Sentence:  Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had <WSD>cost</WSD> a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;nb.... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To incur a charge of; to require payment of a (specified) price.