Tea awaited him downstairs. He hovered about the drawing-room, making noises between his teeth.
“Snagsby,” said Sir Isaac, “just tell Mrs. Sawbridge I shall be obliged if she will come down to tea.”
“Mrs. Sawbridge ’as a ’eadache, Sir Isaac,” said Mr. Snagsby with extreme blandness. “She asked me to acquaint you. She ’as ordered tea in ’er own apartment.”
For a moment Sir Isaac was baffled. Then he had an inspiration. “Just get me the Times, Snagsby,” he said.
He took the paper and unfolded it until a particular paragraph was thrown into extreme prominence. This he lined about with his fountain pen and wrote above it with a quivering hand, “These women’s tickets were got by Georgina under false pretences from me.” He handed the paper thus prepared back to Snagsby. “Just take this paper to Mrs. Sawbridge,” he said, “and ask her what she thinks of it?”
But Mrs. Sawbridge tacitly declined this proposal for a correspondence viâ Snagsby.
§7
There was no excuse for Georgina.
Georgina had obtained tickets from Sir Isaac for the great party reception at Barleypound House, under the shallow pretext that she wanted them for “two spinsters from the country,” for whose good behaviour she would answer, and she had handed them over to that organization of disorder which swayed her mind. The historical outrage upon Mr. Blapton was the consequence.
Two desperate and misguided emissaries had gone to the great reception, dressed and behaving as much as possible like helpful Liberal women; they had made their way towards the brilliant group of leading Liberals of which Mr. Blapton was the centre, assuming an almost Whig-like expression and bearing to mask the fires within, and had then suddenly accosted him. It was one of those great occasions when the rank and file of the popular party is privileged to look upon Court dress. The ministers and great people had come on from Buckingham Palace in their lace and legs. Scarlet and feathers, splendid trains and mysterious ribbons and stars, gave an agreeable intimation of all that it means to be in office to the dazzled wives and daughters of the party stalwarts and fired the ambition of innumerable earnest but earnestly competitive young men. It opened the eyes of the Labour leaders to the higher possibilities of Parliament. And then suddenly came a stir, a rush, a cry of “Tear off his epaulettes!” and outrage was afoot. And two quite nice-looking young women!