendants)
To you, my Alix, Gertrude, Rosamond,
My pearls and my clothes. Young, you love fine things.
You, Margaret, have next claim upon my bounty.
I leave you behind unhappiest of all.
My will shows I do not impose your husband’s
Guilt on you. You, my Hanna, find no charm
In gold or stones. Your treasure is my memory.
This cloth is yours. I’ve worked it for you with my
Own hands in hours of sorrow, woven my tears 2310
Into it. Bind my eyes with this when it’s time.
I would receive this at the last from my Hanna.
KENNEDY. Oh, Melvil, I can’t bear it!
MARY. Come, one and all!
Come and receive my last farewell.
(She extends her hands. One after another they kneel and
kiss the offered hand, weeping.)
Farewell!
Margaret, farewell. Alix, goodbye. My thanks,
Burgoyne, for faithful service all these years.
Gertrude, your lips burn. Much loved and much hated
I was. Your glowing heart, Gertrude, demands love.
A worthy husband seal your happiness.
Berta, chaste bride of Heaven, take your vows soon!2320
The goods of this world deceive. Learn from your Queen.
No more! Farewell! Farewell! Forever farewell!
(She turns away. All except Melvil go off.)
Scene Seven
Mary. Melvil.
MARY. All temporal things are now in order. I hope
To leave this world as debtor to no man. But
One thing weighs on my soul, holds it earthbound.
MELVIL. Tell a true friend. And lighten your burdened heart.
MARY. I stand at the edge of Eternity
And have not reconciled the Holy One yet.
A priest of my Church is denied me. I
Refuse the service of another. I would2330
Die faithful to my sole redeeming Church.
MELVIL. For Heaven the wish is as good as the deed.
Tyranny binds the hands but not the heart.
MARY. Melvil, the heart alone is not enough.
Faith needs a token. God thus became flesh,
Invisible gifts in the visible.
The Universal Church, the Catholic Church,
Builds a great ladder heavenward, for faith
Strengthens faith where ten thousands kneel to pray,
Coals become flame and the winged spirit takes flight.2340
Happy who gather in the House of the Lord!
The bishop in white vestments stands at the altar,
Where candles flicker, incense rises, bells sound.
He takes the chalice, blesses it, proclaims
The wonder of the bread and the wine, and
The faithful people, believing, drop to their knees
Before God present. I alone am shut out!
MELVIL. You are received and God is present. Trust him.
For a dry rod can put forth green shoots and the
One who struck water from the rock can prepare2350
An altar in your prison, turn this earthly
Vessel into a holy chalice for you.71
(He takes up the wine cup from the table.)
MARY. I understand you. The Redeemer said:
When two are gathered in my name, I am
Present among you.72 What consecrates a priest? A
Pure heart and spotless life. Thus you are a priest
Sent me by God to give me comfort. To
You would I make my last confession and learn
From your mouth of forgiveness and salvation.
MELVIL. Then know, my Queen, that God can also perform2360
A miracle to comfort you. You err:
Here is a priest and God is present here, too.
(He uncovers his head and presents a Host in a golden vessel.)
I am a priest. To hear your last confession
And give you peace now on your way to death, I
Have taken holy orders and I bring you
This Host sent by the Holy Father, who blessed it.
MARY. God’s joy is given me on the threshold of death!
Like the apostle whom the angel led
From prison, whom no lock and no sword held—73
He strides through closed gates and stands shining in jail—2370
I am surprised by Heaven’s herald when
All earthly rescuers have failed me and foundered.
And you, my servant once, are now God’s and
His holy mouth. Your knee bent once before me,
I now bend mine before you. (She kneels before him.)
MELVIL (making the sign of the Cross). In the name of
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!
Mary, Queen, have you well examined your heart?
And swear to confess truth before the true God?
MARY. My heart is open before Him and you.
MELVIL. What sin does conscience reproach you since you2380
Were reconciled last with your God?
MARY. My heart was filled with envious hate and wish
For revenge on my rival. I hoped God would
Forgive me and myself could not forgive her.
MELVIL. Do you rue it and wish to die reconciled?
MARY. As surely as I hope God will forgive me.
MELVIL. What other sin does your heart accuse you of?
MARY. Oh, not by hate alone, by sinful love
I have offended highest God yet more.
My empty heart was drawn to a man who2390
Deceived me shamelessly and deserted me.74
MELVIL. Do you rue it? And has your heart turned away?
MARY. My hardest struggle. The last bond is broken.
MELVIL. What other guilt does conscience yet reproach you?
MARY. An early blood guilt, long ago confessed,
Returns with terrors like none known before,
Now that I settle my accounts before dying.
Darnley, my husband, I worked to have murdered,
Then gave my seducer my hand in marriage.
I have atoned with proper penalties, but2400
It gnaws at my soul and gives me no peace.
MELVIL. Your heart accuses no sin not yet confessed?
MARY. You now know everything that burdens my heart.
MELVIL. Think of the nearness of all-knowing God!
Think of the penalties for sins not confessed.
That is the sin of eternal death. Committed
Against the Holy Spirit, it condemns you.
MARY. Then let eternal mercy grant me victory
In the last struggle. I have hidden nothing.
MELVIL. You would conceal from God the crime of which2410
All men accuse you? Nothing here of your part
In Babington’s and Parry’s high treason?
You die a temporal death for this deed. Would
You also die eternal death for it?
MARY. I shall appear in the presence of God
Before the minute hand has turned a full round,
And I repeat: I have confessed all things.
MELVIL. The heart deceives. Have you evaded the word
While the will took part in the crime? His eye,
Which sees the deepest things, will not be deceived.2420
MARY. I called all princes, charged them to free me
Of unworthy bonds. Never by intention
Or deed did I attempt the life of my rival!
MELVIL. Your scribes both gave false witness, you would say?
MARY. It is as I have told you. God be their judge!
MELVIL. You climb the scaffold believing you are guiltless?
MARY. God finds me worthy to atone early crime by
Dying, this last, a death I have not deserved.75
MELVIL (making the sign of the Cross).
Go now, repent. Blood can redeem blood crime.
You erred of weakness. Mortal weakness does not2430
Follow the soul into death’s transfiguration.
By the power vested in me to loose and to bind
I grant you remission of all your sins.
May coming events accord with your faith.
(He offers her the Host.)
This is the Body given for you. Take, eat.
(He lifts the chalice from the table, consecrates it in silent prayer and offers it to her.)
This is the Blood shed for you.
(She hesitates with a gesture of refusal.)76
Take it. Accept!
The Pope extends this favor, gives you in death
The priest’s privilege and the anointed king’s.
(She receives the chalice.)
Just as your earthly body now is joined to God,
Just so you join eternal Godliness in Heaven,2440
Where there is no guilt, where there is no weeping.
(He sets down the chalice. A noise at the door. He covers his head and goes to answer. Mary kneels still in silent devotion.)
MELVIL (returning). A hard test lies before you. Are you strong
Enough to conquer all hate, all bitterness?
MARY. I fear no lapse. I’ve given both to God.
MELVIL. Prepare yourself to receive Lords Leicester and Burghley.
Scene Eight
As above. Burghley. Leicester and Paulet.
Leicester remains at a distance and does not look up. Burghley,
noticing his state, places himself between Leicester and the Queen.
BURGHLEY. I am here, Lady Stuart, to receive
Your last orders.
MARY. I thank you.
BURGHLEY. It is the wish of
My Queen that nothing meet be denied you.
MARY. My testament names my last wishes. I
Have laid it in Knight Paulet’s hands and ask2450
That it be executed faithfully.
PAULET. You may depend on it.
MARY. I bid you to release my servants unharmed
To France or Scotland, as they require to go.
BURGHLEY. It shall be as you wish.
MARY. Since my body
Is not to lie in hallowed ground, I ask that
This faithful servant (indicating Melvil) bring my heart to my friends in
France. It was ever there!
BURGHLEY. That, too, shall be done.
Have you yet other—
MARY. To the Queen of England
A sister’s greetings. Tell her I forgive her2460
My death with all my heart and rue and regret my
Hot words of yesterday. God keep her and grant her
A happy reign!
BURGHLEY. Have you not reconsidered?
Will you still not accept the deacon’s attendance?
MARY. I have been reconciled with God. Knight Paulet!
Guiltless, I’ve greatly pained you, robbed your comfort
In old age. I hope you will not think of me
With hatred.
PAULET (gives her his hand). God be with you! Go in peace!
Scene Nine
As above. Hanna Kennedy and the Queen’s other women enter, showing horror; the Sheriff follows, carrying a white staff; behind them, through the open door, one sees armed Guards.
MARY. What is it, Hanna? — Ah, yes. It’s time. The sheriff
Comes now to lead us to death. Now we must part.2470
(Her women cling to her, weeping.)
Farewell! Farewell! (To Melvil) You, sir, and my Hanna shall
Go with me on this last walk. You, my Lord,
Would not deny me this last favor, I hope.
BURGHLEY. I’ve no authority.
MARY. You would deny me
This last? Respect my sex, sir. Who is to render
Me this last service? Never would my sister
Intend our sex insulted by men’s rough hands!
BURGHLEY. No woman at the block! Her wailing—
MARY. There
Will be no wailing. You, my Lord, would not
Remove me in death from my nurse. Her arms brought2480
Me into life, her hand lead me into death.
PAULET (to Burghley). Permit it.
BURGHLEY. So be it.
MARY. Now I have nothing
More in this world— (She raises the Crucifix and kisses it.)
My Savior! My Redeemer!
As you spread your arms on the Cross, now
Open them wide and receive me in grace.
(She turns to go and her eye falls on Earl Leicester, who has looked up at her departure. Mary shudders, her knees give way, and she is about to fall when Leicester catches her. She gazes at him long and steadily; he cannot meet her gaze; finally she speaks.)
You keep your word, Lord Leicester, you who promised
Your arm on which to lead me from my prison.
(He stands as if destroyed. She continues softly)
Not only freedom would I credit your hand.
You were to make my freedom precious to me.
2490
And now on the way out of this world, tempted
No more by earthly longing, I admit,
With no shame, weakness I have overcome.
Farewell. Live happy, too, if you are able!
Your fortune was to sue for two queens; one,
A loving heart, you spurned, to win a proud one.
Kneel at the feet of your Elizabeth!
May your reward not become your punishment.
Farewell! Now I have nothing more in this world!
(She goes off, led by the Sheriff, Melvil and her Nurse at her side. Burghley and Paulet follow; the others, grieving, follow her with their eyes until she is out of sight. They then go off through two other doors.)
Scene Ten
Leicester alone
And I still live! Endure yet to live on!
This roof does not fall? No abyss opens?2500
What have I not lost! What divine happiness!
She goes, pure spirit now. I stay behind, damned.
And what of my resolve to stifle my heart?
To see her head fall with a steady gaze?
Must she, in death, catch me again in love’s toils?
Wretch! You have no more claim to womanish feelings!
There’ll be no love on your path anymore!
Armor your breast with steel, your brow be a rock!
Would you not lose the prize of this shameful deed,
You must hold to it boldly and complete it.2510
Silence, soft feelings! Turn to stone, you eyes!
I shall see her fall, I will be witness.
(He strides toward the door Mary went out, then stops.)
No use. Hellish dread holds me. I cannot look.
Listen! What was that? They are down there already,
Beneath my feet. Yes. I hear voices. Away from
This house of death!
(He wants to go out by another door and finds it locked.)
What binds me to this floor?
Must I hear what I cannot bear to see?
The deacon’s voice, he cautions her, she breaks in,
She prays in a loud voice, a steady, loud voice.
Stillness and silence. Only sobbing—the women.2520
She’s being disrobed. The stool is placed. She kneels.
(He speaks these last words with mounting anxiety, then stops. One
sees him start and shudder, then sink to the floor. A murmur of
voices rises from below and lasts long.)
Elizabeth’s room in Act Four
Scene Eleven
Elizabeth enters from the side, visibly uneasy.
No one here. Still no word. Will evening not come?77
A torment, waiting this way. Has it happened?
Has it not? Both fill me with dread. I daren’t ask.
No sign of Leicester, none of Burghley either.
If they’ve left London, then the arrow’s in flight.
Cost it my realm, I’ve cannot stop it. — Who’s there?
Scene Twelve
Elizabeth. A Page.
ELIZABETH. You come back all alone? Where are their lordships?
PAGE. My Lord Earl Leicester and the Lord High Treasurer—
ELIZABETH (2530in suspense). Where are they?
PAGE. They are not in London.
ELIZABETH. Not?
Where are they then?
PAGE. That no one knew to tell me.
It’s said that they left London before dawn,
In a great hurry and quite secretly.
ELIZABETH (exclaiming). I am Queen of England! (Pacing up and down) Go and call—
No. Stay here. — She is dead! At last I have space
On earth. Why do I tremble? Why so anxious?
The grave hides it. Who dares say I did it? (To the Page)
Are you still here? My scribe shall come this instant.
Send for Earl Shrewsbury. — Here he is himself!
(The Page goes off.)
Scene Thirteen
Elizabeth. Earl Shrewsbury.
ELIZABETH. Welcome, my Lord. What brings you here so late?2540
SHREWSBURY. Great Queen, my worried heart, concerned for your fame,
Compelled me to the Tower today, where
Mary’s scribes Curle and Nau are held.78 The Guard
Refused me entry. Only threats brought me in.
God! What a sight! Curle lay, his hair wild, his eyes
Crazed. Hardly has he seen me, he grasps my knees,
Demands to know his Queen’s fate. Rumor had reached him.
When I confirmed his witness had condemned her,
He fell on Nau, to throttle him, then turned his
Rage on himself, beat his breast, cursed them both. His2550
Witness was false, he said. The letters he’d sworn
Were true—they were false. He’d written words he
Never heard spoken. Nau had led him to it.
He rushed to the sill, cried into the street,
So that a great crowd gathered: He was the Queen’s
Scribe, had accused her falsely, was a villain.
ELIZABETH. You said he’d lost his mind. All this proves nothing.
SHREWSBURY. It proves the more. Oh, Queen, use caution. Order
A new inquiry into everything.
ELIZABETH. I shall. Because you wish it, not because2560
I doubt the peers who tried her. To assure you
We renew inquiry. Good that there’s still time.
Scene Fourteen
Davison to join the others
ELIZABETH. The warrant, sir, that I put into your hand—
Where is it?
DAVISON (utterly astonished). Warrant?
ELIZABETH. That I gave you to
Keep yesterday—
DAVISON. Gave me to keep?
ELIZABETH. The people
Clamored for me to sign. I did its will.
I did so under duress and placed the sheet
In your hand—to gain time. You know what I said.
SHREWSBURY. Return it, sir. The matter has changed. Inquiry
Must be reopened.2570
DAVISON. Reopened? Merciful God!
ELIZABETH. Don’t take so long. Where is the sheet?
DAVISON (despairing). I am lost!
As good as dead!
ELIZABETH (breaking in). Let me not think, sir—
DAVISON. I’m lost!
I do not have it anymore.
ELIZABETH. What’s this?
SHREWSBURY. God!
DAVISON. Burghley has it. Since yesterday.
ELIZABETH. You wretch!
Is that how you obey me? Did I not
Command you strictly to keep it?
DAVISON. You did not,
My Queen.
ELIZABETH. You call me a liar, do you, you rogue?
When did I tell you to give Burghley the sheet?
DAVISON. Not in clear words, but—
ELIZABETH. Good-for-Nothing! You dare
2580Interpret my words? Woe betide you if this
Ends in disaster. You shall pay with your life.
Earl Shrewsbury, you see how my name is misused!
SHREWSBURY. I see—oh, God!
ELIZABETH. What is it you’re saying?
SHREWSBURY. If
The squire has acted without your knowledge, he must
Be called before a court of peers. He has
Exposed your name to the contempt of all time.
Last Scene
As above. Burghley. Then Kent.
BURGHLEY (drops to one knee before the Queen).
Long live my royal Mistress, Queen of England!
May all foes of this Isle end like this Stuart!
(Shrewsbury covers his face. Davison wrings his hands.)
ELIZABETH. Tell me, my Lord. Did you have warrant from me?
BURGHLEY. No, Mistress. I had it from Davison here.2590
ELIZABETH. Davison gave it to you in my name?
BURGHLEY. No! He did not—
ELIZABETH. You executed it
Not knowing my will? It was just, the world
Cannot blame us. But you had no right to
Encroach upon my royal kindness. You are
Banned from our presence. (To Davison) Worse awaits you, who
Exceeded your brief and betrayed a trust.
To the Tower! He’ll be tried for his life.
My noble Talbot, you alone I find just
Among in my counsel. Be my guide and my friend.2600
SHREWSBURY. Queen, do not ban your most loyal friends. Do not
Throw into prison those who acted for you,
Who now keep silent for you. — From me, however,
Receive the Seal you entrusted me twelve years.
ELIZABETH (stricken). No, Shrewsbury. You would not desert me now—
SHREWSBURY. Pardon me. I am old and this right hand is
Too straight and too stiff to seal your deeds to come.
ELIZABETH. The man who rescued me—
SHREWSBURY. I did but little,
Could not save your nobler part. Live, rule content!
Your enemy is dead. From now on you have nothing2610
More you must fear and nothing you need respect. (He goes off.)
ELIZABETH (to Earl Kent, who enters).
Earl Leicester come here!
KENT. His Lordship begs your pardon.
He is at sea and on his way to France.
(She forces herself and stands calm.)
The curtain falls.