In fact, Fanny herself had used it, under various forms, to assure herself, by the pleased reserve of the reply which Mrs.Dinks always returned, that the lady had no suspicion that she was mistaken.

But this time Mrs.Dinks, whose equanimity had been entirely disturbed by her discovery that Hope was not engaged to Alfred, asked formally, and not without a slight sneer which arose from an impatient suspicion that Fanny knew more than she chose to disclose-- "And pray, Miss Newt, what do people hear?
Really, if other people are as unfortunate as I am, they hear a great deal of nonsense." Upon which Mrs.Budlong Dinks sniffed the air like a charger.
"I know it--it is really dreadful," returned Fanny Newt.

"People do say the most annoying and horrid things.

But this time, I am sure, there can be nothing very vexatious." And Miss Newt fanned herself with persistent complacency, as if she were resolved to prolong the pleasure which Mrs.
Dinks must undoubtedly have in the conversation.
Hitherto it had been the policy of that lady to demur and insinuate, and declare how strange it was, and how gossipy people were, and finally to retreat from a direct reply under cover of a pretty shower of ohs! and ahs! and indeeds! and that policy had been uniformly successful.
Everybody said, "Of course Alfred Dinks and his cousin are engaged, and Mrs.Dinks likes to have it alluded to--although there are reasons why it must be not openly acknowledged." So Field-marshal Mrs.Dinks outgeneraled Everybody.

But the gallant young private, Miss Fanny Newt, was resolved to win her epaulets.
As Mrs.Dinks made no reply, and assumed the appearance of a lady who, for her own private and inscrutable reasons, had concluded to forego the prerogative of speech for evermore, while she fanned herself calmly, and regarded Fanny with a kind of truculent calmness that seemed to say, "What are you going to do about that last triumphant move of mine ?" Fanny proceeded in a strain of continuous sweetness that fairly rivaled the smoothness of the neck, and the eyes, and the arms of Mrs.Bleecker Van Kraut: "I suppose there can be nothing very disagreeable to Miss Wayne's friends in knowing that she is engaged to Mr.Alfred Dinks ?" Alas! Mrs.Dinks, who knew Hope, knew that the time for dexterous subterfuges and misleadings had passed.