She had never before dreamed that her Aunt Harriet was in the least interested in Egyptian tombs.
"I ventured to ask if she and her sister, Miss Susan, and you also, if you cared to see it, would come some afternoon and look at my collection," said Von Rosen.
Nobody could have dreamed from his casual tone how carefully he had planned it all out: the visit of Annie and her aunts, the delicate little tea served in the study, the possible little stroll with Annie in his garden.

Von Rosen knew that one of the aunts, Miss Harriet, was afflicted with rose cold, and therefore, would probably not accept his invitation to view his rose-garden, and he also knew that it was improbable that both sisters would leave their aged mother.

It was, of course, a toss-up as to whether Miss Harriet or Miss Susan would come.

It was also a toss-up as to whether or not they might both come, and leave little Annie as companion for the old lady.

In fact, he had to admit to himself that the latter contingency was the more probable.