Caroline

In the margin

Long light is a kind of weather in itself and it changes what a guest is after. Caroline finds that in May and June people arrive later, warmer and far less inclined to hurry, so she shapes the hour to match: lighter oil, fewer towels, the curtains left exactly where they are. Spanish and English, and she is funny in both without appearing to try. Twenty-nine, which in this work counts for a good deal more than the number suggests. She names her limits at the beginning and does not go back to the subject afterwards.

Caroline decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.