"Yes, miss, three."
"How old are they?"
"Two and five and seving, miss. I'm a long way the eldest in the fambly. There's three died between me and Gladys. Father, 'e died eighteen months back, too."
"Your mother has had a lot of trouble, Sarah."
"Yes, miss, and she's mostly ailing."
"Would she like some cough medicine, do you think? You see I've got some in a bottle upstairs. I didn't use it all."
"Thank you, miss. She takes in sewing when she's able, but they pay that bad! Threepence for a blarse! Did you ever, now?"
The Atom fidgeted uncomfortably.
"I don't quite know what a blarse is, Sarah, not quite, you see."
"Why, a bodice as don't fit, miss, just 'angs loose, and you pull it in round the waist with a belt or somethink."