Desperate Duchesses

It was also bitterly true that a person who doesn’t want you is twice as desirable.

Chess is the most intimate game in the world. It's like making love. By the time we finish our first slow game, I will know all his thoughts.

A fit encomium for marital bliss," Beaumont said, putting down his knife and fork. "Dancing to a tune one neither likes nor understands, with a partner who thinks you a cadaver.

When you fall in love, your heart will pound so much you won't be able to throw a mouse let alone a cow pat. I don't think I could throw a mouse now. I dislike the idea of scrabbling little feet in my palm, unless they are yours, of course.

How gorgeous this chess set is.' Each piece was a delicate marble fantasy of medieval warfare. The paint had long ago worn off, except for faint touches of red, in the fury of the king's eyes, on the queen's lower lip, in the bishop's robe.

Virginity, like many things connected to men, was obviously vastly over-rated. And frankly, so was sexual intimacy. No wonder Villiers didn’t care if she’d had previous experiences. It was all a matter of a minute at most.

Dowry doesn't rhyme with many words, so I had to rhyme dowry and peach tree [...] My nephew will inherit the estate, but the orchards are unentailed and will go to you.

The last person Jemma expected to welcome into her bedchamber that night was her husband. Though of course she would have to invite him in at some point if they were to embark on their heir-making activities.

I do not let myself entertain regrets nor think about mistakes. My father always said, and he was right, that regret is a useless practice. But I find that in my thirties, regrets chase me down the street sometimes. It’s not so easy to shrug them away.