Recent arrival would have been the most accurate, but damned if Granny was going to admit it. She was mentally off-kilter enough as it was,* and there was no call in making things worse. Besides, she'd made a life of assuming roughly how conversations would go and she certainly wasn't going to stop now.

(It should, of course, be noted that she'd only rarely run into people like Even, but that was no call to change what was otherwise a perfectly workable set of assumptions.)

"You calls me Mistress Weatherwax," she answered, without so much as breaking stride.** It wasn't in her nature to back down, and if Even was going to look down his nose at her she certainly wasn't going to stop doing likewise.


*Not that most would have been able to tell.
**Metaphorically speaking. Gazes can't be said to stride anywhere, barring highly unusual accidents.