“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。