“Oh, hullo, Worthing,” he said in a cheery manner. “How are things?” “Outlook stormy with a chance of… — Jasper Fforde

I’d been so convinced of that particular narrative I never for one moment stopped to reappraise the situation.

No, I don’t want to seem underhand or insulting but Toccata’s a poisonous, untrustworthy, self-serving little reptile – with a severe personality disorder and a disquieting capacity for cannibalism.

It would have been easy to dislike her intensely, but I actually felt nothing for her at all.