“One mustnt justify day-to-day morality with extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, we would all feel free to rape and murder at the drop of a cat.”

“A man must claim responsibility for his own temptation, and not pin it on the woman who arouses him. Its a gown, Sir Mark. Not even one of my more daring ones.”

“I hated you, she continued, because you have done nothing more than abide by rules that every gentlewoman follows every day of her life. Yet for this prosaic feat, you are feted and cosseted as if ...”

“Men touch their horses to calm them, she said distantly. They caress their falcons to remind them that they are bound. Touch smacks of ownership, and I am weary of being a possession.”

“What would one do if one were forced to choose between saving an innocent childs life or engaging in unchaste behavior? This is, after all, the choice that some unfortunate women are put tosell the...”

“Sir Mark Turner," he said. "I speak with the tongues of a thousand angels. Butterflies follow me wherever I go. Birds sing when I take a breath.”

“But as the years went on, I realised that what I really want to be, all told, is a human. Just a productive, honest, courteously treated human.”

“How about "diamonds are a girl's best friends"? Nope. It should be switched around and pointed out, instead, that your best friends are diamonds.”

“Women who focus on style over substance usually find themselves in a big fucking hole, with other men who want to fuck the hole. Oh so smooth, and none sophistacted. Because, you know, how sophisti...”