“ All this rapture, managed Letty, wriggling out of her mother’s grasp, is decidedly premature. Lauren Willig
“ There's nothing so attractive as a blank slate. Take one attractive man, slap on a thick coat of daydream, and voila, the perfect man. With absolutely no resemblance to reality. Lauren Willig
“ That was the problem with snide comments; they invariably lost all their punch on repetition. Besides, when facing impending death, what did the odd witticism matter? Lauren Willig
“ Sometimes Richard had the sinking suspicion that he had a far better chance of preventing Bonaparte from conquering Europe than he had of thwarting his mother’s plans to see him married off within the… Lauren Willig
“ Only the silver head of his cane blazed with reflected fire, held aloft above the grave like a medieval necromancer summoning spirits from the vasty deep. Lauren Willig
“ But we know Jane, put in Lady Henrietta. Her plans always go as planned. She exchanged a glance with her husband. Well, almost always. But that wasn’t her fault. And then, as if it explained everythin… Lauren Willig
“ Take a deep breath, people suggested. Count to ten. Count sheep. Oh, wait, that was for sleeping. Even in her own head, her tongue ran ahead of her brain. It propelled her into all sorts of absurd sit… Lauren Willig
“ [He] had insisted that inanimate objects couldn't have malignant motivations, but Emma had extensive proof to the contrary. Lauren Willig
“ You’re not holding it against Jane that Gwen asked her to bring you home? I didn’t know, he added quickly. Not until the plan was in motion. And by then—I don’t imagine many people say no to Mrs. Reid… Lauren Willig
“ The leaves do fad and fall away, / Berries rot and sheaves decay; / The deer is fled back to the field. / That is all your promises yield. / All wind and words, your vows, I see, / Are barren as the f… Lauren Willig
“ She won’t come that way.Jack’s stepmother stepped out beside him on the large terrace in front of the fortress. All around them, the setting sun painted the sky a brilliant red and purple that only ac… Lauren Willig
“ She could feel herself pressing the details into memory, saving them like dried flowers kept in a spinster's chest, relics of a past that might have been, of a future that never was. Lauren Willig
“ Mr. Alsworthy! exclaimed Letty’s mother. How can you laugh at such a matter! Although, I must say, I would have thought if a pirate were to kidnap anyone, he would kidnap Mary. She looks quite as I di… Lauren Willig
“ I’ll believe it when I see it, missy. Snakes don’t change their scales, no matter how many times he—Miss Gwen poked her sword parasol in the Gardener’s general direction—changes his name. What has it… Lauren Willig
“ It wasn't the big decisions that set the course of one's life; it was the slow accretion of all the little ones. Lauren Willig
“ I didn't know there could be an almost kiss. It seems like the sort of thing that either happens or it doesn't. Oh no... There's an entire universe of near misses out there, kisses that almost were, b… Lauren Willig
“ There's nothing like competing for your boyfriend's attention with an emotionally needy sibling to make you feel like the worst sort of evil psycho-bitch. Lauren Willig
“ There were, he had come to the conclusion after many tedious evenings at Almack’s, two types of chaperone. Given the number of events he had been forced to squire Hen to, Richard considered he had con… Lauren Willig
“ Sunset. He had promised her until sunset. If something goes wrong, we need to get her out.Miles Dorrington looked thoughtful. I say, we could raise the Jolly Roger and storm the fort as pirates. While… Lauren Willig
