In view of the quote, "Romance at short notice was her speciality," from "The Open Window," discuss the character of Vera.

You have highlighted the
last sentence of this incredibly amusing short story which containson so many levels. Vera, of
course, is the storyteller without equal, who is quickly able to seize on details and weave
convincing tales to horrific effect. Note how she dominates the story - it begins with her words
and ends with them. We are told in the first sentence that she is "a very self-possessed
young lady of fifteen". It is clear that she sees in Framton Nuttel an object for one of
her stories, as she is quick to establish that he knows nobody from the area and thus she is
free to use her excellent wit and intelligence to create athat will shock Framton Nuttel for her
own amusement. She shows herself to be an excellent actor as well as a storyteller. Consider how
the author narrates her duping of Framton Nuttel:

Here the
child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human... She broke off with a
shudder.

She is not only creative, but quick, intelligent
and able to fool others into believing her words. This is demonstrated yet again at the end of
the tale when, nonchalantly, she creates another tale to explain Framton Nuttel's swift escape
from the house to trick her family, telling the tale "calmly" with complete
equanimity. Clearly this tale celebrates the power that a good storyteller can have over a
susceptible audience, with Vera presented as the master storyteller.