“Martha said, "Do you have any idea of the kind of surprise your brothers are in for sooner or later? Or are you doing it on purpose?" Cord put his hat on and pulled it low, hiding his eyes. "Grown man walks around with his eyes shut tight, he shouldn't be surprised if he bumps into something he didn't see. You aren't trying to convince anybody of anything they don't want to believe." Martha laughed. "You win. I just hope I'm there when the blind men hit the wall.”

“Cord put his hat on and pulled it low, hiding his eyes. 'Grown man walks around with his eyes shut tight, he shouldn't be surprised if he bumps into something he didn't see. You aren't trying to convince anybody of anything they don't want to believe.”

“Mr. Camphor could see that he (Freddie) was thinking, because he shut his eyes and put on a fiercely determined look. But when presently he opened his eyes, he shook his head. "No good," he said. "Thinking's like fishing. You bait your hook and throw it in the water, but if there aren't any fish around, you naturally can't catch anything. There isn't an idea around anywhere right now. I'll try again later.”

“How grateful are you?" he whispered, his mouth hovering over mine. His eyes were very alert now, and his gaze was boring into mine."That kind of ruins it, when you say something like that," I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. "You shouldn't want me to have sex with you just because I owe you.""I don't really care why you have sex with me, as long as you do it," he said, equally gently.”

“the Devil danced all over the place in his beautiful eyes. You never knew what kind of surprise he had for you, just to make you laugh.”

“Her eyes heated with the anger and hurt that had been held inside herfor too long. "Your trips to the village have not gone unnoticed."A look of confusion crossed his too-handsome face. "What does mygoing to the village have to do with us?""I know there are women--"He swore and gripped her arm, jerked her up against his chest. "Whoput such nonsense in your head?"She didn't say anything, her throat hot and tight from the ball of tearsconstricting it."Finlay," he said flatly. She looked at him in surprise. " 'Tis no secretthat he despises me, but I am surprised that you listened to his venom.""It's not too difficult to believe. You are a man.""Aye," he said softly. "But I've not had another woman, Elizabeth."Her heart faltered. Her eyes shot to his, not daring to believe ... Hecradled her cheek tenderly in his big hand."How can I when I want someone else?"He hasn't been with a woman ... he wants me.”