She is Melusina, the water goddess, and she is found in hidden springs and waterfalls in any forest in Christendom, even in those as far away as Greece. (...) A man may love her if he keeps her secret and lets her alone when she wants to bathe, and she may love him in return until he breaks his word, as men always do, and she sweeps him into the depths with her fishy tail, and turns his faithless blood to water. The tragedy of Melusina, whatever language tells it, whatever tune it sings, is that a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he cannot understand.
Philippa GregoryHe promised her that he would give her everything, everything she wanted, as men in love always do. And she trusted him despite herself, as women in love always do.
Philippa GregoryWe might, either of us, be Queen of England and yet we'll always be nothing to our family.
Philippa GregoryDaniel, I did not knowwhat I wanted when I was agirl. And then I was a fool in every sense of the word. And now that I am a woman grown, I know that I love you and I want this son of yours, and our children who will come. I have seen a woman break her heart for love: my Queen Mary. I have seen another break her soul to avoid it: my Princess Elizabeth. I don't want to be Mary or Elizabeth, I want to be me: Hannah Verde Carpenter." "And we shall live somewhere that we can follow our belifs without danger," he insisted. "Yes," I said, "in the England that Elizabeth will make.
Philippa GregoryI want to take you for pleasure, and hold you in my arms for desire. I want you to know that it is your kiss that I want, not another heir to the throne. You can know that I love you, quite for yourself, when I come to your bed, and not as the Yorkโs broodmare.โ I tilt back my head and look at him under my eyelashes. โYou think to bed me for love and not for children? Isnโt that sin?โ His arm comes around my waist and his palm cups my breast. โI shall make sure that it feels richly sinful,โ - Edward IV to Elizabeth Woodville -
Philippa Gregory