Frieda kept moving back and forth across the hall ... blowing kisses and wearing less and less clothing until she eventually appeared clad only in bright scarlet frilly knickers ... with a long-stemmed rose between her teeth. Christopher appeared shortly after that with the Hoover and commenced to busy himself noisily with it until Jean shouted for him to stop. Mr Harcourt sat out in the garden with Ivan, who was showing him and reading aloud from articles in his stack of National Geographics. Aunt Dizzy, as usual, was upstairs resting. She had begun to worry Jean a little: she'd become too quiet and did not always appear for breakfast. Forsaking her brightly coloured garb, including the endless pairs of hot pants, she had taken to dressing in long, silken ancient dresses and shuffling about the house in fluffy slippers, usually with ice cubes wrapped in tea towels held to her head.