"Sir Thomas Armstrong?" said I in astonishment. "Why he is—"
I was about to say he was one of His Majesty's closest friends and evil geniuses; but I stopped. There was no need.
The page smiled.
"Yes," he said. "Well; Mr. Mallock? If you can find out anything—"
"And the Duke too!" I said. "Well; I was right, was I not?" (For what I had found out was true enough—that His Grace was far more deeply involved than we had at first suspected. We had known that he was their protégé, but not that he was so much in their counsel, and of one mind with them.)
"His Grace will come to some disaster, I think," said Mr. Chiffinch very tranquilly.
* * * * *
When I came to Wapping Old Stairs it appeared that the watermen there knew well enough what was forward; for while one ran down to help me from the wherry, a number of others stood watching as if they knew what I had come for; and all saluted me as I went up. At the head of the stairs, I looked back, and two more wherries with a gentleman in each were just coming in.
Mr. Sheppard himself opened the door to me, and appeared a little confused, looking over his shoulder into the entrance-hall where two or three gentlemen were just going into the great parlour on the left. I could have sworn that one of them was the Duke, from the way he carried himself. With him was another whom I thought I knew, but he was not familiar to me. I appeared to notice nothing, but beat off the mud from my boots.
"Mr. Mallock," said Mr. Sheppard, "they are not yet all come; and two or three who are here have a little private business on another matter first. Will you wait a little in another room?"