“I sent her away because we couldn’t afford to keep her,” Helen replied.
“What do you mean by we?”
“Because I couldn’t afford to keep her, then.”
“And you think that I don’t count at all!” He laughed bitterly. “Those children are as much my children as yours, and I propose to have something to say about the way they are taken care of.” He glanced angrily at Helen, who remained silent. “You can be pretty exasperating at times, Helen. What do you propose to do with the children when we go back to Washington?”
“I am not going back to Washington,” she replied, in a low voice.
“What?” he exclaimed in astonishment.
“I am not going back to Washington.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We can’t afford——”
“Can’t afford! I’m sick of hearing that expression. You’ve used it a thousand times in the past six months. You make me feel as if I were a pauper or a thief.”