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In the novel N or M?, Mrs Sprot is a young mother staying at Sans Souci in Leahampton with her baby daughter Betty. Her husband, Arthur Sprot, is a clerk in London.

Mrs Sprot's Christian name is Millicent. She is described as having a "slightly vacant face", "pale gooseberry eyes", and a "slightly adenoidal voice". She appears to be "much bored by her enforced stay at Leahampton", and asks Tommy if he thinks it is safe to go back to London.

According to Mrs O'Rourke, Mrs Sprot frets about her husband, and keeps saying that he must miss her.

Tuppence finds that Mrs Sprot has replaced Betty's dirty and worn books with new, cleaner editions. She thinks that Mrs Sprot is "the hygienic mother", who is always "terrified of germs, of impure food, or of the child sucking a soiled toy".

When Betty is kidnapped, Mrs Sprot finds a note telling her that Betty will be killed if they go to the police. When the residents of Sans Souci form a party to go after Betty, she insists on going, and even takes a pistol from Major Bletchley's room, which she says might come in useful.

Mrs Sprot later shoots Vanda Polonska, who had been threatening to throw Betty off the cliff. She then crumples, and clutches Betty to her.

At the inquest for Vanda Polonska, Mrs Sprot gives evidence, saying that she has no experience with firearms, except the rifles at regattas, and that she thought Vanda had been about to throw Betty off the cliff, and so had to stop her. The coroner exonerates her from blame.

It is later revealed that Mrs Sprot is M. It is also revealed that Vanda Polonska was Betty's real mother, and that she had let Mrs Sprot adopt Betty.

Tuppence explains that Mrs Sprot wanted to adopt Betty to use her as "psychological camouflage", because one would not expect a spy to bring her child into the business. She also explains that when Mrs Sprot saw Betty playing with shoelaces by immersing them in water, she planted false evidence in Carl von Deinim's room, including the shoelace dipped in secret ink.

Mr Grant reveals that the dirty and battered set of children's books contained details of naval, Aire Force, and military dispositions, and that one of the books contained a list of prominent people who were pledged to assist an invasion of England.

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