It did the very opposite.

It set him instantly on my side, in antagonism to the abuser of my father's memory, a memory which he, poor man, still secretly revered.
The sternness fell away from him.

He looked at her and sighed.

Then, with bowed head, and hands clasped behind him, he moved away from me a little.
"Do not let us judge rashly," he said.

"Perhaps Agostino received some provocation.