She made a hasty calculation: five pounds was a large sum to her; but she smiled as she said:
"You are very extravagant, dear. There is already a copy of the
'Reliques' in the library."
He looked confused for a moment, then he said:
"But not with these notes—not with these notes! They're valuable, and the book is cheap."
"Very well, dear," she responded; and she went to the antique bureau and, unlocking it, took a five-pound note from a cedar box.
He watched her covertly, with a painful eagerness.
"I suppose you have a large nest egg there, eh, Ida?" he remarked, with a quavering laugh.
"No: a very little one," she responded. "'Not nearly enough to pay the quarterly bills. But never mind, dear; there it is. You must show me the books when they come; I never saw the last you ordered, you know!"
He took the note with an assumption of indifference but with a gleam of satisfaction in his sunken eyes.
"Didn't you?" he said. "I must have forgotten. You're always so busy; but I'll show you these, if you'll remind me. You must be careful of the money, Ida; you must keep down the expenses. We're poor, very poor, you know; and the cost of living and servants is very great—very great."