Mr. Bodery looked up sharply.
“Is that all?” he inquired, with an eager little laugh.
“Yes.”
“Then, my dear sir, Vellacott is right. That old man is at the bottom of it. This Vicomte d'Audierne, what do you know of him?”
“Personally?”
“Yes.”
“He is an old friend of my father's. In fact, he is a friend of the family. He calls the girls by their Christian names, as you have heard to-night.”
“Yes; I noticed that. And he came here to-day merely on a friendly visit?”
“That is all. Why do you ask?” inquired Sidney, who was getting rather puzzled.
“I know nothing of him personally—except what I have learnt to-day. For my own part, I like him,” answered Mr. Bodery. “He is keen and clever. Moreover, he is a thorough gentleman. But, politically speaking, he is one of the most dangerous men in France. He is a Jesuit, an active Royalist, and a staunch worker for the Church party. I don't know much about French politics—that is Vellacott's department. But I know that if he were here, and knew of the Vicomte's presence in England, he would be very much on the alert.”