Nevertheless he could earn an income on which he and his wife, were he to marry, could live in all comfort; and as to his debts, if he would set his shoulder to the work they might be paid off in a twelvemonth.

There was nothing in the prospect which would frighten Lucy, though there might be a question whether he possessed the courage needed for so violent a change.
He had chambers in the Temple; he lived in rooms which he hired from month to month in one of the big hotels at the West End; and he dined at his club, or at the House, when he was not dining with a friend.
It was an expensive and a luxurious mode of life,--and one from the effects of which a man is prone to drift very quickly into selfishness.

He was by no means given to drinking,--but he was already learning to like good wine.

Small economies in reference to cab-hire, gloves, umbrellas, and railway fares were unknown to him.
Sixpences and shillings were things with which, in his mind, it was grievous to have to burden the thoughts.

The Greystocks had all lived after that fashion.