Yorke held up his hand to stop her.
"Eleanor!"
But she did not remove her eyes from Leslie's face.
"Yes, I. It was I who employed Mr. Duncombe to buy the debts and summon Lord Auchester."
Ralph Duncombe looked up.
"Is—is this necessary, Lady Eleanor?" he said gravely. "I am ready to take all the responsibility."
"No," she said. "It was I! The woman Finetta told me that the marriage was to take place, and I did all I could to prevent it. You wonder that I should admit it?" she smiled, with a mixture of pride and despair. "I have told you that I have been standing by the window there, and have heard all. Do you think that I would hold Lord Auchester to his promise, that I would consent to his marrying me now that I know he is in love with another woman?"
Her eyes flashed and her lips curved haughtily, though her voice was as low as before.
"I tell you this now," she went on, "that Lord Auchester may not hold Mr. Duncombe to blame. The sin, if sin there was, was mine, and I atone for it!" As she spoke the last words she glided across the room and stood in front of Leslie.
"Miss Lisle, if I were to say that I am sorry, you would not believe me. You are a woman like myself, and—you will understand! I knew Lord Auchester before you did, and"—she looked round haughtily—"I loved him. If there is any shame in that, I accept it. He knew that I loved him."