"It is said—and this seems to me one of the worst charges—that you assail the names of those whose places you desire for yourself or your friends, under cover, and in ways impossible for them to circumvent."
The duke shrugged his shoulders as if this charge were one of small moment.
"But 'tis of your treatment of women that the worst stories of you are abroad, and 'tis said that your conduct toward them is that of a brute rather than of a man. There is a tale of one woman, the wife of a baronet, who left her husband for you, and whom ye after deserted to poverty and disgrace."
She paused a moment and turned to recapitulate.
"Liar," she said.
The duke bowed slightly.
"Thief."
The duke bent his head a bit lower.
"Defrauder, blackmailer, and betrayer of women."
The duke rose and made a profound salutation, and Nancy regarded him with a smile.