It rang for Emily, who vaulted from bed, horrified by the noise, the boredom of sleep, and the overpowering musty airlessness her grandmother chose to sleep in. Between the sheets, Lilian unconsciously expanded, adjusting to the greater freedom, perhaps as pleased to be alone as Emily was to stay no longer close to a body older than her own. Out of the room, Emily went to the kitchen at a run, dragging on her dressing-gown, breathing deep draughts of the morning air that swept through the house, her eyes unsticking themselves. She beamed in the door at Dotty. ‘’Lo, Em. Give Max a shout in a minute, will you?’ ‘I’m going to, Dot.’ In the bathroom she brushed her hair, cleaned her teeth and so lavishly soaped herself that her skin went smooth and shiny as scented marble. The mild flowery smell preceded her into Max’s room, beginning another day in which he would be. She stood motionless while her eyes went over the familiar room; it was sunny and smelt of damp grass for the window was wide and the curtains drawn.
