Sidney did not relish what was before her, but she made the best of it, and the next afternoon joined Mrs. de Cressiers at the time appointed. "Oh, dear!" she said with her bright laugh, as she looked at Mrs. de Cressiers in her most imposing attire, "I am glad I am not the poor victim of your visitation." Mrs. de Cressiers smiled very slightly. Sidney was a favoured person, and perhaps the very fact that she had never been afraid of Mrs. de Cressiers was a point in her favour, for it was the fearful and timid who suffered most from that lady's masterful spirit. "I am visiting her as a neighbour," she said. "And as a friend," Sidney put in. "That remains to be seen." Lovelace's Cottage was fast assuming a neat and pretty aspect. A respectable-looking maidservant opened the door and ushered them into the tiny drawing-room, where they found Mrs. Norman sitting by a bright fire with needlework in her hand. She had discarded her loud-coloured cardigans and short skirts, and was in a dark green cloth gown which fitted her to perfection. The room was dainty and fresh. Yellow chrysanthemums were in bowls on the table. Her greeting to Mrs. de Cressiers was quiet and simple. "It is very kind of you to come to see me. I did not expect it. I think I have made acquaintance with your son. Major Urquhart brought him in one day. What a nice fresh boy he is! He told me he felt quite lost when you were away. I don't expect to see him now you are back; but he seemed so lonely that I quite pitied him." "Then I am afraid you wasted your pity," said Mrs. de Cressiers in her most frosty tone, "for Austin and I have our interests entirely apart, and we are hardly ever together." Sidney's cheeks got quite hot, but Mrs. Norman was quite serene. She turned towards Sidney with a smile. "I can't tell you, Mrs. de Cressiers, how very good and kind Miss Urquhart and her people have been to me. I came as a stranger to a strange land, and they befriended me from the very first day. I have always heard that country neighbours are real friends, and now I have proved it. Major Urquhart is my great stand-by. I think hardly a day passes without his coming down to give me some bit of advice or counsel. And one really feels that a man of that age can help one tremendously without any unseemly gossip following his kindness." "I don't think we gossip in these parts," said Sidney. "Do we, Mrs. de Cressiers? There are so few to be interested in the doings of their neighbours. The rector is an old bachelor, and the doctor has a family of ten children, who keep their mother more than busy, and our other neighbours live too far-away to know anything about our daily life." "Are you making a home here for your daughter?" asked Mrs. de Cressiers abruptly. Just a glint of light seemed to pass over Mrs. Norman's eyes as she replied with a little laugh.