“His two sons are supposed to be with the King at Oxford. There is one daughter at Rudby Hall.”
“Humph! Is this the young man who is said to be a son of the late scoundrel, Strafford?”
“Yes, Excellency.”
“In that very blood is hatred of the people, contumely, and all arrogance. At heart he must be a Royalist And yet—and yet——where was he brought up?”
“On the estate of Sir John Warburton, dead these some years back. Warburton was his grandfather.”
“Where is the Warburton estate?”
“It adjoins the lands of Rudby.”
“A-h! Is the boy’s mother living?”
“No. His only relative is a sister who seems to be the most bitter King-hater in all the land.”
“Is there not a chance the boy was on his way to see his sister?”