"It would seem so," with a short laugh; "yet it is the live Stanley that worries me now."
"The Lord Stanley awaits Your Majesty's pleasure," said the page, stepping within the arras.
"Admit him," the King ordered, choosing a place where his own face would be in the shadow and the other's in the glare… "And would it were my pleasure, rather than my expediency, that awaited him," he added in an undertone.
Stanley came forward in his precise and cautious way and bent knee to the King.
"Be seated, my lord," said Richard cordially. "I wish your advice upon a most important matter, if you can spare me a little of your time."
The Lord Steward bowed. "My time belongs to you, Sire," he said suavely; "though I fear my poor advice can aid but little your own keen judgment; yet it is flattering to be asked it."
Richard made a gesture of dissent. "I did not summon you for flattery," he said; "if I did not value your discretion you would not be here."
"Then I trust your gracious confidence may not be misplaced."
"I am about to test it… Tell me, my lord, what is the gravest state problem that confronts me now?"
The Lord Steward's crafty blue eyes shot a sharp glance at the King, but Richard's black ones met it half way and drove it back in quick retreat. Now, Stanley had one weakness. He was vain of his astuteness and ever ready to display it; and he thought he had discerned instantly what was in the King's mind.