"No," he said hoarsely, "the chair will do just fine, thank you.""If I know you are uncomfortable, I shan't be able to sleep." She sounded remarkably like a damsel in distress.Dunford shuddered. He had never been able to resist playing hero. Slowly he got to his feet and walked to the empty side of the bed.How bad could it be?"

"And if you say that's because you lot barged into her home like a herd of mentally deficient sheep, I'm disowning all three of you."

"Just curious,she mouthed."What? I didn't catch that."Jjuussttccuurriioouuss.She drew it out this time, hoping he'd be able to read her lips."If you spoke out loud," he drawled, "I might understand what you're saying."Caroline stamped her foot in frustration, but when it landed, it landed on something considerablyless'flat than the floor."Owww!" he yelled.Oh! His foot!Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry , she mouthed.I didn't mean it."If you think I can understand that," he growled, "you're crazier than I'd originally thought."

"Suddenly it was too hard to be in his presence, too painful to know that he would belong to someone else."

"If he was planning to attack and ravish, he gave no indication of being in a hurry to do so."

"Sebastian, Katarina said, turning to her nephew. "You've grown. "It happens, Sebastian quipped, flashing her his usual lopsided grin."Goodness, she said with smile, "you'll be a danger to the ladies soon.Harry very nearly rolled his eyes. Sebastian had already made conquests of nearly all the girls in the village near Hesslewhite. He must give off some sort of scent, because the females positively fell at his feet.It would have been appalling, except that the girls couldn't all dance with Sebastian. And Harry was more than happy to be the nearest man standing when the smoke cleared."

"It's the curse of motherhood. You're required to love us even when we vex you."

"It was juvenile, he knew, this need to assign blame, but everyone had a right to childish emotions from time to time, didn't they?"

"Anthony Bridgerton leaned back in his leather chair,and then announced, "I'm thinking about getting married."Benedict Bridgerton, who had been indulging in a habit his mother detested-tipping his chair drunkenly on the back two legs-fell over.Colin Bridgerton started to choke.Luckily for Colin, Benedict regained his seat with enough time to smack him soundly on the back, sending a green olive sailing across the table.It narrowly missed Anthony's ear."

"This is why I didn't get married last year, she said to him. "I wouldn't be here to nurse you. She thought about that for a moment. "Of course, one could make the argument that you wouldn't be in this situation if not for me. But we're not going to dwell upon that."

"You should do that more often, he said. "Laugh, I mean."I know. But that sounded sad, and she didn't want to be sad, so she added, "I don't often get to torture grown men, though."Really? he murmured. "I would think you do it all the time.She looked at him."When you walk into a room, he said softly, "the air changes."

"He smacked the heel of his hand against his forhead, as if that could knock the mental picture out of his head. Hell, he though irritably, he didn't want to knock the image just out of his head. He wanted to send it clear across the room and out the window."

"He gave her a sly, sideways look. "Did youbring it?""My list? Heavens, no. What can you be thinking?"His smile widened. "I brought mine."Daphne gasped. "You didn't!""I did. Just to torture Mother. I'm going peruse it right in front of her, pull out my quizzing glass-""You don't have a quizzing glass."He grinned-the slow, devastatingly wicked smile that all Bridgerton males seemed to possess. "I bought one just for this occasion.""Anthony, you absolutely cannot. She will kill you. And then, somehow, she'll find a way to blame me.""I'm counting on it."

"I can imagine no greater bliss than to lie about, reading novels all day."

"Billie laughed at that, full and throaty, and once again she became so incandescently beautiful that George was half-tempted to throw a blanket over her, just to stop anyone else from wanting her."

"He touched her cheek, and he looked into her eyes. He saw his whole world there."

"Music was not so very different from mathematics. It was all just patterns and sequences. The only difference was that they hung in the air instead of on a piece of paper. Dancing was a grand equation. One side was sound, the other movement. The dancer's job was to make them equal."

"I thought that I needed a church and hundreds of guests and music thatactually sounded like music, but I was wrong.What I needed was a drunken priest, irreverent guests, and a companionwho learned to play piano from a goat.""Then you got exactly what you needed.""I suppose so. But then again, all I really needed was you."

"And if that weren't bad enough, the next sound he heard was a loud click.The damned woman had locked him out. She'd taken all the food and locked him out."You'll pay for this!" he yelled at the door."Do be quiet," came the muffled reply. "I'm eating."

"I very specifically told you to stay away from Ned Blydon.""I chose not to follow your advice. Ned is a very nice person. Handsome, personable-a perfect escort.""That is precisely why I wanted you to keep him at arm's length."

"This thing between them, this bond-it wasn't just passion,and it wasn't wicked.It was love, and it was divine."

"Love's about finding the one person who makes your heart complete. Who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be. Its about looking in the eyes of your wife and knowing all the way to your bones that she's simply the best person you've ever known."

"I don't know whether to toss you through that window or shake your hand and say 'Well done'" Henry said in a tired voice."

"This was different. He didn't want a woman. He wanted her. And he supposed that if he had to spend the afternoon being strange, sad, and disfigured just to be in her company, it would be well worth it. Then he remembered the wart. He turned to Miss Wynter and said firmly, "I am not getting a wart."Really, a man had to draw the line somewhere."

"He smiled, and suddenly she knew that his words were true. Everything would be all right. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Tragedy couldn't coexist in a world with one of Colin's smiles."

"Turner let his face fell into his hands. "I'm never going to touch her again", he moaned. "He's never going to touch me again!" they heard Miranda roar."Well,it doesn't look like you'll have much argument from your wife on that point", Olivia chirped."

"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."

"I'm not certain you'd know the right sort of man for you if he arrived on our doorstep riding an elephant."I would think the elephant would be a fairly good indication that I ought to look elsewhere."

"Caroline, do you value your neck?""Yes, I'm rather fond of it. Why?""Because if you don't shut up, I'm going to wring it."

"Oh, come now, you two, Lady Manston said, "surely it can be no surprise that I have long hoped for an alliance between the Rokesbys and Bridgertons. "Alliance? Billie echoed, and all George could think was that it was a terrible, clinical word, one that could never encompass all that he had come to feel for her."

"He shook his head in wonder. "You are magnificent.""I keep telling everyone that," she said with a nonchalant shrug, "But you seem to be the only one to believe me."

"Simon gave her a startled look. 'I don't believe I have ever been condescended to by a woman before.' She shrugged. 'It was probably past time."

"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."

"Yes?""When you said you weren't angry...""Yes?""Were you?""I was rather annoyed," he admitted."But not angry?" She sounded as if she didn't believe him."Believe me, Henry, when I get angry, you'll know.""What happens?"His eyes clouded over slightly before he answered. "You don't want to know."She believed him."

"Sebastian got up and walked to the window, resting his forehead against the pane. It was cold outside, and the icy chill pressed up against him through the glass. He liked the sensation. It was big. Grand. The sort of vivid moment that reminded him of his humanity. He was cold, therefore he must be alive. He was cold, therefore he must not be invincible. He was cold, thereforeHe stood back and let out a disgusted snort. He was cold, therefore he was cold. There wasn't really much more to it."

"Would you care to dance? he blurted. "Now? She smiled adorably. "Is there music? There wasn't. It was some testament to how foolish in love he'd become that he did not even feel embarrassed."

"Did you know I dream about your hair? I use to say it was the color of the sun at sunset, but I'm wrong. It's brighter than the sun, just as you are."

"He closed his eyes. The insides of his eyelids were a brownish black, not at all the same as the thick purple of the night. Darkness had so many colors. It was strange, that, and perhaps a little disquieting. But--Oh!-A foot slammed into his left calf, and he opened his eyes just in time to see a woman tumbling backward.Right onto his blanket.He smiled. The gods still loved him."

"Anthony looked down at his evil clutches -- hands, he reminded himself, hands -- and grinned anew."

"Blake took a small roll from the tray on the table, then put it back in favor of a larger one. And maybe a little butter. It certainly couldn't hurt. And jam...no, he drew the line at jam. She was a spy, after all."

"Standing still is always more tiring than walking."

"Simon stopped breathing until her forefinger touched his nipple, and then his hand shot up to cover hers. "I want you," he said.Her eyes flicked downward, and her lips curved ever so slightly. "I know.""No," he groaned, pulling her closer. "I want to be in your heart. I want-" His entire body shuddered when their skin touched. "I want to be in your soul."

"You married into the family. You have to love me. It's a contractual obligation."

"He'd mesmerized her, held her soul captive. And she couldn't move."Unless you want more than a dream, he said.She did."Will you stay? he whispered. "Or will you go?She stayed. Heaven help her, she stayed.And Michael showed her just how romantic a library could be."

"She hated that she was still so desperate for a glimpse of him, but it had been this way for years."

"Miss. My. Wife."