"In a way ?'" she repeated.

"You mean, not in your way, don't you ?" George was perplexed.

"How do you mean: not in my way ?" "People pretty often say 'in a way' and 'rather distinguished looking,' or 'rather' so-and-so, or 'rather' anything, to show that they're superior don't they?
In New York last month I overheard a climber sort of woman speaking of me as 'little Miss Morgan,' but she didn't mean my height; she meant that she was important.

Her husband spoke of a friend of mine as 'little Mr.Pembroke' and 'little Mr.Pembroke' is six-feet-three.

This husband and wife were really so terribly unimportant that the only way they knew to pretend to be important was calling people 'little' Miss or Mister so-and-so.