The Duke, leaning on his silver and gold staves, shrugged his shoulders very slowly.
'This will make a very great confusion,' he said.
'Ay,' Katharine answered, 'there will a very many be confounded, and a great number of hundreds be much annoyed.'
She broke in again upon his slow meditations—
'Sir,' she said, 'this is a very pitiful thing! Privy Seal that is dead and done with worked with a very great cunning. Well he knew that for most men the heart resideth in the pocket. Therefore, though ye said all that he rode this land with a bridle of iron, he was very careful to stop all your mouths alike with pieces of gold. It was not only to his friends that he gave what had been taken from God, but he was very careful that much also should fall into the greedy mouths of those that cried out. If he had not done this, do you think that he would have remained so long above the earth that he made weary? No. But since he made all rich alike with this plunder, so there was no man, either Catholic or Lutheran, very anxious to have him away. And, now that he is dead he worketh still. For who among you lords that do call yourselves sons of the Church, but holdeth of the Church's goods? Oh, bethink you! bethink you! The moment is at hand when ye may work restoration. See that ye do it willingly and with good hearts, smoothing and making plain the way by which the bruised feet of our Saviour shall come across this, His land.'
Norfolk kept his eyes upon the ground.
'Why, for me,' he said, 'I am very willing. This day I will send to set clerks at work discovering that which is mine and that which came from the Church; but I think you will find some that will not do it so eagerly.'
She believed him very little; and she said—
'Why, if you will do this thing I think there will not many be behindhand.'
He did what he could to conceal his wincing, and her voice changed its tone.