“He called me a pie!” she announced, defensively. There was a pause. “Wait. That’s not right.”“A tart?”“Yes! That’s it!”

“I . . . hit him . . . elsewhere.”“Where?”“In his . . .In his inguine.”“Oh, dear God.” It was unclear whether Ralston’s words were meant as prayer or blasphemy.What was clear was that the woman was a gladiator.“He called me a pie!” she announced, defensively. There was a pause. “Wait. That’s not right.”“A tart?”“Yes! That’s it!” She registered her brother’s fists and looked to Simon. “I see that it is not a compliment.”“No. It is not.”

“I’m older now than my dad was when he was my age. Wait, that’s not right. That’s not my dad at all, that’s just some stranger hanging around in my memory.
”

“All right, I’ll go with this one called ‘Handsome Devil’. That’s me after all.”

“That’s the master bedchamber, remember? You’ve been there collecting my underwear.”“That’s right. You’re the swine who sent me on a fool’s errand when you could have gone yourself.” She observed his expression. “You did go yourself!”“I saw you there,” he admitted.“Did I call you a swine?”Remembering the drama with which she sneaked into Summerwind Abbey, she didn’t know whether to laugh or shout. “Louse, rather!”“Yes, but you must forgive me. Being a louse is my nature.”

“You have the right to kill me, but you do not have the right to judge me. Boom. That’s the whole movie. That’s life.”