"
"I'll be off with you."
"No;--don't do that. I'll go in my own cart. I'll make my man get
hold of my groom and manage it somehow. I can leave my things and
you can bring them. Only say to-morrow that I was obliged to go."
"I understand."
"Heard something, you know, and all that kind of thing. Make my
apologies to the Duchess. In point of fact I must be in Stamford at
ten."
"I'll manage it all," said Captain Battersby, who made a very
shrewd guess at the cause which drew his friend to such an
uncomfortable proceeding. After that Lord Rufford went to his room
and gave a good deal of trouble that night to some of the servants
in reference to the steps which would be necessary to take him out
of harm's way before the Duchess would be up on the morrow.
Arabella when she heard of the man's departure on the following
morning, which she luckily did from her own maid, was for some time
overwhelmed by it. Of course the man was running away from her.
There could be no doubt of it. She had watched him narrowly on the
previous evening, and had seen that her aunt had tried in vain to
speak to him. But she did not on that account give up the game. At
any rate they had not found her out at Mistletoe. That was
something. Of course it would have been infinitely better for her
could he have been absolutely caught and nailed down before he left
the house; but that was perhaps more than she had a right to
expect.
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