Armadale Book the third - Chapter III

In which Allan Armadale receives a curious letter from Mrs. Milroy inviting him to become the bearer of confidential letters relating to Miss Gwilt’s family, leading him to set off for London with his solicitor, Pedgift Junior, to pursue this delicate inquiry. Their investigations bring them to a mysterious lodging-house bearing the name Oldershaw, where neither the name nor the occupant can be readily found, and they begin to suspect the cunning secrecy that envelops the persons they seek.