"No," laughed Margaret, "I was not thinking of that."
"What is it?" he asked.
"I think I will confide in you a little, for you have always been such a good friend to me. What do you know of Mr. Barker?"
"I am sure I don't know," said the Englishman, taken off his guard by the question. "I have known him some time—in this sort of way," he added vaguely.
"I believe," said the Countess bluntly, "that it was Mr. Barker who made all this trouble for Dr. Claudius."
"I believe you are right," answered the Duke suddenly turning in his saddle and facing her. "I wonder how he could be such a brute?"
Margaret was silent. She was astonished at the readiness with which her companion assented to her proposition. He must have known it all along, she thought.
"What makes you think so?" he asked presently.
"What are your reasons for believing it?" she asked, with a smile.
"Really," he began; then shortly, "I believe I don't like his eyes."