‘The first question is, ma’am,’ said Mrs. Orange, ‘I don’t bore you?’
‘Not in the least, ma’am,’ said Mrs. Lemon. ‘Far from it, I assure you.’
‘Then pray have you,’ said Mrs. Orange,—‘have you any vacancies?’
‘Yes, ma’am. How many might you require?’
‘Why, the truth is, ma’am,’ said Mrs. Orange, ‘I have come to the conclusion that my children,’—O, I forgot to say that they call the grown-up people children in that country!—‘that my children are getting positively too much for me. Let me see. Two parents, two intimate friends of theirs, one godfather, two godmothers, and an aunt. Have you as many as eight vacancies?’
‘I have just eight, ma’am,’ said Mrs. Lemon.
‘Most fortunate! Terms moderate, I think?’
‘Very moderate, ma’am.’
‘Diet good, I believe?’
‘Excellent, ma’am.’