“Why do they all have such unfortunate names? First Parthenope Fleet. Now Undine Trevelyan. Why do we never meet a Mary Smith? I should like, just once, to meet a Mary Smith.” “What sort of interesting things would ever befall a Mary Smith?” I demanded. “Who would stab or poison or garrote a Mary Smith? It is unthinkable.” “Not everyone of our acquaintance need be murdered, Veronica. In fact, some people find it preferable to make friends with normal folk.” “How very depressing,” I said, sipping again. “I pity them their small lives.”
