Theyโre going to ask what you said. And if I tell Mr. Twindell you said heaven will be like this, heโll be very disappointed. Heโs counting, you know, on gold streets and angels and horses with wings.โ โI see where that could be a problem,โ Ian agreed, and he tenderly laid his hand against his sonโs cheek. โIn that case, you can tell him I said this is almost heaven.
Judith McNaughtIf I ever think you are even considering leaving me again, no matter how good you reasons, I'll have you locked in your rooms and the doors barricaded, so help me God." He lifted her foot and began to dry it. Her voice shaking, Whitney asked, "Will you stay locked in there with me?" He raised her dainty foot to his jaw and tenderly laid his cheek against it, then turned his head and kissed it. "Yes," he whispered. -Clayton Westmoreland
Judith McNaughtshe kissed him with all the aching longing that being this close to him evoked; she kissed him in all the ways he had ever kissed her, feeling faint with joy when he began to kiss her back, his mouth moving with fierce tenderness, then opening with fiery demand over hers, until their breaths were mingled gasps, and they were straining to one another.
Judith McNaughtLife can be so good if you let it. But you must trade with life. You give something and you get something, then you give something of yourself again and you receive something again. Life goes bad when people try to take from it without giving. Then they came away empty-handed, and they grab harder and more often, growing more disappointed and disillusioned each time.
Judith McNaughtHow am I doing so far?" she asked, forcing a cheerful lightness into her voice. "You're doing very well," Nick's lazy voice mocked. "I'm half convinced that I'm invisible.
Judith McNaughtYou will soon discover that in matters of the heart, memories are much kinder than reality
Judith McNaughtThe old adage which says that it is โwhom you know that countsโ is far off the mark. It is what you know about whom you know that truly makes difference.
Judith McNaughtRoyce Westmoreland stared at him with biting scorn. "I despise hypocrisy, particularly when it is coated with holiness." "May I ask for a specific example?" "Fat priests," Royce replied, "with fat purses, who lecture staving peasants on the dangers of gluttony and the merits of poverty.
Judith McNaughtLet me go.โ โI canโtโ, he said hoarsely, (โฆ)โ Iโve tried a hundred times to let you go, Victoria, but I canโt.
Judith McNaughtRoyce's eyes narrowed in discouragement at the thoght of having to sing to jenny. his deep bariton voice would surely bring every hound for miles to yap and nip at his heels.
Judith McNaughtLove can't be forced into existence,(...)It won't come simply because you will it to happen
Judith McNaughtBeside him a tiny elderly woman was leaning on a cane, studying him with curiosity. Since good manners seemed to require that he speak to her, Jon cast about for some sort of polite conversation pertinent to the occasion. โI hate funerals, donโt you?โ He said. โI rather like them,โ she said smugly. โAt my age, I regard each funeral I attend as a personal triumph, because I was not the guest of honor.
Judith McNaught(...)Did she really tell Roddy Carstairs she could outshoot him with his own pistol?" "No," Jason said dryly. "She told him that if he made one more improper advance to her, she would shoot him- and if she missed, she would turn Wolf loose on him. And if Wolf didn't finish the job, she had every faith I would." Jason chuckled and shook his head. "It's the first time I've been nominated for the role of hero. I was a little crushed, however, to be second choice after the dog.
Judith McNaughtBut he knew instinctively what he suggested was impossible. She'd been through so much, and held her tears back for so long, that Royce doubted that anything could force her to shed them.
Judith McNaughtShe wept with shame for her lack of will and with fear for a love she couldn't control.
Judith McNaughtI ought to break your neck!" Clayton interrupted. Too late, Whitney realized that she shouldn't have been standing all this time on her "injured" knee. "Allow me to congratulate you on a fine day's work, Madam," he said sternly. "In less than twelve hours, you've brought Whitticomb to your side and Cuthbert to your feet.
Judith McNaughtDo you know why I married you, Philip?" "Presumably you wanted the financial security and social prestige I could offer." She chuckled at that and shook her head..."I believed," she confessed somberly, "I honestly believed that I had something to offer you too--something you needed. Do you know what it was?" "I can't imagine." "I thought I could teach you how to laugh and enjoy life." Philip and Caroline
Judith McNaughtLooking at you has been my favorite pastime from the moment you asked me to describe your face," he said solemnly, looking straight into her eyes.
Judith McNaughtThe amusement fled from Royce's face and with a groan he pulled her roughly against his chest, crushing her to him. "Jenny," he whispered hoarsely, burying his face in her fragrant hair. "Jenny, I love you." She melted against him, molding her body to the rigid contours of his, offering her lips up for his fierce, devouring kiss, then she took his face between both her hands. Leaning back slightly against his arm, her melting blue eyes gazing deeply into his, his wife replied in a shaky voice, "I think, my lord, I love you more.
Judith McNaughtHis gaze held hers, and his voice was tender and rough. โLove me, Elizabeth.โ Elizabeth felt a tremor run through her entire body, but she looked at him without flinching. โI do.
Judith McNaughtGod help me if I ever injure my back," Clayton quipped. "God help you if you ever turn it," Whitney snapped, "for there'll surely be some heartbroken papa or cuckolded husband ready with a knife--if I don't murder you first.
Judith McNaughtFeeling a little foolish over her confidences, Elizabeth glanced up at him with an embarrassed smile. โWhat is the most beautiful place youโve ever seen?โ Dragging his gaze from the beauty of the gardens, Ian looked down at the beauty beside him. โAny place,โ he said huskily, โwhere you are.
Judith McNaughtBehold your new mistress, my wife," he pronounced, "and know that when she bids you, I have bidden you. What service you render her, you are rendering me. What loyalty you give or withhold from her, you give or withhold from me!" -Royce Westmoreland
Judith McNaughtChildhood romances always seem so real, so enduring, when we are separated from the object of our affection. But usually, when we return, we find that our dreams and memories quiet surpassed reality. -Lady Anne, Whitney's aunt
Judith McNaughtMatt: I know you can cook. Meredith: What makes you so sure? Matt: Because less than an hour ago, you set me on fire.
Judith McNaughtWhitney: You black-hearted, treacherous, conniving scoundrel. Clayton: Your flattery warms my heart
Judith McNaughtEverything wrong I've ever done has always seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
Judith McNaughtWhich brings me to the question of why we always 'fall' in love. One falls down steps, off ladders, into rivers and down mountains. If love is so wonderful, why don't we soar in love or climb in love?
Judith McNaughtSome of the most unkind,judgmental people I've ever known go to church every Sunday and read the Bible. I don't know how some people are able to disassociate their own cruelty and shortcomings from their religious obligations and convictions, but many are able to do that.
Judith McNaughtClayton," she said softly, her voice threaded with tears, "when Vanessa asked about my accomplishments tonight, I forgot to mention that I do have one. And it's--it's so splendid that it compensates for my lack of all the others." Stephen and Clayton grinned at each other, neither of them hearing the emotion that clogged her voice. "What splendid accomplishments is that, little one?" Clayton asked. Her shoulders hunched forward and began to shake. "I made you love me," she whispered brokenly. "Somehow, some way, I actually made you love me.
Judith McNaughtJason, stop this,โ she pleaded. โYou donโt want to kiss me. You donโt even like me more than a little when you arenโt foxedโ A harsh laugh escaped him. โI like you too damned much!โ he whispered bitterly, then pulled her head down and captured her lips in a demaning, scalding kiss that took everything and give nothing in return.
Judith McNaught