Sentence:  Instead, I saw a woman in her mid-fifties, who was a real <WSD>pill</WSD>; while all the others had managed a decent “So pleased,” or even a plain “Hello,” Ginger just inclined her head, as if she was doing a Queen Mary imitation. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A contemptible, annoying, or unpleasant person.