"Mr. Waudle gaped at her like a fat and expiring fish; the poet ... said not a word"
Mr. Waudle, taken completely by surprise, gaped at her like a fat and expiring fish; the poet turned a dull and muddy red, and said not a word.
"So," added Jacqueline coldly, "at Mr. Clydesdale's request I have asked you to come here and explain the situation to me."
Waudle, writer of "Pithy Points" for the infamous Tattler, recovered his wits first.
"Miss Nevers," he said menacingly, "do you mean to insinuate that I am a swindler?"
"Are you, Mr. Waudle?"
"That's actionable. Do you understand?"