Chapter VI.
Tom receives instructions.
Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to sit down—a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly men and men of high degree about him. He begged them to be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained standing. He would have insisted, but his ‘uncle’ the Earl of Hertford whispered in his ear—
“ Prithee, insist not, my lord; it is not meet that they sit in thy presence.”
The Lord St. John was announced, and after making obeisance to Tom, he said—
“ I come upon the King’s errand, concerning a matter which requireth privacy. Will it please your royal highness to dismiss all that attend you here, save my lord the Earl of Hertford?”
Observing that Tom did not seem to kno
