Viola eyed her cousin with the scorn of an Antigon.
"Beastly," she murmured. "Come on, Bertram, you don't want the diver's dress!"
"Rather not. And anyway it won't work."
"It will. It will," cried Harold, passionately. "I'm going to practice in a water-butt the first fine day we have."
It happened that John was unable to feel himself happily above these childish jealousies, because at that moment he was himself smarting with resentment at his mother's handing over to James all that she still retained of family heirlooms. His eldest brother already had the portraits, and now he was to have what was left of the silver, which would look utterly out of place in Hill Road. If John had been as young as Bertram, he would have spoken his mind pretty freely on the subject of giving James the silver and himself a checkered woolen kettle-holder. It was really too disproportionate, and he did mildly protest to the old lady that she might have left a few things at Ambles.
"But Jimmie is the eldest, and I expect him to take poor Hugh's part. The poor boy will want somebody when I'm gone, and Jimmie is the eldest."
"He may be the eldest, but I'm the one who has to look after Hugh—and very often James for that matter."
"Ah well, you're the lucky one, but Jimmie is the eldest and Hugh is the baby."
"But James hasn't any children."
"Nor have you, my dear boy."