Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/76

 62 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 52. King's mother had been participant in the murder of her husband/ He had been challenged to prove his words before the Queen of England and her whole estate, and the accusation ' was sufficiently verified, and by the Queen 's handwrit notoriously proven.' 1 Whatever might be Elizabeth's displeasure, Murray could not afford that the truth should be concealed. In the use of the words the ' King's mother,' he intimated that to him Mary Stuart was as yet no more than a private person, and with this distinct declaration he set out on his expedition against the Gordons. It was exactly at the time when Elizabeth's irritation and im- petuosity, aggravated by the pretended illness of the Queen of Scots, had reached their highest point. She had already sent to him a sketch of the terms on which she considered that a restoration could be effected. The proclamation came back to her as a sort of defiance. As the Regent was on his way to Aberdeen he was overtaken by a messenger whom she had despatched to tell him that she would wait no longer : she insisted upon an immediate answer, whether he would or would not receive back his Sovereign on those conditions. A demand at once so serious and so peremptory took Murray by surprise. The restoration might be necessary ; but in any way it appeared undesirable to proceed with it precipitately. He suspected that it was connected with the Norfolk marriage ; but whether Elizabeth de- sired it or feared it, he could not tell. He thanked her 1 Copy of a proclamation set out by the Earl Murray in Scotland, May 13 : llfSS. Scotland, Rolls House.