your presence carries conviction

[imchongjun]

I am reading a british novel and came across the following passage:

"I haven't the remotest idea. Sometimes I think it's a farce, sometimes a conspiracy. I am certain of only one thing, and that is that you are as much in the dark as I am. Your presence carries conviction. I don't know about the others."

I am not sure what "your presence carries conviction" means here. I checked the dictionary and found that "to carry conviction" means "to be likely to be true", but still I do not understand this sentence. I appreciate it very much if you could explain it in easy terms. Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

I am reading a B​ritish novel ...

Please tell us the title and author.

 

[imchongjun]

The quote is from Claude Houghton's I AM JONATHAN SCRIVENER. The story as far as I have read goes like this. The speaker of the quote is hired as the secretary of a gentleman of independent means, but he has never met his employer. Instructions come only in the form of letters or through his lawyer. He is required to live in the employer's flat in London while he is traveling abroad. He meets several friends of the employer, and all of them are puzzled as to the intentions of his employer (why has he employed a secretary, why has he asked a new secretary to live in his flat, etc)

 

[Tarheel]

My interpretation is that the person's being there means something important. (I could be wrong.)

 

[teechar]

carries = demonstrates
conviction = confidence/strong belief in something