“I thought you were dead.""Me too, baby, me too," he said weakly.”
“I was too weak to walk. At least, I thought I was too weak. But in truth, I was too weak to try.”
“I have tried," I said, "but he does not believe me. It is too late for that now" (it is always too late for truth, I thought).”
“We were expecting to see you at the market.""Yes. Well. Some people thought I was dead. I was forced to keep a low profile.""Why . . . why did some people think you were dead?"The marquis looked at Richard with eyes that had seen too much and gone too far. "Because they killed me.”
“I want babies too," he said huskily. "Daughters as beautiful as you are.”
“He gave me a severe look over his spectacles and said, as if he thought the words were deadly venom and might kill me, "You are an untidy person.”