] Mr. Shepherd "whatever might be his hold or his views [hmmm...] on Sir Walter

Yes! I made note of that wording as well. It is interesting, isn't it? I think his views are pretty clear - that Sir Walter is an idiot who has to be flattered and led around by his nose to do the right thing - but what is Shepherd's hold? Is it simply that he is Sir Walter's man of business, and Sir Walter obviously has no head for business or money, and so has to rely very heavily on Mr Shepherd?