Chapter 17After they had finished the main course, Mrs Roberts returned to the kitchen and came back carrying a plate with a jam roly-poly on it, which was the name she used for a pastry roll with jam in the middle. She put it down on the table and began to slice it up and dish it out, taking care, as always, not to give more to one person than another.
Despite her best efforts, though, Malcolm complained that his brother Steven had a bigger piece than he did, and Steven said no, Malcolm's piece was bigger, so that Mr Roberts had to intervene. 'You should both know better at your age,' he said, and glared at his two youngest sons with his sternest expression, which he reserved for occasions such as this. 'Anyone would think you boys were being starved to death,' he said, 'instead of being
