“Philip stood with the tip of a sword pressed into Mr. Beaufort’s throat. I saw another sword on the floor. Neither gentleman looked toward the door. Philip looked perfectly in control, his sword bending the skin of Mr. Beaufort’s neck without piercing it. When he spoke, though, his voice sounded so fierce I hardly recognized it. “Tell me what you did to her.” “I made sure you wouldn’t want her anymore.” “I will always want her,” Philip said in a quiet, furious voice. “Always! There is nothing you could do to change that.” Mr. Beaufort sneered. “Then why do you want to know?”“Because I would never make her say the words. And because I want to know how much I should enjoy running you through.”

“Mr. Beaufort: “Then why do you want to know?” Philip: “Because I would never make her say the words.”

“Do you know why I married you, Philip?""Presumably you wanted the financial security and social prestige I could offer."She chuckled at that and shook her head..."I believed," she confessed somberly, "I honestly believed that I had something to offer you too--something you needed. Do you know what it was?""I can't imagine.""I thought I could teach you how to laugh and enjoy life."Philip and Caroline”

“Philip. I have never been outside of England. I've never even been to London. Do you know what I would give for your experiences? How could you possibly think you would bore me?" He didn't answer, but there was such a look of delight in his eyes that I had to ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?" "You called me Philip. For the first time.”

“When I saw you at the graveyard, looking so white, I knew something was wrong. I knew it."Azalea stared at him, the fire flickering highlights in his eyes."So...I thought I should do something," he finished lamely."You saw everything?"Mr. Bradford gave a half of a crooked smile. "I did knock.""You didn't see Mr...Mr.-""Mr. Keeper?" Mr. Bradford spat the name. "Oh yes, I saw Mr. Keeper. Rather hard not to. I saw him try to kiss you. Or what he said was a kiss. I want to snap his head off!"Azalea had her hand over her mouth, shocked that someone as solemn and dignified as Mr. Bradford could have such venom. He took her hands, gently, and pushed up her sleeved, revealing her swollen wrists. His fringers traced the bruises."You stopped him," said Azalea. She bowed her head, shy. "You kept him from-from-""Ah, yes, my lady!" Mr. Bradford smiled a crooked smile in full. "His ponytail was simply begging to be yanked.”

“Ash.” Margaret knew her voice was trembling. “Why are you doing this?”“Because I adore you. Because you looked so stricken when I saw you and I couldn’t bear not to comfort you.” His voice was warm breath against her skin. “Did you know, when you left that room, you took all the light with you?”