before the gunpowder plot was revealed littleton had little knowledge of the true nature of the plot to kill the king and parliament. he understood that robert catesby (the leader of the plot) was just raising a regiment to fight in flanders. catesby had offered to take one of littleton's illegitimate sons as his page. humphrey had been summoned to dunchurch by robert catesby, but following the plot's failure he did not go to his nephew stephen's holbeche house with stephen and the rest of the main plotters. (stephen was the son of his elder brother george). later, stephen came to him with robert wintour. the two men had escaped arrest at holbeche house and were on the run.