It
was enough for the first five weeks. I am housekeeper now, and I shall
allow myself two pounds a week less, and not owe a shilling either."
"Well, all I know is, I couldn't do it: no woman could."
"Then, you should have come to me, and said so; and I would have shown
you how. Was I in Egypt, or at the North Pole, that you could not find
me, to treat me like a friend? You have ruined us: these debts will
sweep away the last shilling of our little capital; but it isn't that,
oh, no! it is the miserable deceit."
Rosa's eye caught the sum total of Madame Cie's bill, and she turned
pale. "Oh, what a cheat that woman is!"
But she turned paler when Christopher said, "That is the one honest
bill; for I gave you leave. It is these that part us: these! these! Look
at them, false heart! There, go and pack up your things. We can live
here no longer; we are ruined. I must send you back to your father."
"I thought you would, sooner or later," said Mrs. Staines, panting,
trembling, but showing a little fight. "He told you I wasn't fit to be a
poor man's wife."
"An honest man's wife, you mean: that is what you are not fit for. You
will go home to your father, and I shall go into some humble lodging to
work for you.
Pages:
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253