But when it is said that all the world knew of it, Penelope herself must be excepted. She knew nothing for some time, and, whoever her husband was, he certainly never acquainted her with the horrible details of all the good men who sacrificed their honour in the noble attempt to save her from the results of the terrible misfortune they believed had happened to her. It was, indeed, Miss Mackarness who told her about it, and Miss Mackarness was the old governess whom Penelope had once sacked and sent away. The poor woman was in a terrible state of mind about the affair, and in that was no different from all the rest of the world. To her went Timothy Bunting with the strange story. "If you please, ma’am, Geordie Smith ’as just brought in a paper wiv a true and pertic’ler account of ’ow all the gents that was courtin’ our lady told the Duchess of Goring as ’ow they ’as married ’er!" "What!" said Miss Mackarness. "A true and perticuler account as ’ow they ’ad hall married our lady, sayin’ as they ’ad concealed it till they could no longer!" repeated Timothy more loudly. "Good heavens!" said Miss Mackarness, trembling very much, "I fear it will upset Lady Penelope, to say nothing of the infant. Do they all claim the infant, Bunting?" "I presume so, ma’am," said Bunting. "It looks likely." "Under these circumstances, Bunting," cried Miss Mackarness, "I feel it is my duty to communicate the facts to our lady. Give me the paper, Bunting!" Bunting said he would get it, and came back with a hatful of fragments. "If you please, ma’am, this is hall I can rescue of the details. The cook and the parlour-maid and the two ’ousemaids ’ave fought over it in the servants’ ’all, and are now in tears, not ’aving read a word." And Miss Mackarness took the hatful up to Penelope, who sat with her nurse and the cause of all the trouble in a south room overlooking the moat. "In the name of all that is wonderful, what’s in that hat?" asked Penelope. "It is Timothy Bunting’s hat, my lady," replied the Mackarness. "So I perceive," said Penelope. "Is a bird in it?" "Oh, no, my lady. It’s the bits of a newspaper," replied the housekeeper, as if she served up the _Times_ in a groom’s hat every day. "It’s Timothy’s hat, but a clean new one." "But why do you bring it, and why do you put newspaper in it?" asked Penelope. "If you please, my lady, I cannot help it. The cook and the parlour-maid and the two housemaids fought over it in the servants’ hall, and are now in tears, not having read a word of it." To all appearance the housekeeper had lost her senses. Though this was no wonder, Penelope wondered at it. "Well," she said at last, "I see what’s in the hat, but what’s in the newspaper?"