Unbelievable Enough to be Believable?

So, rather more nervously this time, Betty repeated the explanation that she had given only a few minutes before. When she had finished, Astra looked at Fred. "Do you believe her?" she asked.

Fred shrugged. "It did occur to me that if someone was going to invent a falsehood, they would surely come up with something more credible and less complex than this," he said.

"So the fact that it's unbelievable makes it believable?" Astra responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Look at it this way," Betty said. "If I were really such a powerful sorceress that I could not only bring you here but could also screw up Fred's memory, then you would have no chance against me anyway."

Astra grimaced. "There is some truth in that," she acknowledged. "Had you simply wanted to kill us, you could have done so without all of this. So either you really are telling the truth, or you want to use us for something."

"I swear that I don't want to use you for anything," Betty said. "In fact I'd be only too happy to say goodbye to you both, and to have my life resume its accustomed tedium."

"In that case perhaps you'd show us to the door?" Astra said. "Come on, Fred."

"Er, wait just a moment," Betty said, concerned about what conclusions anyone passing by might draw if they saw a man dressed as a medieval knight and a naked woman leaving her house. "Let me see if I can find you something to wear. Though finding something that will fit you could be difficult."

1. "Thank you," Astra said.
2. "What, wear clothes that will doubtless be enchanted?" Astra responded. "I've got more sense that that."

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