What the author says and what they What he means You won't kill me for a very good reason. : Gerrard was just pretending to have a 'very good reason'. However, there was no such reason. Sorry I can't let you have the props in time for rehearsal, I've had a spot of bother — quite amusing : The 'spot of bother' that Gerrard found 'quite amusing' was actually a life-threatening situation. He had been in confrontation with a criminal. In most melodramas the villain is foolish enough to delay his killing long enough to be frustrated. You are much luckier. : Gerrard pretended that the villain, i.e., the intruder was really intelligent to have thought up a plan to take over the identity of a man who lived at such a place where the police could not reach instantly. However, the intruder was much mistaken because Gerrard was actually using this 'delay' to think up a plan to escape him.