The Girl In The Gatehouse Quotes
"The end of the only life I’ve known, thought Mariah Aubrey, looking back through the carriage window at the shrinking figures of her mother and sister."
"He would not, he insisted, 'sanction vice, nor seek to lessen its disgrace.'"
"Mariah forced a smile, nodded, and obediently closed her eyes."
"Mariah bit the inside of her lip to control its trembling."
"Their mother stood behind, hand on Julia’s arm, in consolation, in empathy – perhaps even in restraint."
"Mariah turned back around. Miss Dixon, on the opposite bench, quickly averted her gaze."
"She barely saw the passing countryside as events of the last month whirled through her mind."
"Her aunt had offered her a place to live but refused to receive her in person."
"Mariah could still barely grasp that she was now expected to live on her own."
"Mariah sighed. So very much to do, and such limited funds with which to do it."
"Mariah hesitated. 'Should I ride in for the apothecary?'"
"She doubted she would sleep, but at least with her eyes closed she would not see the pity on the face of her last ally in the world."
"Mariah glanced at Dixon, but she was once again staring at Mr. Martin."
"Mariah stared at the dark roof once more and shuddered. Poorhouse..."
"Mariah pressed her friend’s hand. 'Plenty of girls have their first kiss on Kissing Friday. I know I did.'"
"Mariah wrapped a light shawl around her shoulders against the damp March breeze."
"Matthew surveyed the small study of his modest childhood home."
"Your aunt is dead, Miss Aubrey. And this is not a charitable institution."
"Mariah had difficulty imaging such fierceness in the man."
"Her constant cheerfulness and ready smile had garnered their unconscious affection, rather like a charming, obedient pug one mindlessly stroked for comfort."
"And she admitted to herself that she found him attractive, especially now that he was not the villain of this chapter in her life."
"She told herself she should have realized that Hugh, as owner, remained in charge of tenants."
"Seeing nothing . . . except for her mounting problems."
"But now ’tis higgledy-piggledy, fiddling, acting, a parcel of fellows kept in the house of a young woman, for no earthly purpose that I see, but to make her the talk and the scandal of the whole neighborhood."
"If I am wise now, I came to it late – as well you know."
"The wind whipped his raven hair and black cloak about him. He stared at her with smoky grey eyes, fiery with intensity."
"She felt both of these emotions now, trapped as she was in a bramble of her own making."
"If only you had a tolerable voice. If only it were as fair as your complexion."
"‘How handsome is the crow,’ he exclaimed. ‘I protest, I never observed it before, but your feathers are a more delicate white than ever I saw in my life.’"
"My good Crow, your voice is fair enough. It is your wit that is wanting!"
"How I would shake my hand should we meet once more."
"There is a certain lady here, you see. If I could but speak with her, my island of solitude would be paradise."
"‘I thank you, gentlemen.’ He then took up the handles of Miss Merryweather’s chair and wheeled her smartly down the aisle."
"Chance is perhaps the pseudonym used by God when he does not wish to sign his work." - Anatole France
"My only books were woman's looks, and folly's all they've taught me." - Sir Thomas Moore
"I have finished the novel called Pride and Prejudice, which I think a very superior work. I wish much to know who is the author." - Annabella Milbanke, 1813
"Alas! A woman that attempts the pen such an intruder on the rights of men, such a presumptuous creature is esteemed the fault can by no virtue be redeemed." - Anne Finch, Countess of Winchelsea, 1713
"At painful times, when composition is impossible and reading is not enough, grammars and dictionaries are excellent for distraction." - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Jane Austen hid the fact that she was a writer from the household help and from the public – all of her books were published anonymously during her lifetime." - Rebecca Dickson, Jane Austen, An Illustrated Treasury
"I wish you to know that you have been the last dream of my soul." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." - Jane Austen
"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." - Oscar Wilde
"I know you will be a great success, Captain Bryant."
"I will not insult you by suggesting we elope."
"I have always known Father opposed the match, and I . . . I am at last persuaded he is right."
"We have always known Father opposed the match, and I . . . I am at last persuaded he is right."
"Perhaps I might call Dixon my assistant and you my companion?"
"I did make a mistake in my past, Lizzy. A mistake with a man."
"I shan’t mind being the object of such determined pursuit."
"But I shall never have the privilege of being a grandmother either."
"What a fine shape and graceful body you have."
"Literature is not the business of a woman’s life, and it cannot be."
"All women, as authors, are feeble and tiresome. I wish they were forbidden to write."
"None of us gets through this life without a tangle or two. Accept His mercy and move forward. Don't hold on to the knots and forget the life ahead."
"How foolish was the fox. How blind. To not see, not value the friendship, the affection, the trust the brown bird offered him."
"I suppose they could have conjured some other means of keeping Windrush Court for themselves. Some ruthless workhouse in the north, or some asylum in London."
"She befriended the fox, called out warnings when danger came near, or when he was about to step into a trap."
"If he should have fallen to his death from that window during your friends' rope stunt, or be seen gallivanting about the parish or even in this particular gatehouse, the board of guardians might very well conclude that I was failing in my duty."
"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved."
"I am not saying you need it. Honestly, I don’t mind the hook at all. I am accustomed to it."
"Thank you, Susan. It is the most unusual gift I have ever received. And the most thoughtful."
"He returned three quarters of an hour later, alone, his face flushed from the exertion of the walk, or the encounter, or both."
"I can produce all the proof you – or the undersheriff – might like. Including records of the annual sum paid you to keep the man against his will."
"But hearing her deride noble Captain Prince so coldly, her wafer-thin lip curled, I could not help myself."
"Merciful Father, help me not to fear. I know you have forgiven me and Matthew has forgiven me. Help me to forgive myself."
"I said, ‘Perhaps, madam, you shall not be matron here very much longer, should the board of guardians, or the newspapers, hear of your part in this.’"
"You were master and commander of the Largos and a crew of hundreds. What is one house and a gaggle of servants to a great man like you?"