Margaret's friend Mrs. Warboys relates a story, to some women she meets in a cafe, about the Meldrews. After losing to Nick at Scrabble and discovering that the black shoes he wants to buy are still on the feet of their last - dead - owner,Victor is even grumpier than ever,the more so when Margaret disappears without trace. It turns out she just wanted a break and,after she has returned, Victor helps Nick at a garden fete where he is pursued by an amorous chimpanzee.
