‘Ah,’ said she, when she had finished the letter, ‘it is quite obvious why she wants to come. I did not know your sister was twenty-two, Otho. Indeed, I hardly realised that you had a sister.’
‘No more did I, till she went and did this,’ said Otho, resentfully.
‘And you would rather she did not come?’
‘Much rather. But it’s no use thinking of keeping her away. I’m not going to try. She has got the right to come, by my father’s will, and to stay as long as she likes, till one of us gets married. I can’t prevent it. The thing is, I don’t know what to do with her when I get her here.’
‘Well, if you make it very pleasant for her, of course she’ll want to stay.’
Otho nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘And if you upset all your habits, and make great changes on her account, then she will think you want her to stay, which would be quite a false impression.’
‘I never thought of that.’
‘Of course not; only it seems such a very obvious thing. Perhaps that is why it never occurred to you.’
‘Now, come, none of your chaff. What I thought of was, that it’s simply impossible for a girl like that to settle down in a house full of my ways. I must do something, and what to do I don’t know. I wanted your advice.’