I'll be dashed. Punctuation advice - again!

Tiny Nell

Below is an extract from a book of mine. My question is, can I used a third dash instead of the full stop as the speaker, Mrs Salt, is continuing her sentence?

‘Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him—’ Toby nodded. ‘Well, he was given that...'

Tristram_Shandy

Yes, I'd use another dash and lower case for the W, or lose the second "well" altogether and go straight to "he was given".

heather

You could do that, or replace the second dash with a question mark. Three dashes in a row look a bit much, IMO.

Tristram_Shandy

‘Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him’ -- Toby nodded -- ‘he was given that...' ?

I tend to put the dashes where dialogue is broken outside the quotes. This is how I've seen it done, usually. It makes sense as Toby's nod is disrupting the speech.

And yes, I also thought along Heather's lines with the question mark.

Mrs Bear

‘Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him?’ Toby nodded. ‘Well, he was given that...'
I'd go with the ? for the second dash, TN, or it becomes too breathy. While she isn't seriously asking a question, as she already knows the answer, she does elicit a response. Therefore the ? is required.

If you took out Toby's response, you'd have:
'Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him-well, he was given that...'
'Well' twice is clumsy. Mrs Salt would say:
'Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him—was given that...' And I'd still use a ? after him, before the dash.

Tiny Nell

Like this?

‘Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him?’ Toby nodded '-was given that...'

So no punctuation after 'Toby nodded'?

Or

Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him?’ Toby nodded - 'was given that...'

heather

‘Well, I’ve yet to meet anyone that actually understands the ciphers, but my husband, Paddy—remember I was telling you about him?’ Toby nodded. ‘He was given that...'

Tiny Nell

OK, so I do keep the full stop after 'Toby nodded', even though she hasn't completed her sentence...

heather

Yes. 'Toby nodded.' is a whole sentence on its own.

Tiny Nell

I agree with you, heather. My worry was that Mrs Salt hadn't finished her bit as Toby rudely nodded in the middle of it!

Claudia

After reading all the posts I now know that piece of dialogue off by heart!
:-B

heather

If you go the question mark route, then she has effectively finished (as that ends a sentence like a full stop) and then restarted.
If you want him to be nodding while she is speaking without even the slightest pause or acknowledgement of the nod, then you will need the dashes, or some other method such as brackets.

Mrs Bear

I'm sure Mrs Salt won't mind starting a new sentence! She's quite amenable, I'm told.

heather

And also great for sprinkling on slugs.

Tiny Nell

Sold.

Yes, Mrs Salt has a good (but broken) heart. Poor soul. I'll give her a new sentence. She'll appreciate that.

Mrs Bear

Three months, time off for good behaviour?