Excerpt: Something Amusing

It is truly extraordinary how one judges you by your smell. Should a lady walk past me smelling of ginger I should find it very strange, and thus her quite odd herself, honestly… ginger? What sort of bizarre creature would rub a root upon her body like a bar of soap, only to smell most abnormal? Yes, a woman wearing ginger would be quite peculiar indeed, and I would think her so for the duration of our acquaintance; but should a lady walk by smelling of fresh cut roses, I would immediately think her a rich sort of properly spoiled woman who perhaps thinks too long on what to wear and has three people help her make a decision before she is allowed to even consider leaving the room or changing her mind. God forbid. She is the sort of lady whom would only eat the finger sandwiches on the left side of the plate, for it was her best side, and she would always have three sugar cubes in her tea, for two would be far too bitter and she would make a face that was not pleasing to those whom were admiring her, and four would make her seem like a glutton and that she only preferred very sweet things, thus she would be a resolved flirt and utterly ridiculous. My sister is that sort of person, or she was, she has since gained some good sense. She does not smell of roses though, no, she has the same scent as I do; that foreign, exotic scent that both draws people to us and propels them away. Mostly my dear sister draws them towards her. She is an exquisite social creature and I am as much good company as a dead squirrel.