They were finer, in better
taste, than anything to be had on Ballarat; and she had long owed Agnes
some return for her many kindnesses. Herself she would just make do with
the simpler things she could buy in town. And so, without saying
anything to Richard, who would probably have objected that Henry Ocock
was well able to afford to pay for his own wife's finery, Mary tied up
the box and drove to Plevna House, on the outer edge of Yuille's Swamp.
"Oh, no, I could never have got myself such beautiful things as these,
Mary," and Mrs. Henry let her hands play lovingly with the silk
stockings, her pretty face a-glow with pleasure. "Henry has no
understanding, dear, for the etceteras of a costume. He thinks, if he
pays for a dress or a mantle, that that is enough; and when the LITTLE
bills come in, he grumbles at what he calls my extravagance. I sometimes
wish, Mary, I had kept back just a teeny-weeny bit of my own money.
Henry would never have missed it, and I should have been able to settle
a small bill for myself now and then. But you know how it is at first,
love. Our one idea is to hand over all we possess to our lord and
master." She tried on the satin boots; they were a little long, but she
would stuff the toes with wadding. "If I am REALLY not robbing you,
Mary?"
Mary reassured her, and thereupon a visit was paid to the nursery, where
Mr. Henry's son and heir lay sprawling in his cradle. Afterwards they
sat and chatted on the verandah, while a basket was being filled with
peaches for Mary to take home.
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