3i8 The Discomfiture of Mrs. Trimmings 



but that was not what she wanted ; her longing was to 

 gain admittance to the interior, to dine if possible, to 

 lunch if it might be, and to be able to speak of ' dear 

 Lady Covertside and the girls,' with a shade more claim 

 to the familiarity. Of course Mrs. Trimmings always 

 represented, to those who were ignorant of the truth, 

 that Lady Covertside was her dearest friend ; but it would 



Her Interview with his Worship 



be pleasant for purposes of impressing humble strangers 

 to be able to say something about the inside of her 

 dearest friend's house, for inability to answer a simple 

 question which had arisen on this head had once covered 

 her with confusion. 



On a certain day in late September Mrs. Trimmings, 

 sailing round the town to let the tradespeople see her 



