She looked incongruous among my sober books, and I regarded her with some resentment.

I dislike the exotic.

I prefer geraniums to orchids.

I have a row of pots of the former on my balcony, and the united efforts of Stenson, Antoinette, and myself have not yet succeeded in making them bloom; but I love the unassuming velvety leaves.

Carlotta is a flaring orchid and produces on my retina a sensation of disquiet.
I broke the tidings of the tragedy as gently as I could.