“While he was watching the ships, Buttercup shoved him with all her strength remaining. Down went the man in black. "You can die too for all I care," she said, and then she turned away.Words followed her. Whispered from afar, weak and warm and familiar. "As...you...wish...”

“Her eyes suddenly went round. "Hang on. You shoved him!""She shoved him?"I turned to glare at Nate."Yes. And she's always running off on him." Suki shook her head at me. "We'd treat him much better if he was ours-”

“She gave him a dubious look, as if he wasn’t quite right in the head. "Sometimes, Englishman, I do not understand you. I love you, but I do not always understand you."She turned and started across the meadow. He remained where he was and watched her walk away, with her skirts in her hand and the sun on her hair."I love you, too," he said, but only after she was too far away to hear. "I always have.”

“I really wish you hadn't worn that sweater,'he muttered into her ear.'It's good practice for you,' she replied,her lips moving against his skin.'Tomorrow,fishnets.'Against her side,warm and familiar,she felt him laugh.”

“You don't look like a Rupert."Startled,he raised a black brow at her. "Dare I ask what I look like to you?""A hungry wolf."He didn't laugh at the description, but he did abruptly release her. "Wolf, perhaps," he said drily. "Hungry? Not at the moment."She had enough sense to guess she'd just been insulted. Had she touched a nerve perhaps? Good,because he was certainly touching too many of hers.Regaining her balance after stumbling back from him,she went to straighten her skirt in an indignant manner,but forgot she wasn't wearing one.How could she appear to be offended while she was wearing britches? She settled for grabbing the hat off the floor and shoving it back down on her head.The very idea! Not hungry at the moment? As if she didn't know he was implying she wasn't to his taste.”

“I won't marry you.""Of course you will," he said. "Why wouldn't you? You followed me around like a puppy dog all those years ago, which was pure misery, because I wanted nothing more than to toss you down in the straw and despoil you, and you were too damned young. Back then I had scruples. Fortunantly, nowadays I have none.""Then why do you want to marry me?" She said, shoving her hair away from her face."I have no idea." He said idly. "I expect I love you. Nothing else could account for such bizarre behavior on my part. I expect the captain of the packet ship can perform a ceremony. Are you ready?"She didn't move. She couldn't marry him, and she needed shoes, and she wasn't sure which was the most important to argue about.”