“But doesn’t it look sweet now it’s done?” said Julia. “Isn’t it sweet? Yes, it’s true they’ve cost a lot—you’re quite right there, Maudie; and they’ll make a big hole in our thirty pounds. Of course, we ought to have an Aubusson carpet, but we can’t possibly afford that.”
“No,” said Maudie, shaking her head resolutely, “that is certain, as certain as that one day we shall both die. The best thing we can do is to go for one of those square things we saw at Barker’s the other day—‘cord squares,’ I think they called them.”
“I wanted a carpet our feet would sink in,” said Julia.
“You can’t have it, my dear. Besides, it wouldn’t be much in keeping with a girls’ room. Have a pretty dark blue cord square. We shall get it for about three pounds. We shall have endless bother with people slipping about and smashing things if we try and make these boards look like parquet.”
“You don’t slip on parquet as you do on boards,” said Julia. “You see, we haven’t very much left, and we must have two big basket chairs, a couple of small chairs, and a stool or two; and we must have a writing-table. And then we haven’t got any sort of an over-mantel, no sort of a looking-glass, and no pictures, so say nothing of a stand or two to put plants in. I don’t see where it is all coming from—still less the piano. Oh, I haven’t given up all idea of the piano. That we must squeeze out of our dress allowance.”
“You don’t think,” said Maudie, “that we could put the piano off for another year?”
“No,” said Julia, decidedly, “it’s no good spoiling the ship for a ha’porth of tar.”