Astrid

She is blonde and blue-eyed, and would be prettier if she were not so pale and peevish: she suffers from recurring headaches, and is often drawn into competitions with her father-in-law over which of them is the most long-suffering and noble invalid. Great-Uncle Bernard always wins, because he doesn't play fair.

Astrid admits to being twenty-five years old, and has been doing so for at least six years.