The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

In the present, Alex waits in the flat for Iris. He introduces himself to Euphemia, as both Iris and Esme correct him at the same time.

The narrative switches to Kitty’s memory of the night of Esme’s assault. Kitty notices Esme is tired after the party, but thinks she just overexerted herself. When Esme starts screaming, Ishbel tells Kitty to leave the room and calls the doctor. Kitty listens at the door as the doctor speaks to Esme and their mother, diagnosing Esme with schizophrenia and telling her that they are taking her away to rest. She watches her father and the doctor drag Esme away, as the latter begs for her help. Later, Kitty thinks the house is painfully quiet without Esme, and regrets telling her parents about the blazer incident and the day at the beach (when Esme saw a hallucination of herself with her family on the beach). She never thought her parents would send Esme away forever; she just wanted Esme gone long enough to find a husband.

A man named Duncan Lockhart visits Kitty two weeks after Esme leaves. The two eventually marry, but Kitty is sad that she must ask Duncan’s cousin, whom she barely knows, to be her bridesmaid; it sickens her to watch the girl try on the bridesmaid’s dress.