"She's fourteen."
"And healthy--"
"We have doctors to see to that," the Madame said. "How much did you
have in mind?"
"Well," the man said, "it's been a month now since I worked, and with
debts and everything...."
"And something to put aside for winter," his wife added.
"We couldn't take less than a _milli dordoc_."
"And we wouldn't even think of it, but we don't have a scrap of bread in
the house."
"And all our bills, and winter coming on...."
Miss Bestris turned the picture this way and that. The parents waited.
The woman cleared her throat. The man shuffled his feet. The clock on
the wall went tick-tick, tick-tick.
"I'll give you eight hundred and thirty _dordocs_," the Madame said.
"Well...."
Miss Bestris bent forward, holding out the picture. "Here, then. Take
it. I wouldn't offer that, but I need a girl right now. One of mine ran
away last week, and I'm afraid she won't be able to work for a month or
so after they bring her back. I'm being generous. Eight hundred and
thirty, or take your picture and don't waste my time."
The man and woman stared at her. And the clock went _tick-tick_.
"Take it, Chav."
"... All right," the man said. "We need the money."
Miss Bestris leaned across the desk, pressed a button on her panel.
Almost immediately, a door slid silently open and her lawyer entered
with a white, printed, standard-form sales contract in his hand.
Efficiently and rapidly, he entered the particulars. "Sign here," he
said, and the parents signed.
"Now," said the Madame, "if you'll bring in Lavada tomorrow at nine,
I'll arrange for a doctor to be here. If his examination is
satisfactory, the money will be ready."
The lawyer left, and the woman said, "You understand, we wouldn't do
this but for ..."
"I understand, perfectly," Miss Bestris said. "You don't need to worry.
This is the best kind of house--Earthmen only, you know, and they're
very particular. My girls are given the best of care. I'm like a mother
to them, and if they are thrifty and diligent, they'll be able to save
enough money in a--a very short time to redeem their contract as
provided by law. You needn't worry at all."
"Well," the woman said, "I feel better after talking to you. I feel
better about the whole thing to hear you talk like that."
The clock went _tick-tick_.
"Uh," the man said, "you won't--? That is, our little daughter is
sometimes wilful and ... uh ... well ... Sometimes."