She laid her plans with accuracy and common sense, she divided the little sum which the three had to live on into weekly instalments--she resolved not to go beyond these.

But, alas! Primrose had never reckoned on a certain grave difficulty which here confronted her.

Hitherto her dealings had been with honest tradespeople; now it was her misfortune, and her sisters', to get into a house where honesty was far from practised.

In a thousand little ways Mrs.Dove could pilfer from the girls--she would not for the world have acknowledged to herself that she would really steal; oh, no--but she did not consider it stealing to use their coal instead of her own--of course, by mistake; she by no means considered it stealing when she baked a little joint for them in her oven on Sunday to boil it first, and in this way secure a very good soup for various hungry young Doves; she did not consider it stealing to so confuse the baker's account that some of the loaves consumed by her children were paid for by Primrose; nor did she consider it stealing to add water to the milk with which she supplied the Mainwarings; above all things, and on this point she was most emphatic, she thought it the reverse of stealing to borrow.
Primrose had not been a fortnight in her house before she began to ask first for the loan of an odd sixpence, then for half-a-crown, for a shilling here, and two shillings there.

When she returned the half-crown it was generally done in this fashion-- "Oh, if you please, miss, I want to settle my little account.