Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. III, 1889.djvu/270

 for nothing? Who is it as you owe everything to?—just tell me that.”

Amy affected to pay no attention. She kept swallowing morsels, with ugly movements of her lips and jaws.

“How often have I to tell you all that if it wasn’t for Sidney Kirkwood you’d have been workhouse children? As sure as you’re livin’, you’d all of you have gone to the workhouse! And you go on just as if you didn’t owe thanks to nobody. I tell you it’ll be years and years before one of you’ll have a penny you can call your own. If it was Annie or Tom behaved so careless, there’d be less wonder; but for a girl of your age—I’m ashamed as you belong to me! You can’t even keep your tongue from bein’ impudent to Clara, her as you ain’t worthy to be a servant to!”

“Clara’s a sneak,” observed Tom, with much coolness. “She’s always telling lies about us.”

“I’ll half-knock your young head off your shoulders,” cried his father, furiously, “if you talk to me like that! Not one of you’s fit to live in the same house with her.”

“Father, I haven’t done nothing,” whimpered