To be desired by those who are themselves highly desirable is in itself an aphrodisiac.

This may be the very nature of love, a passion as fickle as the sea, full of certainty when the object of desire is absent, yet dubious when confronted again with the lover's presence.

Living is a hazardous profession.

No, what Great Aunt Winifred was suffering from was the persecution every happily single woman suffers: the predictable social condemnation of her independence and childlessness. Dorothy reminded herself of what she'd learned during a university course on feminist history (with a strong Marxist slant): spinsters are a threat to patriarchy.

We cannot choose the times we live in. Just as, sometimes, we cannot choose whom we love.

Danger is an aphrodisiac.

You must appreciate that love is the last reason for which a man marries.