"Cicely said—we thought——" she began. Then recovering herself she continued firmly. "I had a suspicion that you might play me false, and might even now be about to set out to arrest Rupert."
"Indeed! So you affected this—er—disguise to prevent our departure. Is it so, madame?"
"I knew no other way," muttered Barbara.
"I gave you my word."
"Aye, but I liked not the manner in which you gave it. You—you angered me."
"That is a pity," he answered quietly. Then seating himself on the edge of the table beside her, he eyed her coolly, and continued with a slight drawl. "Ah, well! the resemblance is certainly a strong one. Sir Rupert, methinks, is a trifle broader in the chest, and—there be one or two more details," he added, slowly surveying her figure.
Barbara drooped her head still lower, and flushed angrily at the veiled insolence of his tone.
"You will wonder how I noted the difference," continued the captain. "The fact is, as I was riding home alone, after my visit to the Manor House, I chanced to encounter the real Sir Rupert, and we had some conversation together."
"You met Rupert!" cried Barbara, forgetting all in her astonishment. "Oh! where is he?"
"He should by this well-nigh have reached the coast."