Chapter 2 Summary

Florence prepares to move into the Old House and while the plumber is working she is told the resident 'rapper,' or poltergeist is upsetting the plumber's tools. Florence wanted to create a storage facility at the Oyster Shed that is part of the sale of the Old House. The population warms to her, feeling less intellectually threatened, when they realize she did not know the storage shed walls never dry and therefore it would be too damp to store books there.

Florence is invited to a society party hosted by the socially well-placed General and Mrs. Violet Gamart at The Stead. She orders a new dress to be made for the occasion, in red.

Her choice is considered too confident for the folks of Hardborough. At the fitting of the dress she wishes that she had not chosen red and that she...