"Oh, your Grace! I beg your Grace's pardon, but, of course, you are," gasped Miss Mackarness.
"And I am going to Upwell now to see my niece."
Miss Mackarness gasped again and could not speak.
"To see Mrs. Bramwell, you know," said Titania, sweetly. "Of course, I know all about it, Miss Mackarness."
"To be sure, your Grace," replied her victim, not knowing what to do or say.
"Then good-bye," said the duchess. "I hope you will enjoy your walk, Miss Mackarness. It's such pleasant weather for a walk."
They left the poor woman in the middle of the road, an easy victim to the slowest vehicle in the county.
"Oh, I've done wrong, I know!" said Pen's housekeeper. "What shall I do now?"
"I said that on purpose," said Titania, viciously. "She has known all along, and ought to have told me. But now we know all about it, Augustin!"
"What about 'Mr. Bramwell'?" asked Augustin. Goby and De Vere turned pale, and the duchess threw up her hands.