By a profound instinct she wistfully treated everybody as an equal, as a fellow-creature; even her own daughter.

It was not the way to come with credit out of the threatened altercation about rent-collecting.
As Hilda offered no reply, Mrs.Lessways said reproachfully: "Hilda, you're too bad sometimes!" And then, after a further silence: "Anyhow, I'm quite decided." "Then what's the good of talking about it ?" said the merciless child.
"But _why_ shouldn't I collect the rents myself?
I'm not asking you to collect them.

And I shall save the five per cent., and goodness knows we need it." "You're more likely to lose twenty-five per cent.," said Hilda.

"I'll have some more tea, please." Mrs.Lessways was quite genuinely scandalized.

"You needn't think I shall be easy with those Calder Street tenants, because I shan't! Not me! I'm more likely to be too hard!" "You'll be too hard, and you'll be too easy, too," said Hilda savagely.
"You'll lose the good tenants and you'll keep the bad ones, and the houses will all go to rack and ruin, and then you'll sell all the property at a loss.