It Was A Very Tidy Room Because Lucy Was An Incredibly Tidy Person. On The Shelves, Her Books Stood In

It was a very tidy room because Lucy was an incredibly tidy person. On the shelves, her books stood in straight, regimented lines, her bed was smooth, her clothes folded. At school, her desk was the same, with pencils sharpened and exercise books squared and neatly stacked. Once a week, Mrs Burgess, who came to clean for her grandmother, went through Lucy’s room with Hoover and duster and left it smelling strongly of lavender polish, but from time to time, driven by a sort of housewifely compulsion, Lucy cleaned it again herself, polishing the mirror of her dressing-table and the silver frame that held the photograph of her father.

Winter Solstice, p. 162 (via studytwice)