Summary

Chapter 16 begins with Erica helping Charmian in the kitchen in anticipation of guests arriving for the weekend. Charmian laments that she could be writing if she did not need to handle such domestic responsibilities. It also becomes clear in this chapter that Marianne and Leonard are sleeping together. In the next few chapters, Erica goes to parties and the beach, observing the general bacchanalian atmosphere of the island in summer. The relatively eventful developments include Erica mentioning the possibility of marriage to Jimmy, and Marianne going to Athens to help Axel; he and Patricia, with whom he is having an affair, get into a car crash. Jimmy becomes quite upset when he hears about Patricia’s injuries. There is also a moment when George is quite drunk and begins to say something to Erica about why Charmian is so affectionate towards her...