The man who knelt before her would have sprung from her needles, even down the ghostly flecks of silver in his hair. She had not known before that she wanted all these things, that she preferred dark hair and a slightly cruel expression, that she wishes for tallness, or that a man kneeling might thrill her.

I know you loved both he and I, the way a mother can love two sons. And no one should be judged for loving more than they ought, only for loving not enough.

I’ve a devil of a habit for being right.

I am the Walker and the Maze.

Oh, quit that. Blushing is for virgins and Christians.

He tried to reconstruct the story in his mind, but it kept getting confused, bleeding into itself like watercolors.

The smell of loving is a difficult one to describe, but if you think of the times when someone has held you close and made you safe, you will remember how it smells just as well as I do.