"A strong one," I said; "so as to be able to watch our guests carefully when they pass the umbrella-stand."
Celia waved me away and explained that we wanted a hanging lantern. It appeared that this shop made a speciality not so much of the voltage as of the lamps enclosing it.
"How do you like that?" asked the man, pointing to a magnificent affair in brass. He wandered off to a switch, and turned it on.
"Dare you ask him the price?" I asked Celia. "It looks to me about a thousand pounds. If it is, say that you don't like the style. Don't let him think we can't afford it."
"Yes," said Celia, in a careless sort of way. "I'm not sure that I care about that. How much is it?"
"Two pounds."
I was not going to show my relief. "Without the light, of course?" I said disparagingly.
"How do you think it would look in the hall?" said Celia to me.
"I think our guests would be encouraged to proceed. They'd see that we were pretty good people."
"I don't like it. It's too ornate."