“When you are rich and powerful, no one will challenge you to your face or give you a chance to explain yourself. All the whispers are behind your back. You are left with no means of clearing your own name. And after a while you realize there is no point in even attempting to do so. No one wants the truth. All anyone wants is the chance to add more fuel to the fires of gossip. The whispers become so loud that sometimes you think you will drown in them.”

“One day you're young with all your fine plans for the future. The next you're in the future and it doesn't look at all the way you thought it would.”

“Has some married man asked you to be his mistress? If so, give me his name and I will see to it that he disappears.”

“Henceforth, whenever we are threatened with being cast adrift upon love’s transcendent, golden shore, I want you to slap my face.”

“For pity's sake, you are lying in a coffin, Mrs. Crofton. Unless you wish to be buried, I strongly suggest that you resurrect yourself immediately.”

“You mustn’t hit her over the head with it. Women like to be romanced like the heroines in the sensation novels.” “What the devil do you know about sensation novels?” “A man can learn a great deal about women from novels,” Matt said. “You should try it sometime.”

“I will love you all the days of my life and beyond.”