Polly

“I was so afraid for you, I forgot to be afraid for your enemies. I should have remembered. Dear Captain.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayar

“Remarkable ploy of the Barrayarans," Mehta expounded thoughtfully. "Concealing an espionage ring under the cover of a love affair. I might even have bought it, if the principals had been more likely."

"Yes," Cordelia agreed cordially, writhing within. "One doesn't expect a thirty-four-year-old to fall in love like an adolescent. Quite an unexpected - gift, at my age. Even more unexpected at forty-four, I gather."

"Exactly," said Mehta, pleased by Cordelia's ready understanding. "A middle-aged career officer is hardly the stuff of romance.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Shards of Honour

“Let me explain, Mrs. DeWitt, how marriage works.” “Oh, please do, Mr. DeWitt, I’m all agog.” “I am the husband, so I make the rules to suit me.” “And I am the wife, so I change the rules to suit me.”
― Mia Vincy, A Wicked Kind of Husband

“I had had a chance to get to know her, and in doing so began to understand the kind of person she was. In a word, she was complicated. If things were going her way, she was fine. If anything out of the ordinary occurred – anything that conflicted with what she wanted to do, and in her way – then you were frozen out and left to stew until she decided to invite you back into the fold. The freeze could last days or even weeks, and no-one was immune.”
― Dickie Arbiter, On Duty with the Queen