As the woman shrieks and rails («You there with your fancy man in the garden in the bright light of day... canoodling with him you in nothing but
your floral swimming costume and showing your very thighs»), Mantel's mother, in a turn that anticipates Mantel's later descriptions of Anne Boleyn, rises from where she is basking, blinks, and dawdles indifferently indoors, leaving her daughter — small, foursquare, hands planted on her hips — to defend the family honor.
The kids pretty much spent most of the weekends of January and February attending their
swim class; I made my daughter's DIY wonder woman
costume; we went to see Jurassic Quest when they were in town; my daughter has had to deal with mean friends; my husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary (I have some tips on how to celebrate on a budget); and I found the cutest
floral dress for spring!