“One’s enough to show him that,” said Sir Isaac.
“I was telling Lady Harman how much we missed her at Lady Viping’s, Sir Isaac.”
“It was on account of the drains,” Sir Isaac explained. “You can’t—it’s foolhardy to stay a day when the drains are wrong, dinners or no dinners.”
“You know I was extremely sorry not to come to Lady Viping’s. I hope you’ll tell her. I wrote.”
But Mr. Brumley didn’t remember clearly enough to make any use of that.
“Everybody naturally is sorry on an occasion of that sort,” said Sir Isaac. “But you come and see what we’ve done in that barn. In three weeks. They couldn’t have got it together in three months ten years ago. It’s—system.”
Mr. Brumley still tried to cling to Lady Harman.
“Have you been interested in this building?” he asked.
“I still don’t understand the system of the corridor,” she said, rising a little belatedly to the occasion. “I will come.”
Sir Isaac regarded her for a moment with a dubious expression and then began to explain the new method of building with large prepared units and shaped pieces of reinforced concrete instead of separate bricks that Messrs. Prothero & Cuthbertson had organized and which had enabled him to create this artistic corridor so simply. It was a rather uncomfortable three-cornered conversation. Sir Isaac addressed his exposition exclusively to Mr. Brumley and Mr. Brumley made repeated ineffectual attempts to bring Lady Harman, and Lady Harman made repeated ineffectual attempts to bring herself, into a position in the conversation.