"Tea at twelve shillings a pound is a luxury!"
"Undoubtedly!"
"And to pay two shillings for a luxury when we are so poor—is sinful!"
"Is it, Charmian?"
"Of course it is."
"Oh!" said I; "and yet, life without tea—more especially as you brew it—would be very stale, flat, and unprofitable, and—"
"Bacon and eggs—one shilling and fourpence!" she went on, consulting her accounts.
"Ah!" said I, not venturing on "good," this time.
"Butter—one shilling!"
"Hum!" said I cautiously, and with the air of turning this over in my mind.