‘Thank you, I had a lovely time,’ she saying glibly at four, dropping a farewell curtsy, on departing from children’s parties. She would return home with her little starched dress as neat and clean as when she had put it on. She took great care of her hair and nails. She was never dirty, and she watched other children running and playing, making mud pies, falling and skinning their knees, and she thought them utterly silly. Thea was an only child. Other mothers, more harassed than Thea’s mother, with two or three offspring to look after, praised Thea’s obedience and neatness, and Thea loved this. Thea basked also in the praise she got from her own mother. Thea and her mother adored each other.