hess, had asked questions of all sorts, and made many statements;
and he had found that with those two women he could speak without
discomfort, almost with pleasure, on subjects which he could not bear
to have touched by men. "Of course you knew all along who killed the
poor man," the Duchess had said. "We did;--did we not, Marie?--just
as well as if we had seen it. She was quite sure that he had got out
of the house and back into it, and that he must have had a key. So
she started off to Prague to find the key; and she found it. And we
were quite sure too about the coat;--weren't we. That poor blundering
Lord Fawn couldn't explain himself, but we knew that the coat he saw
was quite different from any coat you would wear in such weather.
We discussed it all over so often;--every point of it. Poor Lord
Fawn! They say it has made quite an old man of him. And as for those
policemen who didn't find the life-preserver; I only think that
something ought to be done to them."

"I hope that nothing will ever be done to anybody, Duchess."

"Not to the Reverend Mr. Emilius;--poor dear Lady Eustace's Mr.
Emilius? I do think that you ought to desire that an end should
be put to his enterprising career! I'm sure I do." This was said
while the attempt was still being made to trace the purchase of the
bludgeon in Paris. "We've got Sir Gregory Grogram here on purpose to
meet you, and you must fraternise with him immediately, to show that
you bear no grudge."

"He only did his duty."

"Exactly;--though I think he was an addle-pated old ass not to see
the thing more clearly. As you'll be coming into the Government
before long, we thought that things had better be made straight
between you and Sir Gregory. I wonder how it was that nobody but
women did see it clearly? Look at that delightful woman, Mrs. Bunce.
You must bring Mrs. Bunce to me some day,--or take me to her."

"Lord Chiltern saw it clearly enough," said Phineas.

"My dear Mr. Finn, Lord Chiltern is the best fellow in the world, but
he has only one idea. He was quite sure of your innocence because
you ride to hounds. If it had been found possible to accuse poor
Mr. Fothergill, he would have been as certain that Mr. Fothergill
committed the murder, because Mr. Fothergill thinks more of his
shooting. However, Lord Chiltern is to be here in a day or two, and
I mean to go absolutely down on my knees to him,--and all for your
sake. If foxes can be had, he shall have foxes. We