下载辰思小说免费APP
Asitwillthenbetoolate，andtheinstrumentsarealreadypreparedforthelittleoperationwhichhergraceiseagerlyanticipating，itwould，perhaps，beaswell，afterall，thatyoushouldgivemeintocharge。Youwouldhavesavedyourfivehundredpounds，andyouwould，atanyrate，havesomethinginexchangeforhergrace’smutilatedlimb。Ah，hereistheconstable！Officer！“
Thestrangerspokewithsuchapleasantlittleairofeasygenialitythatitwasimpossibletotellifhewereinjestorinearnest。Thisfactimpressedthedukemuchmorethanifhehadgoneinforaliberalindulgenceofthe——underthecircumstances——
orthodoxmelodramaticscowling。And，indeed，inthefaceofhisowncommonsense，itimpressedMr。IvorDacretoo。
Thiswell-bred，well-groomedyouthwasjustthebeingtorealize——
auxboutsdesongles——amoderntypeofthedevil，thetypewhichdepictshimasaperfectgentleman，whokeepssmilingallthetime。
Theconstablewhomthisaudaciousroguehadsignaledapproachedthelittlegroup。Headdressedthestranger:
“Doyouwantme，sir？“
“No，Idonotwantyou。IthinkitistheDukeofDatchet。“
Theconstable，whoknewthedukeverywellbysight，salutedhimasheturnedtoreceiveinstructions。
Thedukelookedwhite，evensavage。Therewasnotapleasantlookinhiseyesandabouthislips。Heappearedtobeendeavoringtoputagreatrestraintuponhimself。Therewasamomentarysilence。
Mr。Dacremadeamovementasiftointerpose。Thedukecaughthimbythearm。
Hespoke:“No，constable，Idonotwantyou。Thispersonismistaken。“
Theconstablelookedasifhecouldnotquitemakeouthowsuchamistakecouldhavearisen，hesitated，then，withanothersalute，hemovedaway。
Thestrangerwasstillholdinghiswatchinhishand。
“Onlyeightminutes，“hesaid。
Thedukeseemedtoexperiencesomedifficultyingivingutterancetowhathehadtosay。
“IfIgiveyouthisfivehundredpounds，you——you——“
Asthedukepaused，asifatalossforlanguagewhichwasstrongenoughtoconveyhismeaning，thestrangerlaughed。
“Letustaketheadjectivesforgranted。Besides，itisonlyboyswhocalleachothernames——mendothings。Ifyougivemethefivehundredsovereigns，whichyouhaveinthatbag，atonce——infiveminutesitwillbetoolate——Iwillpromise——Iwillnotswear；ifyoudonotcreditmysimplepromise，youwillnotbelievemysolemnaffirmation——Iwillpromisethat，possiblywithinanhour，certainlywithinanhourandahalf，theDuchessofDatchetshallreturntoyouabsolutelyuninjured——except，ofcourse，asyouarealreadyaware，withregardtoafewofthehairsofherhead。I
willpromisethisontheunderstandingthatyoudonotyourselfattempttoseewhereIgo，andthatyouwillallownooneelsetodoso。“ThiswithaglanceatIvorDacre。“IshallknowatonceifIamfollowed。Ifyouentertainsuchintentions，youhadbetter，onallaccounts，remaininpossessionofyourfivehundredpounds。“
Thedukeeyedhimverygrimly。
“Ientertainnosuchintentions——untiltheduchessreturns。“
Againthestrangerindulgedinthatmusicallaughofhis。
“Ah，untiltheduchessreturns！Ofcourse，thenthebargain’satanend。Whenyouareoncemoreintheenjoymentofhergrace’ssociety，youwillbeatlibertytosetallthedogsinEuropeatmyheels。IassureyouIfullyexpectthatyouwilldoso——whynot？“
Thedukeraisedthecanvasbag。“Mydearduke，tenthousandthanks！YoushallseehergraceatDatchetHous
后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节
