“Margaret could not reply. Was he incredibly stupid, or did he understand her better than she understood herself?”

“He questioned Maurice, who, when he grasped the point, was understood to reply that deeds are more important than words.”

“There had always been something to worry him ever since he could remember, always something that distracted him in the pursuit of beauty. For he did pursue beauty, and, therefore, Margaret's speeches did flutter away from him like birds.”

“He had a theory that musicians are incredibly complex, and know far less than other artists what they want and what they are; that they puzzle themselves as well as their friends; that their psychology is a modern development, and has not yet been understood.”

“Let her go to Italy!" he cried. "Let her meddle with what she doesn't understand! ”

“Graham licked his lips. Merry fucking Christmas to me. How could he say no? He’d dreamt of what Michael might look like under those jeans for almost as long as he’d known him. His imagination wasn’t nearly as good as he thought it was.”

“Don't itch the itch feel the itch”