“Reasonable！“Sheturneduponhimwithflashingeyes。“IwonderhowyoueverdaredtoimaginethatIcouldtolerateyouforonemomentasaloverorahusband。Wipeitoutofyourmindonceandforall。Youarerepellenttome。PositivelytheonlywishIhaveinconnectionwithyouisnevertoseeyourfaceagain。Asformyduty，Ihavedoneit。Myconscienceisclear。Ishallleavethishouseto-day。“
“Ihope，“thePrincesaidsoftly，“thatyouwilldonothingrash！“
“Inanhour，“shesaid，“IshallbeattheCarltonwithmyhusband。
Iwilltrusttohimtoprotectmefromyou。“
ThePrinceshookhishead。
“Youtalkrashly，“hesaid。“Youdonotthink。Youareforbiddentoleavethishouse。Youareforbiddentojoinyourhusband。“
Shelaughedscornfully，butunderneathwasatremorofuneasiness。
“YousummonedmefromAmerica，“shesaid，“andIcame……Iwasforcedtoleavemyhusbandwithoutevenawordoffarewell。Ididit！Yousetmeatask-Ihaveaccomplishedit。IclaimthatI
havekeptmybond，thatIhaveworkedoutmyownfreedom。Ifyourequiremoreofme，Isaythatyouareoversteppingyourauthority，andIrefuse。Settheblackcrossagainstmynameifyouwill。I
willtaketherisk。“
ThePrincecamealittlenearertoher。Sheheldherownbravelyenough，buttherewasalookinhisfacewhichterrifiedher。
“Lucille，“hesaid，“youforcemetodisclosesomethingwhichI
havekeptsofartomyself。Iwishedtospareyouanxiety，butyoumustunderstandthatyoursafetydependsuponyourremaininginthishouse，andinkeepingapartfromallassociationwith-yourhusband。“
“Youwillfinditdifficult，“shesaid，“toconvincemeofthat。“
“Onthecontrary，“hesaid，“Ishallfinditeasy-tooeasy，believeme。Youwillremembermyfindingyouatthewine-shopofEmilSachs？“
“Yes！“
“Yourefusedtotellmetheobjectofyourvisit。Itwasfoolish，forofcourseIwasinformed。YouprocuredfromEmilasmallquantityofthepowderpreparedaccordingtotherecipeofHerrEstentrauzen，andforwhichwepaidhimtenthousandmarks。Itisthemostsilent，themostsecret，themostswiftpoisonyetdiscovered。“
“Igotitformyself，“shesaidcoldly。“TherehavebeentimeswhenIhavefeltthatthepossessionofsomethingofthatsortwasanabsolutenecessity；“
“Idonotquestionyouastothereasonforyourgettingit，“heanswered。“VeryshortlyafterwardsyouleftyourcarriageinPallMall，andwithoutevenaskingforyourhusbandyoucalledathishotel-youstoleupintohisroom。“
“Itooksomerosesthereandleftthem，“shesaid“Whatofthat？“
“OnlythatyouwerethelastpersonseentoenterMr。Sabin’sroomsbeforeDusonwasfoundtheredead。AndDusondiedfromadoseofthatsamepoison，apacketofwhichyouprocuredsecretlyfromEmilSachs。Anemptywineglasswasbyhisside-itwasonegenerallyusedbyMr。Sabin。IknowthattheEnglishpolice，whoarenotsofoolishaspeoplewouldhaveonebelieve，aresearchingnowforthewomanwhowasseentoenterthesitting-roomshortlybeforeMr。
SabinreturnedandfoundDusontheredead。“
Shelaughedscornfully。
“Itisingenious，“sheadmitted，“andperhapsalittleunfortunateforme。Buttheinferenceisridiculous。WhatinteresthadIintheman’sdeath？“
“None，ofcourse！“thePrincesaid。“But，Lucille，inallcasesofpoisoningitisthewifeofwhomonefirstthinks！“
“Thewife？Ididnotevenknowthatthecreaturehadawife。“
“Ofcoursenot！ButDusondrankfromMr。Sabin’sglass，andyouareMr。Sabin’swife。Youarelivingapartfromhim。Heisoldandyouareyoung。Andfortheotherman-thereisReginaldBrott。
Yournameshavebeencoupledtogether，ofcourse。Seewhatanexcellentcasestandsthere。Youprocurethepoison-secretly。
Youmakeyourwaytoyourhusband’sroom-secretly。Thefataldoseistakenfromyourhusband’sWineglass。Youleavenonote，nomessage。ThepoisonofwhichthemandiedisexactlythesameasyouprocuredfromSachs。Lucille，afterall，doyouwonderthatthepolicearelookingforawomaninblackwithanerminetoque？
Whatamercyyouworeathickveil！“
Shesatdownsuddenly。
“Thisishideous，“shesaid。
“Thinkitover，“hesaid，“stepbystep。Itiswonderfulhowalltheincidentsdovetailintooneanother。“
“Toowonderful，“shecried。“Itsoundslikesomevileplottoincriminateme。Howmuchhadyoutodowiththis，Prince？“
“Don’tbeafool！“heansweredroughly。“Can’tyouseeforyourselfthatyourarrestwouldbethemostterriblethingthatcouldhappenforus？EvenSachsmightbreakdownincross-examination，andyou-well，youareawoman，andyouwanttolive。Weshouldallbeinthemostdeadlyperil。Lucille，IwouldhavesparedyouthisanxietyifIcould，butyourdefiancemadeitnecessary。TherewasnootherwayofgettingyouawayfromEnglandto-nightexceptbytellingyouthetruth。“
“AwayfromEnglandto-night，“sherepeatedvaguely。“ButIwillnotgo。Itisimpossible。“
“Itisimperative，“thePrincedeclared，withasharpringofauthorityinhistone。“Itisyourownfolly，forwhichyouhavetopay。YouwentsecretlytoEmilSachs。Youpaidsurreptitiousvisitstoyourhusband，whichweresimplymadness。Youhaveinvolvedusallindanger。Forourownsakeswemustseethatyouareremoved。“
“Itistheverythingtoexcitesuspicion-flightabroad，“sheobjected。
“Yourflight，“hesaidcoolly，“willbelookeduponfromadifferentpointofview，forReginaldBrottmustfollowyou。Itwillbeanelopement，notaflightfromjustice。“
“AndincaseIshoulddecline？“Lucilleaskedquietly。
ThePrinceshruggedhisshoulders。
“Well，wehavedonethebestwecanforourselves，“hesaid。“Come，Iwillbefrankwithyou。Therearegreatinterestsinvolvedhere，and，beforeallthings，Ihavehadtoconsiderthewelfareofourfriends。Thatismyduty！EmilSachsbythistimeisbeyondriskofdetection。Hehasleftbehindaletter，inwhichheconfessesthathehasforsometimesupplementedtheprofitsofhiswine-shopbysellingsecretlycertaindeadlypoisonsofhisownconcoctions。
AlarmedatreadingofthedeathofDusonimmediatelyafterhehadsoldapoisonwhichthesymptomsdenotedhehadfledthecountry。
Thatletterisinthehandsofthewomanwhoremainsinthewine-shop，andwillonlybeusedincaseofnecessity。ByothermeanswehavedissociatedourselvesfromDusonandallconnectionwithhim。IthinkIcouldgosofarastosaythatitwouldbeimpossibletoimplicateus。Oursoleanxietynow，therefore，istosaveyou。“
Lucillerosetoherfeet。
“Ishallgoatoncetomyhusband，“shesaid。“Ishalltellhimeverything。Ishallactonhisadvice。“
ThePrincestoodoverbythedoor，andsheheardthekeyturn。
“Youwilldonothingofthesort，“hesaidquietly。“Youareinmypoweratlast，Lucille。Youwilldomybidding，or-“
“Orwhat？“
“Ishallmyselfsendforthepoliceandgiveyouintocustody！“
ThePrincecrossedthehailandenteredthemorning-room。FelixwasthereandRaouldeBrouillac。TheDuchesssatatherwriting-table，scribblinganote。LadyCarey，inawonderfulwhitesergecostume，andahugebunchofNeapolitanvioletsatherbosom，waslounginginaneasy-chair，swingingherfootbackwardsandforwards。TheDuke，inaveryoldtweedcoat，butimmaculateastolinenandthedetailsofhistoilet，stoodalittleapart，withafrownuponhisforehead，andexactlythatabsorbedairwhichintheHouseofLordsusuallyindicatedhisintentiontomakeaspeech。TheentranceofthePrince，whocarefullyclosedthedoorbehindhim，wasaneventforwhichevidentlytheywereallwaiting。
“Mygoodpeople，“hesaidblandly，“Iwishyouallaverygood-morning。“
Therewasalittlemurmurofgreetings，andbeforetheyhadallsubsidedtheDukespoke。
“SaxeLeinitzer，“hesaid，“Ihaveafewquestionstoaskyou。“
ThePrincelookedacrosstheroomathim。
“Byallmeans，Duke，“hesaid。“Butisthepresentanopportunetime？“
“Opportuneorno，itisthetimewhichIhaveselected，“theDukeansweredstiffly。“Idonotaltogetherunderstandwhatisgoingoninthishouse。IambeginningtowonderwhetherIhavebeenmisled。“
ThePrince，ashetwirledhisfairmoustache，glancedcarelesslyenoughacrossattheDuchess。Shewaslookingtheotherway。
“Ibecamea-er-generalmemberofthisSociety，“theDukecontinued，“sympathisingheartilywithitsobjectsasexplainedtomebyyou，Prince，andbelieving，althoughtoconfessitissomewhatofahumiliation，thatacertainamountof-er-combinationamongstthearistocracyhasbecomenecessarytoresisttheterribleincreaseofSocialismwhichwemustallsomuchdeplore。“
“Youarenotmakingaspeech，dear，“theDuchessremarked，lookingcoldlyacrosstheroomathim。“WeareallanxioustohearwhatthePrincehastosaytous。“
“Youranxiety，“theDukecontinued，“andtheanxietyofourfriendsmustberestrainedforafewminutes，fortherearecertainthingswhichIamdeterminedtosay，andtosaythemnow。Imustconfessthatitwasatfirstapainfulshocktometorealisethatthetimehadcomewhenitwasnecessaryforustotakeanyheedoftheuneducatedrabblewhoseembornintotheworlddiscontentedwiththeirstationinlife，andinsteadofmakinghonestattemptstoimproveitwastetheirtimerailingagainstuswhoaremorefortunatelyplaced，andinendeavourstomisleadineverypossiblewaytheelectorateofthecountry。“
ThePrincesighedsoftly，andlitacigarette。LadyCareyandFelixwerealreadysmoking。
“However，“theDukecontinued，“Iwasconvinced。Ihavealwaysbelievedintheprincipleofwatchingcloselythevarioussignsofthetimes，andImaysaythatIcametotheconclusionthatacombinationofthethinkingmembersofthearistocraticpartythroughouttheworldwasanexcellentidea。Ithereforebecamewhatis，Ibelieve，calledageneralmemberoftheOrder，ofwhichIbelieveyou，Prince，aretheactualhead。“
“MydearJames，“theDuchessmurmured，“thePrincehassomethingtosaytous。“
“ThePrince，“herhusbandansweredcoldly，“cankeepbackhisinformationforafewminutes。Iamdeterminedtoplacemypositionclearlybeforeallofyouwhoarepresentherenow。ItisonlysinceIhavejoinedthisSocietythatIhavebeenmadeawarethatinadditiontothegeneralmembers，ofwhichbodyIbelievethattheDuchessandIarethesolerepresentativeshere，therearespecialmembers，andmembersoftheinnercircle。AndIunderstandthatinconnectionwiththesethereisagreatmachineryofintriguegoingonallthetime，withbranchesallovertheworld，spieseverywherewithunlimitedfunds，andwithhugeopportunitiesofgoodorevil。IneffectIhavebecomeanoutsidememberofwhatisnothingmorenorlessthanaverypowerfuland，itseemstome，daringsecretsociety。“
“Sofarasyouareconcerned，Duke，“thePrincesaid，“yourresponsibilityceaseswithordinarymembership。Youcantakenocountofanythingbeyond。Thetimemaycomewhentheinnercirclemaybeopenedtoyou。“
TheDukecoughed。
“Youmisapprehendme，“hesaid。“IcanassureyouIamnotanxiousforpromotion。Onthecontrary，Istandbeforeyouanaggrievedperson。Ihavecometotheconclusionthatmyhouse，andtheshelterofmywife’sname，havebeenusedforaplot，themainpointsofwhichhavebeenkeptwhollysecretfromme。“
ThePrinceflickedhiscigaretteashintothegrate。
“MydearDorset，“hesaidgently，“ifyouwillallowmetoexplain-“
“Ithankyou，SaxeLeinitzer，“theDukesaidcoldly，“butitisbeginningtooccurtomethatIhavehadenoughofyourexplanations。
Itseemednaturalenoughtome，andImustsaywellconceived，thatsomeattemptshouldbemadetomodifytheviewsof，ifnotwhollyconvert，ReginaldBrottbymeansoftheinfluenceofaverycharmingwoman。ItwasmydutyasamemberoftheOrdertoassistinthis，andtheshelterofmyhouseandnamewerefreelyaccordedtotheCountess。Butitisnewstometofindthatshewasbroughtherepracticallybyforce。Thatbecauseshewasaninnermemberandthereforeboundtoimplicitobediencethatshewasdraggedawayfromherhusband，keptapartfromhimagainstherwill，forcedintoendeavourstomakeafoolofBrottevenatthecostofhergoodname。
Andnow，worstofall，IamtoldthataverydeeplylaidplotonthepartofsomeofyouwillcompelhertoleaveEnglandalmostatonce，andthathersafetydependsuponherinducingReginaldBrotttoaccompanyher。“
“Shehasappealedtoyou，“thePrincemuttered。
