“We must put some things—books any way,”—said Leila, “on that table—it looks so silly with nothing at all;” and she was on the point of doing so, for, in spite of herself, she was beginning to enter into the spirit of their new occupation a little, when Jasper stopped her.
“That table’s to be for Aunt Margaret,” he said. “She’ll keep her books and things there. And there’s a nice deep drawer—that goes down quite low, you see,” he opened it as he spoke, “for her work, Mums says.”
“How do you know about it?” asked his sisters, rather sharply. “You are such a prig,” added Chrissie.
“Mumsey showed it me when we was settlin’ about the dustin’ this mornin’,” he replied calmly.
Leila and Chrissie looked at each other.
“Really,” said the former, though in a low voice, “I do think mother should talk to us about what she is going to make us do before she discusses it all with a baby like Jasper.”
Christabel did not at once answer. She was less of a self-deceiver than Leila, and she knew that neither she nor her sister had behaved in such a way as to let it be easy or pleasant for their mother to consult them about the new state of things.
“I don’t suppose she said much to him,” she replied, “and he’s not a bit a tell-tale—he never makes mischief. He’s really a good little fellow—much better than we were at his age, or than—”
“Speak for yourself, if you please,” interrupted Leila crossly. She had a very shrewd suspicion what the end of the sentence was going to be and she did not want to hear it.
Christabel set to work in her usual energetic way. Jasper had already been at his corner steadily for some minutes. He rubbed at the chairs as if they were ponies that he was grooming, calling out to his sisters to look how he had made the wood shine, and seeing him, and Chrissie too, so active, Leila caught the infection, and being the tallest of the three, took the mantelpiece ornaments as her special department, and found to her surprise that she really enjoyed “housemaiding.”