Sir Isaac made some indistinct remark about “utter nonsense.”
“It seems to me to be driving them straight upon the streets.”
The phrase was Susan’s. Its full significance wasn’t at that time very clear to Lady Harman and it was only when she had uttered it that she realized from Horatio Blenker’s convulsive start just what a blow she had delivered at that table. His glasses came off again. He caught them and thrust them back, he seemed to be holding his nose on, holding his face on, preserving those carefully arranged features of himself from hideous revelations; his free hand made weak movements with his dinner napkin. He seemed to be holding it in reserve against the ultimate failure of his face. Charterson surveyed her through an immense pause open-mouthed; then he turned his large now frozen amiability upon his host. “These are Awful questions,” he gasped, “rather beyond Us don’t you think?” and then magnificently; “Harman, things are looking pretty Queer in the Far East again. I’m told there are chances—of revolution—even in Pekin....”
Lady Harman became aware of Snagsby’s arm and his steady well-trained breathing beside her as, tenderly almost but with a regretful disapproval, he removed her plate....
§8
If Lady Harman had failed to remark at the time the deep impression her words had made upon her hearers, she would have learnt it later from the extraordinary wrath in which Sir Isaac, as soon as his guests had departed, visited her. He was so angry he broke the seal of silence he had set upon his lips. He came raging into the pink bedroom through the paper-covered door as if they were back upon their old intimate footing. He brought a flavour of cigars and manly refreshment with him, his shirt front was a little splashed and crumpled and his white face was variegated with flushed patches.
“What ever d’you mean,” he cried, “by making a fool of me in front of those fellers?... What’s my business got to do with you?”
Lady Harman was too unready for a reply.
“I ask you what’s my business got to do with you? It’s my affair, my side. You got no more right to go shoving your spoke into that than—anything. See? What do you know of the rights and wrongs of business? How can you tell what’s right and what isn’t right? And the things you came out with—the things you came out with! Why Charterson—after you’d gone Charterson said, she doesn’t know, she can’t know what she’s talking about! A decent woman! a lady! talking of driving girls on the street. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You aren’t fit to show your face.... It’s these damned papers and pamphlets, all this blear-eyed stuff, these decadent novels and things putting narsty thoughts, narsty dirty thoughts into decent women’s heads. It ought to be rammed back down their throats, it ought to be put a stop to!”
Sir Isaac suddenly gave way to woe. “What have I done?” he cried, “what have I done? Here’s everything going so well! We might be the happiest of couples! We’re rich, we got everything we want.... And then you go harbouring these ideas, fooling about with rotten people, taking up with Socialism——Yes, I tell you—Socialism!”