"Oh, no, Mrs. Greene," she said confidently. "You'll never become tolerant. Young Mrs. Geoffrey often says you live on your critical faculty and that it's my duty to give you something to pull to pieces every day." Mrs. Greene was delighted. She laughed with pure pleasure. "Helen says that, does she? Well, she's quite right; I'm a malicious intolerant old woman, and I don't suppose I'll change now." At that moment there was the sound of a car drawing up at the front door. Mrs. Greene looked in consternation at Miss Dorset. "There's Sarah," she said. "And I've done nothing that I meant to. I haven't even decided whether my necklace needs cleaning or not. You'll have to put all these away now, Miss Dorset, and get them out again to-morrow. But it doesn't matter; I've had a very happy afternoon and now I'll go into the drawing-room and wait for Sarah." IV Mrs. Hugh Greene arrived with a characteristic absence of fuss and impedimenta. She greeted Miss Dorset in the hall with a friendly smile, chatted to her for a moment and then said: "I'll find Mrs. Greene in the drawing-room, I suppose?" "Wouldn't you like to take your coat off, and have a little rest?" suggested Miss Dorset. "No thank you. I'm not tired; it's nothing of a journey; less than two hours in the train." Mrs. Hugh spoke briskly and appeared quite fresh and trim in her small, old-fashioned hat and the neat dark coat and skirt of a mode which she had first worn ten years ago, and had simply caused to be repeated ever since. Eight years younger than her sister-in-law, she was at a different stage of life; still active and independent, able to make plans, carry out her arrangements, and work indefatigably in her garden regardless of wind and weather. Miss Dorset, however, looking at her with an eye trained by experience to note each subtle stage of increasing frailty, thought that Mrs. Hugh was beginning to show her age, and watching her walk through to the drawing-room she decided that her air of youthfulness was deceptive; it was more an effect of manner than of physique. Later, when she rejoined the two old ladies for tea, she was confirmed in her opinion. They were both quite definitely old ladies; one apparently well, the other obviously in broken health, but certainly of the same generation. She placed a little table beside each of their chairs and busied herself with the tea things. As she poured out, she was keenly aware of Mrs. Greene's mood, sensitive to the incisive alertness of her speech without actually hearing what she was saying. All this expenditure of energy would have to be paid for by extra rest. Mrs. Greene's personality might over-ride her bodily ills and lend her a moment of spurious strength, but the consequent nervous reaction would be all the more merciless.