“In difficult times bring to mind my words and the sound of my voice. In that way, I shall always be present for you.”

“Love overcame reason...I had rather beg my bread with him than to be the greatest queen christened.”

“But how am I to live in the meantime?' I wailed.'Tis for you to decide,' he said. 'You can be her enemy and make yourself miserable by it, or you can endure it. If 'twere me, I'd choose endurance.”

“If I must die, then I will die boldly, as I have lived.”

“He was so much in love with me that I could have asked him for the moon and stars, and he would have gathered them for me.”

“What had happened to our love? Somehow it had faded, or worn out, or simply withered away.”

“You are a beacon for us. One of the most powerful." "I'm not," I say softly. "Not anymore." Smiling, my grandmother presses my hand. "Always, Tamsin. Because of you, we have a future. That's why you will always be a beacon for us." Still holding my hand, she turns toward the house, toward the sound of laughter and music spilling out from the lit windows. Looking back at her, I mile, close my eye in her trademark wink, and say, "Ah.”