'I am glad, mamma,' said the girl, 'that at last you are reconciled to the change. It was inevitable. I dare say you will feel better when we are settled at Redstone.'
'My dear,' answered Mrs. Cusworth, 'I must abandon the idea of going there.'
'Where? To Redstone?'
'Yes. The house is beyond my means. I cannot possibly afford it.'
'But—mamma.' Salome was startled. 'I have already secured the lodgings.'
'Only for a quarter, and it would be better to sacrifice a quarter's rent than turn out again in three months. I could not endure the shift again, so quickly following this dreadful change.'
'But—mamma!' Salome was greatly taken aback. 'This is springing a surprise on me. We have no other house into which we can go.'
'A cottage, quite a cottage, such as the artisans occupy, must content us. We shall have to cut our coat according to our cloth.'
'Mamma! You allowed me to engage Redstone.'
'I did not then know how we were circumstanced. To make both ends meet we shall have to pinch.'