"
"I could not help myself in the matter, and - "
"A moment, sir. That is not the way of British justice, and Sir
Terence was wrong to have permitted himself to consent; though I
profoundly appreciate the loyalty to me, the earnest desire to
assist me, which led him into an act the cost of which to himself
your Excellency can hardly appreciate. But the wrong lay in that
by virtue of this bargain a British officer was prejudged. He
was to be made a scapegoat. He was to be sent to his death when
taken, as a peace-offering to the people, demanded by the Council
of Regency.
"Since all this happened I have had the facts of the case placed
before me. I will go so far as to tell you, sir, that the officer
in question has been in my hands for the past hour, that I have
closely questioned him, and that I am satisfied that whilst he has
been guilty of conduct which might compel me to deprive him of his
Majesty's commission and dismiss him from the army, yet that conduct
is not such as to merit death. He has chiefly sinned in folly and
want of judgment. I reprove it in the sternest terms, and I
deplore the consequences it had. But for those consequences the
nuns of Tavora are almost as much to blame as he is himself.
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