As soon as Robert Winter had finished his story, the conspirators were plunged into the deepest dejection. Not one of them would be more depressed by the bad news than Sir Everard Digby. The rest were all more or less of a wild adventurous spirit, and probably had realised sooner than he to what a desperate issue the conspiracy had already arrived; but Sir Everard had been deceived by Catesby into believing the king and Salisbury to be dead, and until now he had clung to the hope that the best Catholics in England, when they heard of what had been attempted, would unite with himself and his companions in a holy war. Sir John Talbot was the type of Catholic by whose side he had hoped to fight for the faith, a man full of zeal and unflinching energy for the Catholic cause, as well as an honourable English gentleman. It was chiefly on the guarantee of his adherence and assistance, too, that Sir Everard had consented to Catesby's entreaties to ride away from Dunchurch with the rest of the conspirators, and attempt to raise the Catholics against the Government; and now Sir John Talbot repudiated Sir Everard, his friends, and his actions. A more gloomy party than that at Huddington can rarely have been assembled at an English country house. The hostess, Robert Winter's wife, was indeed to be pitied. In her presence there was[297] "no talk of rebellion," as she afterwards declared; but she must have known what was going forward, and have learned something of the disastrous failure of the appeal to her father, whose censure of her husband must have caused her the greatest pain. A few weeks later she was made to endure the distress of an examination before officials on the subject.[298] [297] Cal. Sta. Pa. Dom., 1603-10, p. 245. [298] S. P. Gunpowder Plot Book, n. 43. In the course of the day, Father Greenway came to Huddington with Catesby's servant, Thomas Bates. Sir Everard does not appear to have seen him, for he wrote[299]:--"They said Mr Greenway came to Huddington when we were there and had speech of Mr" [probably Catesby], "but I told them it was more than I took note of, and that I did not know him very well." [299] _Sir E. D.'s Letters_, paper 3.