ANNE (ashamed). You see, I—I only have three and fourpence ha’penny. And it costs one pound five and twopence to get home. (Indignantly) Oh, it’s a shame the way men always pay for us, and then when we really want money we haven’t got any.... But I will pay you back on Sunday. I have some money at home; I meant to have brought it.
NICHOLAS. But—but why do you suddenly——
ANNE. Suddenly? I’ve been wanting it ever since that first morning. I went upstairs to get my hat, meaning to walk straight out of the house—and then I looked in my purse and found—(pathetically) three and fourpence ha’penny. What was I to do?
NICHOLAS. Any one would have lent you anything.
ANNE (coldly). Leonard, for instance?
NICHOLAS (thoughtfully). Well ... no.... No. You couldn’t very well have touched Leonard. But Latimer——
ANNE. Mr. Latimer! The man who had brought us here, locked us up here, and started playing Providence to us—I was to go on my knees to him and say, [160]“Please, dear Mr. Latimer, could you lend me one pound two and sixpence, so that I may run away from your horrid house?” Really!
NICHOLAS. Well, you seem to have been pretty friendly with him these three days.
ANNE. Naturally I am polite to a man when I am staying in his house. That’s different.
NICHOLAS. As a matter of fact, Latimer has been jolly decent. Anyway, he has saved us both from making silly asses of ourselves.