However she is ultimately and perhaps increasingly conventional, albeit endowed with personal qualities that make her stand out from the other women in Pankot. Although she has sympathy for outsiders like Barbie Batchelor and Lady Manners, this shows her honourable nature rather than implying a desire to oppose convention. Likewise, because she is thoughtful and clear-sighted, she is willing to discuss controversial issues; but her own conduct seldom noticeably offends the established norms. Her character can therefore be contrasted with that of Daphne Manners in the previous novel of the quartet, "The Jewel in the Crown".