Mrs.Cross took very little interest in her daughter's friend, and regarded the broken engagement with no less disapproval than surprise; but it would have gravely offended her if Bertha had kept this correspondence altogether to herself.
"I suppose," she remarked, on one such occasion, "we shall never again see Mr.Franks." "He would find it rather awkward to call, no doubt," replied Bertha.
"I shall _never_ understand it!" Mrs.Cross exclaimed, in a vexed tone, after thinking awhile.

"No doubt there's something you keep from me." "About Rosamund?
Nothing whatever, I assure you, mother." "Then you yourself don't know all, that's _quite_ certain." Mrs.Cross had made the remark many times, and always with the same satisfaction.

Her daughter was content that the discussion should remain at this point; for the feeling that she had said something at once unpleasant and unanswerable made Mrs.Cross almost good humoured for at least an hour.
Few were the distressful lady's sources of comfort, but one sure way of soothing her mind and temper, was to suggest some method of saving money, no matter how little.

One day in the winter, Bertha passing along the further part of Fulham Road, noticed a new-looking grocer's, the window full of price tickets, some of them very attractive to a housekeeper's eye; on returning home she spoke of this, mentioning figures which moved her mother to a sour effervescence of delight.

The shop was rather too far away for convenience, but that same evening Mrs.Cross went to inspect it, and came back quite flurried with what she had seen.
"I shall most certainly deal at Jollyman's," she exclaimed.