"Make fresh tea," ordered Briggs in Italian. "Quick--quick--"
And then remembering himself he blushed again, and begged everybody's
pardon.
"Very natural, very natural," Mr. Wilkins reassured him.
Briggs then explained to Lotty what he had explained twice
already, once to Rose and once to the other two, that he was on his way
to Rome and thought he would get out at Mezzago and just look in to see
if they were comfortable and continue his journey the next day, staying
the night in an hotel at Mezzago.
"But how ridiculous," said Lotty. "Of course you must stay here.
It's your house. There's Kate Lumley's room," she added, turning to
Mrs. Fisher. "You wouldn't mind Mr. Briggs having it for one night?
Kate Lumley isn't in it, you know," she said turning to Briggs again
and laughing.
And Mrs. Fisher to her immense surprise laughed too. She knew
that any other time this remark would have struck her as excessively
unseemly, and yet now she only thought it funny.
No indeed, she assured Briggs, Kate Lumley was not in that room.
Very fortunately, for she was an excessively wide person and the room
was excessively narrow. Kate Lumley might get into it, but that was
about all. Once in, she would fit it so tightly that probably she
would never be able to get out again.
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