"Oh, I am not, I assure you," she said, flapping her paper fan. Hand-painted, green stalks and flowering buds decorated its dainty folds. It was a gift from her former sister-in-law, who now crossed sides of the road to avoid speaking to Elspeth, a woman she considered to have ruined the family name. Rather than discard the item, Elspeth found herself particularly fond of brandishing it nowadays, whenever in the presence of the other woman.
Raising her nose a notch and looking at the stage, she offered, "I'm afraid I don't like sleight of hand, Mr. Armitage. It bothers me. It bothered me before, knowing a rational explanation must exist for what was occurring. Now that I know there may not be one, it bothers me all the more."