]
JAWBONES Not unless that's 'im. [He finishes for the time being
with the fire. Rises.]
[JANET enters.]
LADY MOGTON Was that you they were yelling at?
JANET No, it's Mr. Sigsby.
[Another yell is heard. Out of it a shrill female voice--"Mind 'is
fice; yer spoiling it!"]
The Woman's Laundry Union have taken such a strong dislike to him.
[A final yell. Then a voice: "That's taken some of the starch out
of him!" followed by a shriek of laughter.]
JAWBONES 'E only suggested as 'ow there was enough old washerwomen
in Parliament as it was.
LADY MOGTON A most unnecessary remark. It will teach him -
[SIGSBY enters, damaged. His appearance is comic. LADY MOGTON
makes no effort to repress a grim smile.]
SIGSBY Funny, ain't it?
LADY MOGTON I am sorry.
SIGSBY [He snarls.] "The Mother's Hand shall Help Us!" One of
your posters, I think.
LADY MOGTON You shouldn't have insulted them--calling them old
washerwomen!
SIGSBY Insult! Can't one indulge in a harmless jeu d'esprit--[he
pronounces it according to his own ideas]--without having one's
clothes torn off one's back? [Fiercely.
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