"As a sister, nothing more. I am much too old for him. He is a mere boy. I couldn't marry anyone younger than myself."
"Isn't this woman older than you?"
"I don't think it will come to anything. Uncle Ted is as often there as Austin. It's most amusing. But I'm afraid they're beginning to dislike each other heartily."
"Oh, I know her kind."
Mrs. de Cressiers' tone was contemptuous. Then she said with deliberation:
"I shall call on her to-morrow afternoon, and you must come with me."
"Oh, please not! I can't help thinking that she doesn't like me."
"Her likes or her dislikes cannot affect you. I will call for you in the carriage at three o'clock, and I shall stay ten minutes with her, not a moment more; and then you must come back to tea with me."
"You are so masterful," murmured Sidney.
She told Austin later of the result of her visit. He was satisfied.