Why had Mr. and Mrs. Pigeoncote never encouraged young Wilfred to visit them?

Wilfrid has a reputation of being a kleptomaniac. This is someone who has a compulsion to steal, and even though he's just inherited the title of baron and all the phenomenal wealth that goes with it, his unfortunate reputation means that he's still not the kind of person you'd want to invite to your home. The Pigeoncotes, though not as well-off as their kleptomaniac cousin, still have rather a lot of valuable items lying around the house including numerous anniversary gifts such as the seven silver jugs of the title. The last thing they'd want is to have to count all their belongings and keep a watchful, suspicious eye on their guest, yet that is precisely what they do. The difference now is that Wilfred's come into a considerable sum of money and so it might be a good idea for the Pigeoncotes to be a tad more accommodating than they have been in the past.

In Saki's "The Seven Cream Jugs," Wilfred Pigeoncote has recently been named as heir to the title of baron and a large sum of money. As a result, Mrs. Peter Pigeoncote comments that upon his recent improvements, Wilfred will most likely not pay a visit to her and her husband. Mr. Pigeoncote believes this to be true because in the past he and his wife have not done much in extending an invitation to Wilfred. Their reason for not encouraging Wilfred to visit is because they are aware that he has an "unpleasant reputation" of being a kleptomaniac. Mr. and Mrs. Pigeoncote are celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary, which means it is customary for them to receive gifts of silver. With many valuable pieces of silver currently in the house, a visit from a kleptomaniac could be problematic. As it turns out, they do receive a visit from Wilfred. However, it is not the Wilfred known as the "Snatcher."