but
obviously attracted.

Lady Beach-Mandarin invented a lengthy paraphrase for prompt
acquiescences.

"I shall be chairwoman," she crowned it with. "I can so easily _see you
through_ as they say."

"Ella doesn't go out half enough," said Miss Sawbridge suddenly to Miss
Sharsper, who was regarding her with furtive intensity--as if she was
surreptitiously counting her features.

Miss Sharsper caught in mid observation started and collected her mind.
"One ought to go out," she said. "Certainly."

"And independently," said Miss Sawbridge, with meaning.

"Oh independently!" assented Miss Sharsper. It was evident she would now
have to watch her chance and begin counting all over again from the
beginning.

Mr. Brumley had an impression that Mrs. Sawbridge had said something
quite confidential in his ear. He turned perplexed.

"Such charming weather," the lady repeated in the tone of one who
doesn't wish so pleasant a little secret to be too generally discussed.

"Never known a better summer," agreed Mr. Brumley.

And then all these minor eddies were submerged in Lady Beach-Mandarin's
advance towards her next step, an invitation to lunch. "There," said
she, "I'm not Victorian. I always separate husbands and wives--by at
least a week. You must come alone."

It was clear to Mr. Brumley that Lady Harman wanted to come alone--and
was going to accept, and equally clear that she and her mother and
sister regarded this as a very daring thing to do. And when that was
settled Lady Beach-Mandarin went on to the altogether easier topic of
her Social Friends, a society of smart and influential women; who
devoted a certain fragment of time every week to befriending respectable
girls employed in London, in a briskly amiable manner, having them to
special teas, having them to special evenings with special light
refreshments, knowing their names as far as possible and asking about
their relations, and generally making them feel that Society was being
very frank and amiable to them and had an eye on them and meant them
well, and was better for them than socialism and radicalism and
revolutionary ideas. To this also Lady Harman it seemed was to come. It
had an effect to Mr. Brumley's imagination as if the painted scene of
that lady's life was suddenly bursting out into open doors--everywhere.

"Many of them are _quite_ lady-like," echoed Mrs. Sawbridge suddenly,
picking up the whole thing instantly and speaking over her tea cup i