a being who seemed to make an art of being delicately reserved; and
because Henrietta liked to establish relationships in which she was
sure of herself and her power to please, she was conscious of a faint
feeling of antagonism towards this person who made her doubt herself.

Aunt Caroline and Aunt Sophia were evidently delighted with their
niece's presence in the house. They liked the sound of her laughter
and her gay voice and though Sophia once gently reproached her for her
habit of whistling, which was not that of a young lady, Caroline
scoffed at her old-fashioned sister.

'Let the girl whistle, if she wants to,' she said. 'It's better than
having a canary in a cage.'

'But don't do it too much, Henrietta, dear,' Sophia compromised. 'You
mustn't get wrinkles round your mouth.'

'No.' This was a consideration which appealed to Caroline. 'No, child,
you mustn't do that.'

They admitted her to a familiarity which they would not have allowed
her, and which she never attempted, to exceed, but she was Reginald's
daughter, she was a member of the family, and her offence in being
also the daughter of her mother was forgotten. Caroline and Sophia
were deeply interested in Henrietta. Henrietta was grateful and
affectionate. The three were naturally congenial, and the happiness
and sympathy of the trio accentuated the pleasant aloofness of Rose.
Aunt Rose did not care for her, Henrietta told herself; there was
something odd about Aunt Rose, yet she remembered that it was Aunt
Rose who had thought of giving her the money.