I win a competition to meet Fleur Jaeggy. She invites me over for afternoon tea. I arrive at her estate, ring the bell and wait for her. She appears looking schoolgirlish, the same as in her photos, and speaks a perfect English without a trace of an accent. We sit for tea in the leafy yard, where there is a cafe and a handful of people, all of which seem to know Jaeggy and call her Fleur—at one point, a young girl interrupts us to speak with her. My tea, which was waiting for me when I arrived, is flamingo pink. Fleur seems unperturbed by the fact that the whole time I am dressed as a playing card, a Jack of Spades or a King of Diamonds.