“I never expect anything,’ said Marthe. ‘It provides a level, low-pitched existence with no disappointments.’ ‘I’m all for a level, low-pitched existence,’ said Philippa. ‘And when you see your way back to one, for heaven’s sake don’t forget to tell me.’ At which Marthe, surprisingly, laughed aloud.”

“I do admire efficiency,’ said Marthe. ‘But how tedious it can be in excess.”

“So Philippa got her leave to bring Archie Abernethy with her and sail on the Dauphiné. But they had not seen the woman Marthe before they left Lyons. And permission to sail from Marseilles depended still, Philippa was grimly aware, on whether or not the woman Marthe was found to be eligible. Kiaya Khátún, she imagined, would pass like a shot.”

“Life delivers far less disappointment when your expectations are low.”

“Successive bursts of static came through the headphones, against a background of deep, low-pitched murmuring, which seemed to me the very voice of the planet itself.”

“You look like hell,' he said to me in a low voice.'Gee, Dax, don’t coat it with honey. Tell me what you really think,' I said.”