"I do not," said Mr. Earlforward, waggishly, stoutly.
The truth was that for years he had seen the plant-pots without noticing them. They were never moved, never touched. The unconquerable force of nature was illustrated in the simple fact that one or two of the plants still sturdily lived, displaying a grimy green.
They passed up the steps, Mr. Earlforward a foot or so behind his heroine.
"Now what I don't understand," said she, turning upon him and stopping, "is why the Square should be so much higher than the road. It means that all the carts and things, even the milk-carts, have to go all the way round by Gilbert Street to get into the Square from the side. Why couldn't they have had it all on the same level?"
Exquisitely feminine, he thought! "Why couldn't they have had it all on the same level?" Absurd! Delicious! He adored the delicious, girlish absurdity.
"Well," he said. "It's like this. You see, in the old days they used to make tiles in Clerkenwell, and they scooped out the clay for the tiles in large quantities--and this is the result."
With a certain eagerness he amplified the explanation.
"I should never have thought of that," said Mrs. Arb ingenuously but archly. "What sort of church is St. Andrew's?"
"Oh! It was built in the 'thirties and cost £4,541. Cheap! I doubt if you'd build it to-day for twenty thousand. Supposed to hold eleven hundred people."
"Really! But I mean, is it High or Low, or Broad?"
"I haven't the least idea," answered Mr. Earlforward. "I did go in one day to look at the reredos to oblige a customer, but I've never been to a service." He spoke jauntily.
"D'you know why I go to church--when I do go?" said she. "Because it makes me feel nice. It's a great comfort, especially when it's a foggy day and you can't see very well, and there's not too many people. I don't mean I like sermons. No. But what I say is, if you enjoy part of the service the least you can do is to stay it out. Don't you agree?" She looked up at him, as it were appealing for approval.
Wonderful moments for Mr. Earlforward, and for Mrs. Arb too!
"She has a vigorous mind. Not one woman in a hundred would have said that. And so _petite_ and smart too. It doesn't really matter about her being only a confectioner."