“It was impossible to tell at first sight whether he loved his meek, obedient wife, Marfa. But he really did lover her, and she knew it.”

“He wondered whether he really liked his mother. But she was his mother and this fact was recognized by everybody as meaning automatically that he loved her, and so he took for granted that whatever he felt for her was love. He did not know whether there was any reason why he should respect her judgment. She was his mother; this was supposed to take the place of reasons.”

“She did not believe he could have really gone, because for her, to leave the person you loved was impossible.”

“She could not tell him that she protested because she did not believe he loved her enough to become his wife. It was no ordinary man but the Prince of Light who was asking her to be his bride. And, she thought gloomily, what sacrifice might she have disregarded had his gaze been only for her?”

“She touched something deep in his soul. He didn't believe in love at first sight, but the thought of hurting her made his chest ache.”

“Dad always insisted a man's job was to protect the women he love-whether mother, siser, wife, or teasured lover.”