In the short story Next to a Dog, Aunt Mary is an aunt of Michael Lambert. When Michael died, leaving his wife Joyce penniless, she was obliged to look up his aunts occasionally hoping to get some help. Joyce met with Aunt Mary at the start of the story. She thought Aunt Mary "ought to be good for a fortnight", presumably she hoped that the well-to-do old lady would lend her some money. In the event, they meet at a restaurant but while Aunt Mary kept talking about how good the food was, she did not offer to buy Joyce a lunch. To add to the disappointment, Aunt Mary said she would be letting out her house soon and would be moving to Harrogate.