When He Was Wicked Quotes
"In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and clear that one feels as if one’s been hit in the chest, all the breath knocked out, and one knows, absolutely knows without the merest hint of a shadow of a doubt that one’s life will never be the same."
"It’s remarkable. I’ve never heard of such a thing."
"Life would have been easier, Michael thought wryly, if he’d been given to drink. If ever there was a time to overindulge, to drown one’s sorrows in the bottle, this was it."
"I love him madly. Madly! Truly, I would die without him."
"It was one of those things that had to be experienced to be understood."
"And all he could do was stand there as she beat her fists against his chest, stand there as she grabbed his cravat and shook and yanked until he was gasping for breath."
"And then suddenly the fire left her, and she collapsed in his arms, her tears soaking his shirt."
"You are always welcome in this house, Michael Stirling."
"For the first time, Michael finally understood why John had been so enamored of his work in the British Parliament."
"Life wasn’t necessarily better with thousands of miles between him and Francesca, but it certainly was easier."
"Maybe, if he was lucky, she’d choose not to come down to London for the season at all."
"I'm sorry I haven’t written. No, that’s not true. I’m not sorry. I don’t wish to write. I don’t wish to think of—"
"And Michael supposed she was right, so once he’d finished with his breakfast, he stepped outside and made his way to Number Five."
"She’d buy blue, and yes, pink and yellow as well, and maybe even—something in her heart shivered with anticipation at the thought—crimson."
"I adore her, of course, but I’ve grown rather used to maintaining my own household."
"It is nothing that you—or any man, for that matter—will understand, but I much prefer my status as a married woman to that of a debutante."
"Francesca decided just then that not all of Hyacinth’s statements required a rejoinder. In fact, few of them did."
"Excellent timing on my part, then," Violet said, taking her seat."
"I’m not sure what his plans are today," Francesca said quickly."
"Oh, God. Francesca’s knife skittered right across her muffin. She was going to have to drug her sister. It was the only solution."
""It isn’t gossip," Hyacinth retorted. "It’s the honest dissemination of information.""
""Mother," she said, shaking her head, "you really should have stopped at seven.""
""God no," Hyacinth said. With great feeling."
""It’s not polite to blaspheme, Hyacinth," Violet said, in much the same tone she’d used to tell her not to gossip."
""Didn’t you have plans with Eloise?" Francesca said quickly."
""This woman is. Besides, the earl—" Hyacinth cut herself off, turning to her mother."
""You don’t mind if I come along, too, do you?" Hyacinth asked Violet."
""You’ll have to ask him," Violet replied, taking a bite of eggs."
""It’s the most unfathomable thing," Francesca muttered, pacing across the room."
""Calm down?" she echoed, turning on him as if possessed by an entire spectrum of furies. "Calm down? Good God, Michael, are you still feverish?""
""Some women," he said, knowing full well he should never bait her about such a subject, "might even engage in physical battle just for the mere opportunity—"
""Oh, I don’t know," the old lady said with an irritated wave of her hand. "You can be sure that if I did, I’d have done it already."
""What, precisely, do you mean to do?" Francesca asked, trying to keep her voice free of panic."
""And perhaps meet a lovely lady," Helen put in helpfully."
""Ah, yes," Michael murmured, "lest we forget the real purpose of my life.""
""And what are your purposes?" he asked sweetly."
""Oh, this and that," Francesca said with a blithe wave of her hand."
""I’m told it’s deserved," he said with a languid smile."
""Don’t be so petulant," Janet said. "No one is going to hang you up by your thumbs."
""He could never remain faithful to one woman," Francesca said."
""Of course you are," Helen said. "You did, in fact. Last week. We called it malaria.""
""I have no idea," he said caustically. "Not a single, bloody clue.""
""It will signal to society that you are at least open to the possibility of matrimony," Francesca added."
""It’s like a sickness with him, a sixth sense. He couldn’t be in a room with Francesca and not know where she was."
""If you saw me, why didn’t you come over to save me?""
"If you ever step within ten yards of Lady Kilmartin again, I will personally disembowel you."
"It seemed the only explanation. She certainly hadn’t intended to tell him that she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from tallying his broken hearts."
"The words had whispered over her lips before she’d even realized she was thinking them."
"If the rules of society were reversed, Francesca thought wryly, their drawing room at Kilmartin House would be overflowing with flowers, all addressed to the Dashing Earl."
"A man would have to be a fool not to want to marry you."
"You are a daughter to me, Francesca. I want you to be happy."
"He smiled, but the sentiment didn’t quite reach his eyes. He didn’t look angry, just…hollow."
"No, but there was everything immoral. He’d wanted Francesca for so long, loved her for what felt like an eternity—even when John had been living."
"Good God, he was staring at her toes. Her toes. What had his life come to?"
"What I had with John, I'm not going to find with any of the men sending me flowers. And it feels like a desecration—a selfish desecration that I'm even considering remarrying."
"You don’t know," she said, turning away. "You just don’t know."
"She stood there, stock still, the only sound her breath over her lips. And her eyes never left his face."
"And now he was worse off than ever before. Yes, he’d kissed her; yes, it had been quite the most spectacular kiss of his life. But yes, it was also all over."
"How was it possible that a kiss could exceed his every fantasy?"
"He couldn’t make love to a woman. It was appalling. Emasculating."
"I have given matters a great deal of thought since you left London."
"And it wasn’t going to happen again. Now that it had finally happened, now that he had tasted perfection, he was in more agony than ever before."
"And maybe, just maybe she even leaned in a little, something within her recognizing this moment, this subtle dance between man and woman."
"Courage, she was now quite certain, was a vastly over-rated virtue."
"He had trouble finding a place to tie Felix," he explained gruffly. "I had to build him a shelter."
"Oh, for God's sake, Francesca," he said in short tones, "hate me all you want, but don't be an idiot."
"It's too late for that," she said under her breath.
"The sun will be out in no time," she said, motioning to the drizzle. "I'm fine."
"Is it possible you don't understand that I wish to be alone?" she countered.
"I need time," she said, hugging her arms against her body.
"Please," she finally whispered. "Please. I need to be alone."
"And he would have wanted Michael to be happy."
"Francesca had been waiting for Michael to knock upon her door, but when the rap came, she still jumped with surprise."
"Francesca had asked for time to think, and that appeared to be exactly what he was giving her. And it was horrible."
"This was what she’d been reduced to, she thought grumpily."
"She supposed he could find her outside if he really wanted to, but at least he would have to expend a bit of effort to do it."
"She dressed herself that morning, donning a serviceable day dress which would serve her well out of doors."
""I thought you might be cold," he explained with a shrug. "You were gone quite some time.""
""The gesture, you mean?" He smiled. "Why, I’m courting you.""
""But I thought you deserved more," he finished, sitting back with a mild expression, as if he hadn’t just seared her with innuendo."
""Of course I still plan to pursue my options in that area," he said, leaning forward with a sultry gaze."
""Will you stay?" he whispered. "Or will you go?""
""If you can’t be with me, if you can’t give all of yourself to me, then I want you gone.""
""I don’t know who I am any longer," she said. "I’m not this sort of woman.""
""Then marry me," he shot back. "I offered to make you respectable from the beginning, but you refused.""
""I wasn’t supposed to feel this for another man," she said, barely able to believe that she’d spoken the words aloud."
""It’s because I love you, damn me to hell. Because I’ve always loved you.""
""If you’re not mine, I don’t want you anymore.""
""Why do you stay, Francesca?" he persisted, moving toward her with the predatory grace of a tiger."
""There is nothing for you here at Kilmartin, nothing but this.""
""Go," he repeated, ignoring her plea. "If this is to end, you will have to do it. You will have to walk away, Francesca. Because now…after everything…I’m just not strong enough to say goodbye.""
""I’ll marry you," she said, so quietly he more read the words on her lips than did he hear them. "If you’ll still have me.""
""Let’s give our child a respectable nine months of gestation," he said jauntily."
""All I care about," he said thickly, one finger turning very, very wicked, "is that you’re mine.""
""You will be mine," he said again, grasping her bottom and pulling her toward him. "Mine.""
""I love you," he whispered, deciding there was no use in holding the words to himself any longer."
""I need you," he said hoarsely, his breath hot on her skin."
"If you didn’t wish for a nagging wife, you shouldn’t have married me."
"Sick. As a dog. I don’t see how I could possibly make it any more clear."
"The fashionable ladies’ bookshops in London declined to carry medical texts."