“Harriet said, "You shouldn't have reminded me to sign that book, Peter.""Why ever not? Have you suddenly become bashful about your hard-earned glories?""Because it watn's hers," said Harriet. "It was a library copy.""Stroke of luck for the ratepaers of the City of Westminster," he said, grinning.”

“Bunter came with me in the role of a friend. A role he has always played to perfection.""It does not require dissimulation, my lord," said Bunter."Thank you," said Peter.”

“The protagonist of folktale is always, and intensely, a young person moving through ordeals into adult life. . . . and this is why there are no wicked stepchildren in the tales.”

“Harriet was silent, thinking, and then she said, "It is too hard to be a person. You don't only have to go on and on. You have to be--" she looked for the word she needed and could not find it. Then, "You have to be tall as well," said Harriet.”

“Why do you get to act all crazy over a guy and I don't?" Anna asked."You have to earn the crazy," Grace said. "You're not old enough yet.”

“I love you, Mallory," he said very quietly, very seriously. "So damn much."Warmth and affection and need and so much more rushed her. "I know.""You know?""Yes.""Well, hell," he said with a small smile and a shake of his head. "You might have told me and saved me a lot of time.""How about I tell you something else?" she said. "I love you, too.”

“I'm not here to solve your problems. I'm here to support you in your own decisions. I'm not going to walk away, Amy. Not now, not when the going gets tough, not ever. I'm right here at your back.""For how long?""For as long as you'll have me. I love you, Amy."Staggered, she stared at him. "But you don't do love.""I never said that. I said love hasn't worked out for me. But all it takes is the right one. You're the right one."No one had ever said such a thing to her before, and it made her heart swell hard against her ribcage. "I love you, Matt. So much."He smiled like she'd just given him the best gift he'd ever had. She settled against his good side, and they stared up at the star-laden sky. "I knew I'd find something on this journey," she said. "I wasn't sure what, but I knew it'd be something special.”