“I was a hypocrite. When the roof came down, it was going to fall on me first.”

“His eyes widened. "You didn't go back to town, did you?""No. I went to church.""Ah, well. That explains it," he blurted. "I mean...well...Two hours of sermons is enough to dim anyone's sparkle.”

“I wanted the syrupy taste of this small rebellion. And this stupid machine was denying that bit of freedom to me . . . just like everyone else.”

“You have done well, Katie,” Frau Gerlach said. “You would make a fine midwife someday, if you ever wished to learn.”I cast my eyes down, exhausted and shy and afraid and proud all at once. “All I have managed so far is to be a midwife to the puppies.”She reached out to pat my cheek with a bloody hand. “God smiles on those who quietly do his dirty work, my girl.”

“For me, that was love. Tangible. Love was what was in front of me, not a distant fantasy.”

“I was afraid to be Outside alone, without Elijah. But, no matter what, I would have to get used to his absence. I would have to prove to him and to myself that I could.”

“There was a difference, I had decided, between knowing and believing. And I wanted both.”