How would you interpret this sentence? Most definitely, I am not married, or involved in any secret romance. Those stories are completely invented. The Violet Brown in question is my stenographer. She wears cotton gloves indoors and unless some terrible accident has deceived us, never has shared a coffee cup that touched my lips. She accompanied me on the research trip to Yucatán, so the gossip-marketers must have learned about it and fallen in love with their fantasies. How would you interpret this sentence: unless some terrible accident has deceived us, never has shared a coffee cup that touched my lips? Does it mean unless by accident, the woman would never use a coffee cup the narrator had used. Thanks! This excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.