"You may well cry out, Master Geoff, it's a wicked shame, and I tell you Sir," she added, turning to Claude, "mark my word, if that woman don't manage somehow to get the Christmas Charities this year, even though her own old Mother has to go without."
"Come, come, Mrs. Green," expostulated Claude, "She's not quite so base as that, I hope. However I'll have an eye on her at Christmas; and now," he added, as Dodie's thumps became more violent, "do you think you could let us have tea? It's early I'm afraid, but we're all hungry. Is it too early?"
"Bless you no Sir,—not if you want it. I'm always willing to do what I can to make you comfortable. 'Sally,' my husband used to say to me when I had troublesome lodgers, 'don't you mind being put about a bit, keep a cheerful countenance my girl,' and so I've always tried to do Sir, and though the kitchen fire is a bit low as I didn't know you'd be wanting tea quite so early, I'll make it up at once Sir, and tea will be ready in a few minutes."
And Mrs. Green hurried off with a good-natured smile on her face, thinking to herself, "Who wouldn't be obliging to such a nice young gentleman, I should like to know—such a quiet lodger too—so different from my last party. I sometimes wish he'd make a little more noise, that I do; it 'ud be more cheerful. But there now, it isn't his way. Bless me! Flow those dear children are enjoying themselves," as a fresh peal of laughter found its way down into the kitchen.
Nurse's hair would have stood up on end, if half an hour afterwards she had looked in, and seen the zest with which the three boys tucked in to the apricot jam and currant cake, which their host brought out of his cupboard.
Geoffrey perhaps fared the worst of the three, for a great deal of his time was spent in looking after Dodie, tying on her bib, cutting her bread and butter into tempting little shapes, so as to take off her attention from the currant cake, which he knew she must not eat, giving her tiny little portions of his own jam on her bread and butter to taste.
He would not let anyone do anything for her but himself, and no mother could have been more careful of her.
"Mr. Hodson," said Forbes, when after tea they put on their hats and jackets most unwillingly to go, "will you take us one day into Ipswich to get our Christmas presents? It's three weeks to Christmas now, and Nurse won't let us go alone, though of course Geoff could take care of us. Mother used always to let him go into the town alone."
"I want to get heaps of presents," said Jack, tugging away at his boots breathlessly, "there's Nurse, and James, and Ann, and Geoff of course, and the others, I don't think I can buy mine all in a day."
