“Everyone striving to be witty and sought-after, everyone talking and no one listening...”

“The purpose of the latest series of intellectual meetings, which were held in various parlors in Concord, was to talk about Reconstruction with objectivity, sensibility, and a lack of prejudice. As everyone had expected, the meetings were far from objective, seldom sensible, and never unprejudiced.”

“Sooner or later everyone was driven to love someone they could never have.”

“Everyone's looking," she whispered, letting him lead her to the center of the waltzing couples, several of which moved to allow them plenty of room."Everyone's been looking at you all night," he said wryly. "Especially me.”

“I felt the kind of loneliness that can happen in a roomful of people when everyone but you seems to be in on the good time.”

“It’s impossible,” he snapped. “Why?” “Because I’m Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can’t be celibate. Everyone knows that.”

“Rebound guys are the best." "They are?""They never even think of getting serious, because everyone knows you don't jump into a relationship right after a divorce. They just want to be your welcome wagon when you start having sex again. It's your time to experiment, girl!""The world is my petri dish," I said, raising my drink.”