“This is the young lady with the printed heart.”

“The ladies’ fans opened with cracks like pistol shots, and were held up to block the stranger from view.”

“In Caverna lies were an art and everybody was an artist, even young children.”

“I think that when Lady Tamarind looks at you, she feels as the cathedral might if it suddenly remembered that once it had been a grim little church facing down musket fire and a cruel sea wind.”

“Do you know what courage is? Not a willingness to fling oneself into danger without proper thought – that is nothing, nothing. There is cowardice in all impulse. Real courage lies in thinking things through, seeing all the risks, and taking them anyway. Lady Tamarind has courage.”

“Gravelip, a young, slight footman with a pocked nose and large ears, obediently gave a smile like toothache. He seemed less than delighted to have outpaced his friends in the ugliness race.”

“Mosca sniffed at perfection. Perfection had no pulse and no heart.”