“I am going to kill you," he hissed.She gulped. "Don't you want to lecture me first?"He stared at her with a heavy dose of stupefaction."I take that back," he said with precisely clippedwords. "First I am going to strangle you, and then I am going to kill you.""Here?" she asked doubtfully, looking around. "Won't my dead body look suspicious in the morning?”

“Conall,” “Aye, Alexia?” He looked up at her. Was that fear in his caramel eyes? “I am going to take advantage of you,” she said”

“Why am I going?" he repeated, looking straight into her eyes. "You know that I am going in order to be where you are," said he. "I cannot do otherwise.""Not a word, not a movement of yours will I ever forget, nor can I...”

“I am going to die of love....daroga....I am dying of love .... That's how it is... I loved her so! And I love her still...daroga.....and I am dying of love for her, I tell you! if you knew how beautiful she was when she let me kiss her...It was the first ...time, daroga, the first time I ever kissed a woman.. Yes, alive... I kissed her alive.... And she looked as beautiful as if she had been dead!”

“I have to go," he said. "You don't understand. Someone wants to kill me."Someone wants to kill you?" she repeated. "Well, I want to make love to you. My goodness, Julian. With two such compelling alternatives, however will you choose?”

“Don't go!" Rycca said urgently. "It's a trap."Her husband looked down at her with amusement. "Of course it's a trap, sweetling.There are a dozen men out there.They assume they've got us neatly caught.""You could be killed before anyone got near enough to stop them."He shook his head. "I'm not going to be killed.But I am going to get Wolscroft to talk.It's the only way." He turned toward the door,turned back,and said, "Do not, under any circumstances, even think about so much as poking a finger outside.Do you understand?"Every obedient,Rycca nodded.Again he turned to go,again he looked back. "Let me rephrase that.Do you promise me you won't come outside until I tell you to?"Her reponse was a glare but she followed it with a nod.If nothing else,this husband of hers was learning caution,which was all the good since he surely had need of it.”