“Charlotte, who had sagged back in her chair, her eyes half-closed, said, “Will, I have already been up all night copying down the relevant parts. Much of it was—”“Gibberish?” Jem suggested.“Pornographic?” said Will at the same time.“Could be both,” said Will. “Haven’t you ever heard of pornographic gibberish before?”

“Gibberish?" Jem suggested "Pornographic?" said Will at the same time."Could be both," said Will. "Haven't you ever heard of pornographic gibberish before?”

“Jessamine flushed. "Ugh! Charlotte, Will's being vexing.""And the sun has come up in the east," said Jem to no one in particular...."And the sun comes up in the WEST," said Will, who had apparently heard Jem's earlier comment.”

“Jem gave her a wistful look. “Must you go? I was rather hoping that you’d stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must.” “I’ll stay,” Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. “I can minister angelically.” “None too convincingly. And you’re not as pretty to look at as Tessa is,” Jem said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillow. “How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared it to gazing at the radiance of the sun.” Jem still had his eyes closed. “If they mean that it gives you a headache, they aren’t wrong.”

“I know we haven’t been formally introduced, Nathan,’ she said, ‘but I feel like I know practically everything about you.’ She picked up my spoon and scooped up a dab of fudge. ‘At least, all that a sickly old aunt is willing to share.’ She slid the spoon into her mouth, tipped her head back, and closed her eyes.”

“I love my mother for all the times she said absolutely nothing.... Thinking back on it all, it must have been the most difficult part of mothering she ever had to do: knowing the outcome, yet feeling she had no right to keep me from charting my own path. I thank her for all her virtues, but mostly for never once having said, "I told you so.”