Lady Mary said softly, with her eyes cast down, that this was indeed the case.
“So you saw Mr. Sartwell, Barnard?”
“Oh, yes, I saw Sartwell, and had a talk with some of the men—with the—ah—ringleaders, don’t you know.”
“You mean the leaders, Barnard.”
“Yes, something of that sort. I don’t pretend to understand the bally workingman, you know, but there’s lots of sense in what they say. They know what they want.”
“Did you find Mr. Sartwell obdurate?”
“Oh, bless you, no, mater. Sartwell’s the most reasonable of men.”
“Indeed? It never occurred to me to place him in that category.”
“Don’t you make any mistake about Sartwell, mater; you won’t find him stand in your way at all. He’s perfectly willing to do whatever you want done. ‘Barney, my boy,’ he said to me, when I told him what you thought about this trouble, ‘Barney,’ says he, ‘after all is said and done, it’s the women’s affair more than ours.’”
“The women’s affair!” said Mrs. Hope, drawing herself severely up. “Do I understand you to mean, Barnard, that the man was referring to Mrs. Monkton and myself?”