“"What do you say, Miss Lyndon? Shall we have a go at it?"" 'Shall we have a go at it?' " Ellie choked out. Really, this was not the proposal of her dreams.”

“Your fangs are showing, Miss Lyndon.""Are they?" she asked, reaching up to touch her face. "I shall have to remember to retract them."Charles burst out laughing. "You, Miss Lyndon, are a treasure.""That's what I keep telling everyone," she said with a shrug and a wicked smile, "but no one seems to believe me.”

“Then it’s settled,” Harriet said. “We shall work out the smaller roles later.”“What about you?” Elizabeth demanded.“Oh, I’m going to be the goddess of the sun and moon.”“The tale gets stranger and stranger,” Daniel said.“Just wait until act seven,” Miss Wynter told him.“Seven?” His head snapped up. “There are seven acts?”“Twelve,” Harriet corrected, “but don’t worry, you’re in only eleven of them. Now then, Miss Wynter, when do you propose that we begin our rehearsals? And may we do so out of doors? There is a clearing by the gazebo that would be ideal.”

“We'll just forget about this little conversation, shall we? The last bit that is."She managed to stretch her lips into a smile, but what she really wanted to do was hurl the brandy decanter at him.”

“It‟s not your fault you had no siblings,” he told her. “You have no experience in intrafamilial squabbles. Trust me, it all works out in the end. I predict we shall manage to get all four to adulthood with at least fifteen of their major limbs intact.”

“I shall freckle.""That doesn't bother me," he said with a shrug."It bothers me!""Don't worry. They'll be on your own face, so you won't have to see them."Ellie gaped at him, astounded by his illogic.”

“If this morning wasn't enjoyable, at least it was...shall we say...interesting, and my clothing was worth the sacrifice if it means we've reached a truce of sorts. I have no wish to be awakened before dawn next week only to be informed I have to single-handedly slaughter a cow."Her eyes widened. How did he know?”