It was not that the girl resisted or complained.

Mrs.Thesiger would have understood objections and complaints.

She would not have minded them; she could have coped with them.

There would have been little scenes, with accusations of ingratitude, of undutifulness, and Mrs.Thesiger was not averse to the excitement of little scenes.

But Sylvia never complained; she maintained a reserve, a mystery which her mother found very uncomfortable.