Chapter 6 A FEW UPSETS
Berta looked so upset that Aunt Fanny acted quickly and firmly. 'Don't bother about that letter now,Quentin,' she said. 'We'll go through it afterwards and decide what to do. Let's have our breakfast inpeace.'
'I won't have my hair cut off,' said Berta, again. Uncle Quentin was not used to being defied openlylike this, and he scowled¹. He looked at his wife.
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'Surely you are not going to let this - er what's her name now - Bertha...'
'Berta,' said everyone automatically.
'I said that we would not discuss this till after breakfast,' said Aunt Fanny, in the kind of voice thatmade everyone, including Uncle Quentin, quite certain that she meant what she said. Her husbandfolded up the letter and opened the next one, frowning. The children looked at one another.
Berta to be a boy! Goodness! If ever anyone looked less like a boy it was Berta! George was mostannoyed. She loved to dress like a boy, but she didn't feel inclined to urge anyone else to!
She looked at Berta, who was eating her breakfast with tears in her eyes. What a baby! She wouldn'teven look like a boy, if she was dressed in boys' clothes. She would just look absolutely silly.
Julian began a conversation with his aunt about the garden. She was grateful to him for breaking upthe sudden awkwardness caused by the letter. She was very fond of Julian. 'I can always depend onhim,' she thought, and talked gladly of the garden fruit, and who would pick the raspberries for lunchand whether the wasps³ would eat all the plums or not!
Dick joined in, and Anne, and soon Berta did too. Only George and her father remained gloomy.
They both looked so exactly alike in solemn, rather frowning expressions that Julian nudged Dickand nodded towards them.
Dick grinned. 'Like father, like daughter!' he said. 'Cheer up, George. Don't you like your breakfast?'
George was just about to answer crossly when Anne gave an exclamation⁴. 'Oh, look at UncleQuentin! He's putting mustard on his toast - Aunt Fanny, stop him - he's just going to eat it!'
Everyone roared with laughter. Aunt Fanny managed to smack⁵ her husband's hand down from hismouth, just as he was putting his toast and mustard up to it, reading a letter at the same time.
'Hey - what's the matter?' he said, startled.
'Quentin - that's the second time this month you've spread your toast with mustard instead of withmarmalade,' said his wife. 'Do have a little sense.'

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