“Where she feared most to fail, she was most sure of success, for those to whom she endeavored to give pleasure were prepossessed in her favor.”

“A good mother loves fiercely but ultimately brings up her children to thrive without her. They must be the most important thing in her life, but if she is the most important thing in theirs, she has failed.”

“And there was no Camelot now -- now that no Queen was there, all white and gold, under an oaktree with another sunlight sifting itself in silence on her glory through the dark leaves above her where she sat, smiling at what she feared, and fearing least what most there was to fear.”

“She was not sure if she would want him to have known; we do not always wish for those for whom we long to know that we long for them, especially if the longing is impossible, or inappropriate. . . to be loved by the unlovable was not something that most people could cope with.”

“She had made her choice, and this was it, where she felt safe, in a world she could, for the most part, control. Page 328”

“She was a thinking child, and worked this out. It hurt her, unlike most knowledge, which was strength and pleasure.”