"Do you mean to tell me that the Duchess got out of the carriage while you were driving full pelt through the streets without saying anything to you, and without you noticing it?"
"The carriage was empty when we got home, your Grace."
"Was either of the doors open?"
"No, your Grace."
"You fellows have been up to some infernal mischief. You have made a mess of it. You never picked up the Duchess, and you're trying to palm this tale off on to me to save yourselves."
Barnes was moved to adjuration:
"I'll take my Bible oath, your Grace, that the Duchess got into the carriage outside Cane and Wilson's."
Moysey seconded his colleague:
"I will swear to that, your Grace. She got into the carriage, and I shut the door, and she said, 'Home, Moysey!'"
The Duke looked as if he did not know what to make of the story and its tellers.