CHAPTER VIIA
FTER a great deal of nervous politeness on both sides the question of terms was approached, shied away from, reapproached, argued, counter-argued, and finally reduced to a provisional agreement.
The Mertons, who were very comfortable at the Priory and very grateful to the Warings for having them, felt that nothing they could pay would represent the kindness they were receiving. This position put before them an alternative of nothing at all, or about a hundred pounds a month. As neither of these sums (if you can call nothing a sum) came anywhere within the region of practical finance, the whole matter had to be reconsidered. Lydia, studying the back page of The Times, saw that delightful homes with h. and c., near bus route, cinema, and shopping centre, with use of kitchen an
