When a man finds the one woman who is right, it scarcely matters what else is wrong.

It must be quite difficult, concealing your superior male qualities behind a mask of feigned humility.” Why, Gillian, it’s that very ability that makes us so superior.

Silly of me not to have realized it. One often finds Greek temples lurking in the woods of English estates. Sneaky things, temples.

My desire, my sincere and heartfelt desire is to rip that surprisingly sheer garment from your body, toss you onto that bed, and indeed ravish you from head to toe. I wish to make love to you until you are too exhausted to do so much as stand without support. Until you call out my name in your dreams and reach for me in your sleep. Until you can think of no one and nothing beyond the touch of my hand, the caress of my lips.

In the face of events that threaten to overwhelm our lives, storytelling gives us a way of reclaiming ourselves and reaffirming our connections with other people-those who listen to our stories and, by doing so, bear witness with us.

It wasn't as if she was terrified of heights, she simply preferred to be closer to solid ground, where words like plummet and plunge did not linger in her mind.

Adventure, like beauty, is very much in the eye of the beholder.