"Ring the bell, then."
He looked astonished at the order, but he obeyed it. Theodora had sat down. Her face was sad and stern, and her eyes flashed so angrily he did not care to encounter them.
In a few minutes Ducie appeared. She came in smiling and curtsied to her master when he said:
"Ducie?"
"Yes, sir."
"You were told to leave this house forever, at half-past three this afternoon. Why have you not done so?"
"The party who told me was not my mistress."
"Am I your master?"
"I suppose so."
"Then listen to me. Here is your quarter's wage. As you are a young girl, I will not send you to the street now that it is dark. You may stay until eight o'clock to-morrow morning. Then you will go."