Just watched the film again. I felt certain that Mrs Fisher's friend was a real person, and that Mrs Fisher was controlling and selfish as well as closed off emotionally from others, and needed to feel she had the same option as the others to invite a guest.
A real Victorian, raised in an atmosphere of standoffish parents or governesses, she was not good at making connections or getting along with others. She later talks about her friend being somewhat too large to fit into that small bedroom, and I doubt that Mrs Fisher ever really intended to write to her friend. Luckily for her and for us watching, Mrs Fisher succumbed to the generosity and affection pervading this bit of Italian heaven on earth.
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