"Beware the fury of a patient man," Henry says to begin the novelette. It is a source irony in the tale of a woman's revenge. This opening line adds a second layer of meaning to Sandra's remarks near the end: "It was definitely a crime of passion. It was just that we were a little slow in figuring out whose passion was the cause of the crime." This remark plays on the suspicion that focuses on Shipman, who supposedly killed Arabella when she supposedly wanted to break up with him.

It turns out that he was the one doing the breaking up, and it turns out the passion involved was that of his housekeeper.

This also plays on Henry's remark about the patient man, because the story seems to be about how the man might have done this or how the man might have done that. Instead, it...