Snobbery With Violence - M. C. Beaton [86]
“There aren’t any cheap flowers in winter.”
“We’ll get a vase anyway and prepare for spring. But curtains, right now. Run down and get us a hack.”
“People like us don’t take carriages,” said Rose patiently. “We’ll walk up to Lower Oxford Street and then if you’re tired, we’ll take the omnibus and not first class either.”
Rose sat down on the bed. “Perhaps we shouldn’t rush into things. Light that fire, Daisy. This room is abominably cold.”
“I need a penny for the meter.”
Rose opened her handbag and took out her purse. “Here’s a penny. I suppose we’ll need to save a stock of pennies for the fire and the bath. Oh, we can’t even have a cup of tea.”
“Yes, we can!” said Daisy triumphantly. “You packed books, I packed essentials.” She put a penny in the meter and lit the gas. She unlocked the trunk and pulled out a small kettle, a teapot, a packet of tea and a paper twist of sugar. “No milk, but we can have it without. I’ve brought a pot and frying pan as well.”
Rose began to laugh. “Anything else?”
“Six sausages and two rashers of bacon and a loaf of bread.”
“But how on earth can you cook?”
“See!” Daisy pulled out a gas ring from the side of the fire. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
Rose began to feel almost cheerful. Daisy lit the gaslight and made a pot of tea. She wondered if Rose realised that a hostel which boasted gaslight and a bathroom was above the common order.
“I am such a fool,” said Rose. “When I saw this shabby room, I almost wanted to run back to Eaton Square and hammer on the door and say I had made a dreadful mistake. We will go out and find somewhere to eat and then we will spend the evening in practising our Pitman shorthand. I wish to surprise papa by making myself indispensable to the bank. I wonder what the other women will be like?”
Table of Contents
Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue