“Poison." he said, deadpan. "That's an unusual name to give your child. You must love her very much."She's a treasure." Bram agreed, blithely ignoing the sarcasm.....Then went a few dozen feet in silence, until they were out of eaarshor of the gaurd.She's a treasure." Poison mimicked, and Bram burst out laughing.”

“Your fangs are showing, Miss Lyndon.""Are they?" she asked, reaching up to touch her face. "I shall have to remember to retract them."Charles burst out laughing. "You, Miss Lyndon, are a treasure.""That's what I keep telling everyone," she said with a shrug and a wicked smile, "but no one seems to believe me.”

“Now. Bram, you are a good friend and an uptanding young man, but I'm afraid that tradition dictates I now attempt to scare you within an inch of your unlife.""Understood," Bram said, taking his arm back as I got myself under control.My father is a gentle-looking man. Thus, why I started laughing again as he attempted to look stern. "What are your intentions concerning my daughter?"Bram cast a look my way, laughing himself, before clearing his throat and doing his best to look scared. "Why, to care for and protect her until I rot away, sir.”

“I am not a poor child, Lady Eleanor," Madelyne announced, letting her anger sound in her voice."Duncan won't marry you. He won't sign the contracts. He'd have to give up his greatest treasure in order to marry you.""And what be that treasure?" Lady Eleanor inquired, her voice mild."Why, I'm Duncan's greatest treasure. He'd be a fool to give me up," she added. "And even you must know that Duncan is anything but a fool.”

“Bram knocked, and Chas opened the door, her music growing louder. She had strips of tinfoil in her hair and a cigarette dangling from her lips–which she immediately hid behind her back when she saw Bram.   "Hiiii!"   Both of Bram's brows flitted upward. "Hi." He looked at the foil. "I'm not even gonna ask."   "Martians are trying to control my thoughts, stupid." She noticed me then and smiled. "Hi, Nora! Ooh…" Her eyes fell to the weapon. "Shiny."   "Nora needs some more appropriate clothes if she's to use the shiny," Bram said.   Chas clapped her hands together. "Makeover!"   Oh, God no.…”

“And Bram?"Panic punched me in the chest. So far today she'd been willing to touch me, laugh with me, confide in me, and now she was wondering if Chas shouldn't go out with me? Had I misread something somewhere?Chas shook her head and grinned. "Nah. Bram's too busy waiting.""Waiting?" Nora didn't take her eyes from me. Maybe she wanted me to answer. "For the right girl," I said curtly. "And he has very specific physical preferences," Chas said. I grabbed her wrist and squeezed. She'd better not.She did. "For some reason, he is terribly attracted to black hair. Tom's a leg man, himself...attached, unattached, doesn't really mtter. But Bram likes the hair."With all the various methods of Chastity Disposal flying through my imagination-should I just shoot her, or should I open her skull and puree her brains with a motorized mixer, or perhaps set her on fire?-It took me a minute to notice me a very shy smile.I dropped Chas's wrist. I almost dropped my machete.Nora looked away and moved a few steps in front of us, leaping into the grass to flatten it for herself as she went."I win," Chas whispered."Smoke all you want," I whispered back.”