"I own that this letter troubles me, somewhat. Why should it not have
been carried to Shrewsbury, instead of being brought hither? It has,
indeed, come from London, and those who sent it may not know that the
king would move by Shrewsbury, and not by this line; which would,
indeed, be more direct for him in advancing into Montgomery and
Cardiganshire. On the other hand, it may be a snare. If I send it not
forward, he might blame me greatly for holding it back. If I send it
forward, and perchance it falls, on the way, into the hands of the
Welsh, he might harbour the thought, even if he did not accuse me
openly, of conniving with Glendower. One pretext is as good as another,
however unlikely it may be, when a king desires to make a quarrel with
one of his vassals. Your offer to carry it is, then, a very seasonable
one, and goes far to get me out of the difficulty.
"In the first place, by sending it by you, I afford no ground for him
to say that I have disobeyed his orders, to send no one of my following
to his army; and in the next place, whatever suspicion he may have of
me, assuredly he can have none of the Percys, to whom he so largely
owes his crown; and that a trusted squire of Hotspur should be the
bearer of the letter, is sufficient proof that all that could be done,
was done, for its safe carriage.
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