In the short story The Dressmaker's Doll, Elspeth is the forewoman of the workroom in Alicia Coombe's dressmaking shop.
Elspeth is described as being a "stern woman who looked as though her mouth should always be filled with pins".
When the doll in the fitting room appears to be moving on its own, Sybil Fox asks Elspeth and the girls in the workroom if they have been moving the doll. Elspeth says that she has more to do than to go about playing with dolls.