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Then he rose abruptly and stood beside me. "Mr. Aycon," he said, in the smoother tones in which he had begun our curious interview, "I came near a little while ago to doing a ruffianly thing, of a sort I am not wont to do. We must fight out our quarrel in the proper way. Have you any friends in the neighborhood?" "I am quite unknown," I answered.
The duchess' words struck on my ear and her dainty little figure was before my eyes, but my thoughts were absent from her. "Don't go, Mr. Aycon," said she. "I must go," I said. "By this time he'll be at the convent." A frown gathered on the duchess' face. "What concern is it of yours?" she asked. "I I mean, what good can you do?"
"No no no!" she said passionately, and flung the door close behind her, to the accompaniment of a harsh, scornful laugh. Involuntarily I sprang forward to meet her. But she was better on her guard than I. "Not now," she whispered, "but I must see you soon this evening after dinner. Suzanne will arrange it. You must help me, Mr. Aycon; I'm in trouble." "With all my power!"
Nobody appeared to desire to continue this cheerful conversation, and silence fell upon us for some moments. Then the duke observed: "Bontet, I want you for a few minutes. Mr. Aycon, shall you be ready to start in half an hour? Our friends will probably bring pistols: failing that, I can provide you, if you have no objection to using mine." I bowed, and they left me alone.
"By Lady Cynthia Chillingdon," said I. "That it is a trick a device a deceit!" continued poor Gustave. "It was decidedly indiscreet of you to come," said the duchess reprovingly. "How was I to know about Lady Cynthia? If I had known about Lady Cynthia, I would not have asked you; I would have asked Mr. Aycon only. Or perhaps you also, Mr. Aycon " "Madame," said I, "I am alone in the world."
"What news of the duke?" asked he, as we began to walk, the duchess stepping a little ahead of us. "Oh, the best," said she, with a nod over her shoulder. "None, you know. That's one of your proverbs, Mr. Aycon?" "Even a proverb is true sometimes," I ventured to remark. We reached the house and passed through the door, which stood wide open.
Aycon," said she, "you must forgive me if I do not discuss that." And she paused, and then added, with a curl of her lip: "You and my husband can settle that between you;" and with a motion of her hand she signed to me to leave her. Looking back on the matter, I do not know that I had any reason to be ashamed or to feel myself in any sort a traitor to the duchess.
Aycon! I finished the letter and looked up at Marie. And Marie, looking thoughtfully down at the paper, observed: "I always told you that she was fond of you, you know." But, for my part, I hope that Marie's explanation is not the true one.
Yet I do not think that my reticence availed me much against an acumen trained and developed by dialectic struggles with generations of criminals. For the first question which M. de Vieuville put to me was this: "And what of the girl, Mr. Aycon? She has suffered indeed for the sins of others."
The duchess set down the cup of coffee which she had been sipping. "I am not particular," said she. "But I told the Mother Superior exactly what I told the duke. She wouldn't listen any more than he would. However, I was resolved; so I came here. I don't see where else I could go, do you, Mr. Aycon?" "What did you tell the Mother?"
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