“Here,” I said, shoving the board into his hands. He started laughing.“WHAT are you laughing at?!” I demanded irritably.“Well, it’s just that… that’s going to hurt a bit, my dear. Go on, bend over. I’ll demonstrate.”

“James started to laugh. His chin hurt where she'd smacked him twice, his foot throbbed where she'd stepped on it, and his entire body felt as if he'd swum through a rosebush, which wasn't as far off the truth as it sounded. Yet still he started to laugh.”

“Are you all right?” he asked Olivia. His heart was still racing with terror that she’d been hurt. “I heard a woman scream.”“Ah, that would have been me,” Sebastian said.Harry looked down on his cousin, face frozen in disbelief. “You made that noise?”“It hurt,” Sebastian bit off.Harry fought not to laugh. “You scream like a leettle girl.”

“If you cannot recognize the problem, there is no way that I could explain it to you."He laughed, damn the man. "My goodness," he said, "that was an expert sidestep.”

“Not that I knew who you were until last month. But now that I've got you, I'm not letting you go.""You're not?"Blake stared at her in irritated confusion. What was her game? "Do you think I'm an idiot?" he spat out."No," she said. "I've just escaped from a den of idiots, so I'm well familiar with the breed, and you're something else entirely. I am, however, hoping you're not a terribly good shot.”

“What can I do for you, Mother?" he asked. "And don't say 'Dance with Hermione Smythe-Smith.' Last time I did that I nearly lost three toes in the process.""I wasn't going to ask anything of the sort," Violet replied. "I was going to ask you to dance with Prudence Featherington.""Have Mercy, Mother," he moaned. "She's even worse.""I'm not asking you to marry the chit," she said. "Just dance with her."Benedict fought a groan. Prudence Featherington, while essentially a nice person, had a brain the size of a pea and a laugh so grating he'd seen grown men flee with their hands over their ears. "I'll tell you what," he wheedled. "I'll dance with Penelope Featherington if you keep Prudence at bay.""That'll do," his mother said with a satisfied nod, leaving Benedict with the sinking sensation that she'd wanted him to dance with Penelope all along."She's over there by the lemonade table," Violet said, "dressed as a leprechaun, poor thing.The color is good for her,but someone really must take her mother in hand next time they venture out to the dressmaker. A more unfortunate costume,I can't imagine.""You obviously haven't seen the mermaid," Benedict murmured.She swatted him lightly on the arm. "No poking fun at the guests.""But they make it so easy.”

“He was just being a guy. He saw an opportunity to get some free action and took it. I'm perfectly capable of kicking a guy in the balls, B. I didn't need you to go all fangs and claws on him."Every guy in the room cringed at Jen's words except Decebel. He was unmovable at this point."He was just being a guy? He was just BEING A GUY?" Decebel roared. "He touched you! He had his hands on you, on your -""Girly bits?" Jen offered oh so helpfully.Decebel's mouth tightened. "Yes, Jennifer. He had his hand on your girly bits. That is not 'just being a guy,' that's being an ass.”