Lisa Kleypas

“One could pick apart love, examine every filament of attraction, and still it would never be fully explained.It simply was.”

“Somehow the promise we had made on that piece of paper gave me more freedom than I’d ever known before. It allowed both of us to argue, to laugh, to risk, to trust—without fear. It was a confirmation of a connection that already existed. And it was a bond that extended far beyond the borders of a shared living space. We would have stayed together even without a marriage certificate . . . but I believed in the permanence it represented.It was a piece of paper you could build a life on.”

“Anyone who had ever read a novel knew that governesses were supposed to be meek and downtrodden.”

“Ghost?” St. Vincent shot him an incredulous glance. “Christ. You’re not serious, are you?” "I’m a Gypsy,” Cam replied matter-of-factly. “Of course I believe in ghosts.”“Only half Gypsy. Which led me to assume that the rest of you was at least marginally sane and rational.”“The other half is Irish,” Cam said a touch apologetically.“Christ,” St. Vincent said again, shaking his head as he strode away.”

“It’s all right,” the boy murmured as he felt her trembling. “My grandmother always told me ‘Never try to turn back on a new road—you don’t know what adventures await you.”

“Evie ” came his faint whisper “I’m going to your mother see…she’s got ’em to leave a back door open…so I can steal into ’eaven.”

“Be careful dear that you don’t end up as the queen of a lonely kingdom”

“The London season is like one of those Drury Lane melodramas in which marriage is always the ending. And no one ever seems to give any thought as to what happens after. But marriage isn’t the end of the story it’s the beginning. And it demands the efforts of both partners to make a success of it.”

“Cam had once told her that the Rom believed the entire world was their home. As long as you were with your family you were home.”

“And there’s one more thing to be aware of ” Cam said with a wintry softness that disguised all hint of feeling. “If you succeed in marrying her we’re not losing a sister. You’re gaining an entire family—who will protect her at any cost.”

“Damn it. I don't know how to be a husband, or father. But since your standards in both areas seem to be relatively low, I may have half a chance at pleasing you.”

“Do you think it will make good wine?”“Probably not,” he said, and laughed.“Then why have you gone to so much trouble?”“Because you never know. The grapes might turn out to reveal some attributes of the wine that you never expected. Something that expresses this place more perfectly than anything you could have planned. You have to…”As Sam paused, searching for the right phrase, Lucy said softly, “You have to take a leap of faith.”Sam gave her an arrested glance. “Yes.”Lucy understood all too well. There were times in life when you had to take a risk that might end in failure. Because otherwise you would be haunted by what you hadn’t done…the paths you hadn’t taken, the things you hadn’t experienced.”

“I want you," he muttered. "Get rid of him and take me. The only risk is losing someone you don't have anyway. He's not what you need, Ella. I am""Unbelievable," I said in disgust."What's unbelievable?""Your ego. It's surrounded by its own cloud of antimatter. You're a black hole of...of hubris!”

“This doesn't have fuck-all to do with independence. You're scared because you know if you start something with me, it'll go to a place you and Dane never went. He won't stand by you--he's already proved it. He went pussy on you. And now he gets laid for that?"---Jack Travis”

“He wasn't mine anywhere except in my heart.”

“I wondered how much of me would be left after tomorrow.”

“The boy heaved a sigh. "I would ask to go with you," he said, " but I have to finish my lessons. I so look forward to the day when I know everything. Then I won't have to read any more books or do any more counting."Beatrix smiled. "I don't wish to be discouraging, Rye, but it's not possible to know everything.""Mama does." Rye paused reflectively. "At least, Papa says we mus t pretend she does, because it makes her happy.""Your father," Beatrix informed him with a laugh, " is one of the wisest men I've ever known.”

“Only you could love such a vile, selfish peacock, Evie.”

“I won’t apologize for my past. A man is supposed to have experience.”“From all indications, you’ve acquired enough for ten men.”

“Has she accepted you?""Not yet.She wants to discuss it with you first.""Thank God.Because I'll tell her that it's the worst idea I've ever heard."Leo arched a brow."You doubt I could protect her?""I doubt you could keep from murdering each other!I doubt she could ever be happy in such volatile circumstances.I doubt...no,I won't bother listing all my concerns,it would take too bloody long." Harry's eyes were ice-cold. "The answer is no,Ramsay.I'll do what is necessary to take care of Cat.You can return to Hampshire.""I'm afraid it won't be that easy to get rid of me," Leo said."Perhaps you didn't notice that I haven't asked for your permission.There is no choice.Certain things have happened that can't be undone.Do you understand?"He saw from Harry's expression that only a few fragile constraints stood between him and certain death."You seduced her deliberately," Harry managed to say."Would you be happier if I claimed it was an accident?""The only thing that would make me happy is to weight you with rocks and toss you into the Thames.""I understand.I even sympathize.I can't imagine what it would be like to face a man who's compromised your sister,how difficult it would be to keep from murdering him on the spot.Oh, but wait.." Leo tapped a forefinger thoughtfully on his chin. "I can imagine.Because I went through it two bloody months ago."Harry's eyes narrowed."That wasn't the same.Your sister was still a virgin when I married her."Leo gave him an unrepenting glance. "When I compromise a woman,I do it properly.""That does it," Harry muttered, leaping for his throat.”

“If you married me,it would be scandalous and innapropriate, and doors would be closed to you.""Good God, woman, I let two of my sisters marry Gypsies. Those doors have already been closed, bolted, and nailed shut.”

“My lord," catherine asked,her eyes wide, "do you think that has anything to do with the Ramsay curse?""Actually, that hadn't occurred to me yet," Leo said, "thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.”

“We may run into Kevin,” Lucy said gloomily.“She’s hoping to run into Kevin,” Zoë assured her.Justine smiled grimly. “Preferably with my car.”

“Matthew wanted hours, days, weeks alone with her... he wanted all her thoughts and smiles and secrets. The freedom to lay his soul bare before her.”

“Sam was waiting for her,his gaze sweeping over her. "Looks great." "I look like a geek," Lucy said. "I smell like a brewery. And I need a bra.""My dream date.”

“You should hate me," she said brokenly. "You should leave me—""Hush." His grip tightened, just short of bruising her. "Do you think so little of me? Damn you." He crushed his lips in her hair. "You don't understand anything about me. Did you think I wouldn't want to help you? That I would abandon you if I knew?""Yes," she whispered."Damn you," he repeated, his voice choked with anger and love. He forced her face upward. The hopelessness in her eyes caused a cold pressure to squeeze around his heart.”

“I don't think Harry cares about being forgiven," Poppy said glumly."Of course he does. Men love to be forgiven. It makes us feel better about our inability to learn from our mistakes.”

“What did he mean, 'insatiable lust'?"She hastened to explain. "Well, 'insatiable' means unable to satisfy-""I know that," he said in a biting tone. "Why did he say that about you?"Sara rolled her eyes and shrugged. "It was nothing. I merely tried to kiss him once the way you kissed me..." Her voice faded as she realized that her parents were watching the pair of them in dumbfounded silence.Isaac was the fist to speak, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth. "I've seen and heard enough, Mr. Craven. If you and my daughter are already talking about 'insatiable lust,' I think I'd better give you my approval... and hope for a quick wedding.”

“It was a kiss to level mountains and shake stars from the sky. It was a kiss to make angels faint and demons weep...a passionate, demanding, soul-searing kiss that nearly knocked the earth off its axis.”

“I still don’t get why I have to eat breakfast if you don’t,” Josie muttered.“Because you have to be a certain age to earn the right to ruin your own life.”

“Everyone striving to be witty and sought-after, everyone talking and no one listening...”

“Dearest Lily." Penelope took her hand and pressed it between her own. "Since I was a little girl, I've always thought of you as the most beautiful, most courageous, most everything. But not practical. Never practical.”

“All husbands are unfaithful in one way or another.”Lillian and Daisy glanced at each other with raised brows.“Father isn’t,” Lillian replied smartly.Mercedes responded with a laugh that sounded like crackling leaves being crushed underfoot. “Isn’t he, dear? Perhaps he has stayed true to me physically—one can never be certain about these things. But his work has proved a more jealous and demanding mistress than a flesh-and-blood woman could ever be. All his dreams are invested in that collection of buildings and employees and legalities that absorb him to the exclusion of all else. If my competition had been a mortal woman, I could have borne it easily, knowing that passion fades and beauty lasts but an instant. But his company will never fade or sicken—it will outlast us all. If you have a year of your husband’s interest and affection, it will be more than I have ever had.”

“As you can see,” Daisy said, “one glass is filled with soap water, one with clear, and one with blue laundry water. The other, of course, is empty. The glasses will predict what kind of man you will marry.”They watched as Evie felt carefully for one of the glasses. Dipping her finger into the soap water, Eviewaited for her blindfold to be drawn off, and viewed the results with chagrin, while the other girls erupted with giggles.“Choosing the soap water means she will marry a poor man,” Daisy explained.Wiping off her fingers, Evie exclaimed good-naturedly, “I s-suppose the fact that I’m going to be m-married at all is a good thing.”The next girl in line waited with an expectant smile as she was blindfolded, and the glasses were repositioned. She felt for the vessels, nearly overturning one, and dipped her fingers into the blue water. Upon viewing her choice, she seemed quite pleased. “The blue water means she’s going to marry a noted author,” Daisy told Lillian. “You try next!”Lillian gaveher a speaking glance. “You don’t really believe in this, do you?”“Oh, don’t be cynical—have some fun!” Daisy took the blindfold and rose on her toes to tie it firmly around Lillian’s head. Bereft of sight, Lillian allowed herself to be guided to the table. She grinned at the encouraging cries of the young women around her. There was the sound of the glasses being moved in front of her, and she waited with her hands half raised in the air. “What happens if I pick the empty glass?” she asked.Evie’s voice came near her ear. “You die a sp-spinster!” she said, and everyone laughed.“No lifting the glasses to test their weight,” someone warned with a giggle. “You can’t avoid the empty glass, if it’s your fate!”“At the moment I want the empty glass,” Lillian replied, causing another round of laughter. Finding the smooth surface of a glass, she slid her fingers up the side and dipped them into the coolliquid. A general round of applause and cheering, and she asked, “Am I marrying an author, too?”“No, you chose the clear water,” Daisy said. “A rich, handsome husband is coming for you, dear!”“Oh, what a relief,” Lillian said flippantly, lowering the blindfold to peek over the edge. “Is it your turnnow?”Her younger sister shook her head. “I was the first to try. I knocked over a glass twice in a row, and made a dreadful mess.”“What does that mean? That you won’t marry at all?”“It means that I’m clumsy,” Daisy replied cheerfully. “Other than that, who knows? Perhaps my fate hasyet to be decided. The good news is that your husband seems to be on the way.”“If so, the bastard is late,” Lillian retorted, causing Daisy and Evie to laugh.”

“Sooner or later everyone was driven to love someone they could never have.”

“Only someone who had experienced such bitter despair would be able to recognize it in another.”

“A lack of desire is something I've never experienced. I'd have to be on my deathbed before I stopped wanting—no, never mind, I was on my deathbed in the not-too-distant past, and even then I had the devil's own itch for my wife."-Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent”

“Sometimes people don't have to make you love them...you just do, and there's no help for it.”

“If you have to tell someone they call the shots, they're not really calling the shots.”

“Without a doubt... the worst part of being a single woman was having to take care of your own car.”

“It's me, love," he said softly. "Everything's all right."Daisy managed to whisper through dry lips. "If you're a ghost...I hope you haunt me forever."Matthew sat on the floor and reached for her cold hands. "Would a ghost use the door?" he asked gently, bringing her fingers to his scratched, battered face.”

“How sweet," Annabelle mumbled sickly her eyes closed. "Every woman dreams of being told that she's preferable to a dead cow.”

“We are hidiously rich Annabelle-- and I've got three older brothers, all unmarried. Would you consider one of them? If you like, I'll have one shipped across the Atlantic for your inspection." -Lillian Bowman”

“Hunt looked like a man who had visited many woman's beds and knew exactly what to do in them.”

“Evie," Lillian interupted impatiently, "men expect to be deceived in these matters. They're happiest that way. If one were straightforward with them the whole prospect of marriage would be too alarming, and none of them would ever do it.”

“I'm coming to believe that there are two kinds of people... those who choose to be masters of their own fate and those who wait in chairs while other dance. I would rather be one of the former than the latter.”

“My peer would have to be dark-haired and handsome, a wonderful dancer... and he would never ask permission before he kissed me." -Lillian Bowman”

“Love me?” Madeline asked with a faint smile. “It used to be love.” He brushed his lips over her closed eyelids. “Now there's no word for it.” “You once told me that you thought love was a weakness.” “I was wrong,” he whispered, kissing the corners of her mouth. “I've discovered it's my only strength.”

“You deserve someone better than me. Someone young and idealistic…someone who can experience things for the first time along with you. I'm not always kind, and I have more faults than I'd care to name. All I can promise is that I'll want you until my last breath.”

“Just look at the fellow, standing there like a bloody Greek god. Do you think she chose him because of his intellect?”