Her words reminded him that the way she had been brought up wasn't her fault. And that she was desperate. He felt a little bad for how he had judged her (though he was still concerned about how his household was going to run smoothly with a maid who didn't know a thing about housekeeping). "Well, you'll get your frocks dirty alright. Speaking of which... you'll need aprons. I'll provide the first set. If I keep you on, you can keep them and I'll subtract it from your first wages." For he figured that if she was at the point of hunger, she had no money to provide her own aprons.

He led her back into the kitchen and opened the door to the larder. It wasn't very full: a sack of potatoes in a bin down below, two cabbages, a small lump of cheese, a loaf of bread, and some bacon.