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“Shewasn’twhere？“
“Hergracewasn’tinthecarriage，yourgrace。“
“Whatonearthdoyoumean？“
“Hergracedidgetintothecarriage；youshutthedoor，didn’tyou？“
BarnesturnedtoMoysey。Moyseybroughthishanduptohisbrowinasortofmilitarysalute——hehadbeenasoldierintheregimentinwhich，onceuponatime，thedukehadbeenasubaltern。
“Shedid。Theduchesscameoutoftheshop。Sheseemedratherinahurry，Ithought。Shegotintothecarriage，andshesaid，’Home，Moysey！’Ishutthedoor，andBarnesdrovestraighthome。
Weneverstoppedanywhere，andwenevernoticednothinghappenontheway；andyetwhenwegothomethecarriagewasempty。“
Thedukestarted。
“Doyoumeantotellmethattheduchessgotoutofthecarriagewhileyouweredrivingfullpeltthroughthestreetswithoutsayinganythingtoyou，andwithoutyounoticingit？“
“Thecarriagewasemptywhenwegothome，yourgrace。“
“Waseitherofthedoorsopen？“
“No，yourgrace。“
“Youfellowshavebeenuptosomeinfernalmischief。Youhavemadeamessofit。Youneverpickeduptheduchess，andyou’retryingtopalmthistaleoffonmetosaveyourselves。“
Barneswasmovedtoadjuration:
“I’lltakemyBibleoath，yourgrace，thattheduchessgotintothecarriageoutsideCaneandWilson’s。“
Moyseysecondedhiscolleague。
“Iwillsweartothat，yourgrace。Shegotintothatcarriage，andIshutthedoor，andshesaid，’Home，Moysey！’“
Thedukelookedasifhedidnotknowwhattomakeofthestoryanditstellers。
“Whatcarriagedidyouhave？“
“Hergrace’sbrougham，yourgrace。“
Knowlesinterposed:
“ThebroughamwasorderedbecauseIunderstoodthattheduchesswasnotfeelingverywell，andthere’sratherahighwind，yourgrace。“
Thedukesnappedathim:
“Whathasthattodowithit？Areyousuggestingthattheduchesswasmorelikelytojumpoutofabroughamwhileitwasdashingthroughthestreetsthanoutofanyotherkindofvehicle？“
Theduke’sglancefellontheletterwhichKnowleshadbroughthimwhenhefirsthadentered。Hehadplaceditonhiswritingtable。
Nowhetookitup。Itwas，addressed:
“ToHisGracetheDukeofDatchet。
Private！
VERYPRESSING！！！“
Thenamewaswritteninafine，clear，almostfemininehand。Thewordsintheleft-handcorneroftheenvelopewerewritteninadifferenthand。Theywerelargeandbold；almostasthoughtheyhadbeenpaintedwiththeendofthepenholderinsteadofbeingwrittenwiththepen。Theenvelopeitselfwasofanunusualsize，andbulgedoutasthoughitcontainedsomethingelsebesidesaletter。
Theduketoretheenvelopeopen。Ashedidsosomethingfelloutofitontothewritingtable。Itlookedasthoughitwasalockofawoman’shair。Asheglancedatitthedukeseemedtobeatriflestartled。Thedukereadtheletter:
“YourgracewillbesogoodastobringfivehundredpoundsingoldtothePiccadillyendoftheBurlingtonArcadewithinanhourofthereceiptofthis。TheDuchessofDatchethasbeenkidnaped。Animitationduchessgotintothecarriage，whichwaswaitingoutsideCaneandWilson’s，andshealightedontheroad。Unlessyourgracedoesasyouarerequested，theDuchessofDatchet’sleft-handlittlefingerwillbeatoncecutoff，andsenthomeintimetoreceivetheprincetodinner。Otherportionsofhergracewillfollow。Alockofhergrace’shairisinclosedwiththisasanearnestofourgoodintentions。
“BEFORE5:30P。M。yourgraceis
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