"If I'm being honest, I thought the same at first, which is why I was so surprised."

Well. Not the only reason. Oiliness, the commitment to a lie: these are not strengths that Tiffany could boast of. Nor is she interested in cultivating them. She takes another sip of her coffee, relishing its warmth if not its taste.

"I genuinely thought I'd misheard him, and he was just showing me some talisman, so I reacted appropriately--oh, how lovely, where is it from, is it really enchanted, and so on. He wasn't keen on answering any direct questions but he was keen to repeat himself, which is when I realized what was actually happening and made some excuse. So I may have spoiled it entirely."