�It is about the extension that I wish to speak,� said Mrs. Manstey, suddenly. �I am a poor woman, Mrs. Black, and I have never been a happy one. I shall have to talk about myself first to—to make you understand.�
Mrs. Black, astonished but imperturbable, bowed at this parenthesis.
�I never had what I wanted,� Mrs. Manstey continued. �It was always one disappointment after another. For years I wanted to live in the country. I dreamed and dreamed about it; but we never could manage it. There was no sunny window in our house, and so all my plants died. My daughter married years ago and went away—besides, she never cared for the same things. Then my husband died and I was left alone. That was seventeen years ago. I went to live at Mrs. Sampson�s, and I have been there ever since. I have grown a little infirm, as you see, and I don�t get out often; only on fine days, if I am feeling very well. So you can understand my sitting a great deal in my window—the back window on the third floor—�
�Well, Mrs. Manstey,� said Mrs. Black, liberally, �I could give you a back room, I dare say; one of the new rooms in the ex—�
�But I don�t want to move; I can�t move,� said Mrs. Manstey, almost with a scream. �And I came to tell you that if you build that extension I shall have no view from my window—no view! Do you understand?�
Mrs. Black thought herself face to face with a lunatic, and she had always heard that lunatics must be humored.
�Dear me, dear me,� she remarked, pushing her chair back a little way, �that is too bad, isn�t it? Why, I never thought of that. To be sure, the extension will interfere with your view, Mrs. Manstey.�
�You do understand?� Mrs. Manstey gasped.
�Of course I do. And I�m real sorry about it, too. But there, don�t you worry, Mrs. Manstey. I guess we can fix that all right.�
Mrs. Manstey rose from her seat, and Mrs. Black slipped toward the door.