"Well?" enquired Totty gruffly, annoyed at being disturbed, "and what do you want?"
Dowker gazed on the substantial figure before him and sighed.
"A few words with you about Lord Calliston," he said softly.
Mrs. Povy shook with wrath.
"I ain't no spy or gossip," she said. "And if that is what you want to find out, this ain't the shop--so walk out," and she prepared to shut the door. But Dowker was too sharp for her, and placed his foot inside.
"Wait a moment, my good lady," he said, quietly. "I don't mean any harm to Lord Calliston, and what I want to speak to you about is important."
Curiosity got the better of Totty's wrath, so after a time she consented to speak to Dowker privately, and to this end led him upstairs to Calliston's rooms.
"We're quiet here," she said, closing the door. "I can't ask you into my own room, as a perticler friend of mine is drinking tea with me."
"This will do capitally," replied Dowker, glancing round the room. "And now, as my curiosity may appear rude and you may refuse to answer some of my questions, I may as well tell you who I am."
"And who are you?" asked Mrs. Povy uneasily, "a noospaper or a politics?"