Nathalia

“Captain Phelan and I dislike each other,” Beatrix told her. “In fact, we’re sworn enemies.”
Christopher glanced at her quickly. “When did we become sworn enemies?”
Ignoring him, Beatrix said to her sister, "Regardless, he’s staying for tea.”
“Wonderful,” Amelia said equably. “Why are you enemies, dear?”
“I met him yesterday while I was out walking,” Beatrix explained. “And he called Medusa a ‘garden pest,’ and faulted me for bringing her to a picnic.”
Amelia smiled at Christopher. “Medusa has been called many worse things around here, including ‘diseased pincushion,’ and ‘perambulating cactus.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow”
― T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

“Beatrix puts a distance between herself and the rest of the world. She’s very engaging, but also quite private in nature. I see the same qualities in Captain Phelan.”

“Yes,” Amelia said. “You’re absolutely right, Catherine. Put that way, the match does seem more appropriate.”

“I still have reservations,” Leo said.

“You always do,” Amelia replied. “If you’ll recall, you objected to Cam in the beginning, but now you’ve accepted him.”

“That’s because the more brothers-in-law I acquire,” Leo said, “the better Cam looks by comparison.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon