no one , not even her best friend , and certainly not her brother , would have ever described helen madison as being a conscientious , dedicated worker though - idle was one adjective more commonly used ; static was another - and it was after less than a fortnight of toil that the idea of pursuing the madison line had been shelved , in favour of more immediate and frivolous occupations , although not before helen had managed to trace back six generations of her equally idle and static kin .