“How inappropriate,’ Lila said coldly. ‘Who’d ever dream of showing up at a dance in a wheelchair? What does she think she’s going to do all night?”

“Honestly,’ she said when they were out of Bruce’s earshot, ‘he’s as bad in the kitchen as you are. What do you people do on the servant’s night off, anyway?’ Lila looked Jessica straight in the eye. 'Cold lobster and caviar,’ she said earnestly.”

“Imagine a world full of Elizabeth Wakefields,' Lila said. 'Could you imagine a duller, more predictable place? I think I’d go crazy.”

“What sucked was that her room was on the fourth floor of a four-story house because she hated walking past every other room on her way in and out. She was like a latter-day Rapunzel except her hair was only a few inches below her shoulders, slightly fried, not all that blond, and furthermore, who the hell was ever going to climb up to give her a hand? The guy in the wheelchair from school?What she — and Rapunzel, frankly — needed was a decent ladder.”

“Your friend Lila is calling from her car phone,' Ned said, half amused and half annoyed. 'Apparently something earth-shattering has come up, and unless she can talk to you this very second, she claims she will die.”

“Ella is much younger. Maybe thirty. I don’t know. And you certainly can’t tell from the way she dresses. Middle of winter she finds a way to show her belly button. And she’s got four hundred of these little elastic bands that can only pass for a skirt if you never move your legs. Top that with this unbelievable iridescent red hair and you’ve got one hot seventeen-year-old. At least that’s what she thinks.”

“Actually for a while Jessica had contemplated making a grand entrance wearing only the dress, thinking wickedly about how the sight of her cold, shivering body would prompt Nicholas to rush up and put his arms around her to warm her up. But evenings at this time of year were usually chilly, and she saw no reason to risk pneumonia just for a sympathy hug. She'd have to settle for throwing her coat off dramatically as she was being ushered into the Morrow mansion.”