Sister Catherine was most amused, and the look on her face spoke of great affection for Willem’s first cousin twice removed. "You must be proud of her," said the nun, "such a firecracker!" Willem had trouble making sense of her English for just a moment until he got it that she was speaking with an Australian accent. Then it all snapped into place. "You’ll have to be patient with my Dutch," she said, reaching across the table and touching Willem’s forearm lightly. "Where I grew up, speaking it was discouraged."