“Why, Mr. Mallock,” he said, “you come as I go!”

He recognized me a shade too swiftly.  That shewed me that they had been speaking of me to him.

I said something civil; and then I saw that he was to say the piece they had just taught him; for that he was not sharp enough to be trusted long in the room with me.

“I hear you are all consulting,” said he, “how to keep the peace.  Well; I have given my counsel; and my Lord Essex here knows what I wish.  I would I could stay, gentlemen; but that cannot be done.”

There was a loyal and grateful murmur from the others.  Indeed he looked a prince, every inch of him.  He took his leave with a superb courtesy, giving his hand to each; and each bowed over it very low.  I was not sure but that Mr. Sheppard did not kiss it.  For myself, I kissed it outright.  While I did so, I could have sworn that Mr. Sheppard said something very swiftly in the ear of my Lord Essex.

Now I was wondering why they had kept me from my Lord Russell.  His probity was known well enough; and if they had wished to reassure me they could have done no better than tell me he was one of them; and then, of a sudden I recollected that to reassure me was the very last thing they wished; on the contrary, they wished to hold me tight, betraying only what they wished me to betray, until they were ready for their final stroke.  And, just as I had arrived at that, when we were all sat down, my Lord Essex again dumfoundered me.

“Mr. Mallock,” he said, “I wish to tell you, now we are in private, that my Lord Russell has been here, as well as His Grace and Sir Thomas Armstrong.  You can tell from the presence of those three what our chief difficulty will be; for not one of them will hear of even the danger of any injury to His Majesty or the Duke of York.  His Grace of Monmouth, of course, had to be consulted on one or two points; and he brought those other two with him to hear what we had to say.  Well; I think we have satisfied them; though I fear, later, that they will not approve of our methods.  But we did not wish my Lord Russell to see you until we had done talking to him; for fear that he might know something of your disaffection.  We have satisfied him—­and, what is more important—­His Grace too, for the present; and they will not interfere with us.”

Now this speech was an exceedingly ingenious one.  Before he had done speaking I understood that Mr. Sheppard had suspected that I had seen my Lord Russell, and that that was why they were so open with me.  But the rest of the speech was very shrewd indeed; and I think it might have deceived me, if I had not learned by the conversation that it was His Grace who was trying to reassure my Lord, and no one that was trying to reassure His Grace.  But the web was so well woven that for the moment I could not see through it all; though I understood it all presently, when I had had a little time to think.  For the instant, however, I saw one safe answer that I could make.