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“Ballet … was a system of movement as rigorous and complex as any language. Like Latin or ancient Greek, it had rules, conjugations, declensions. Its laws, moreover, were not arbitrary; they corresponded to the laws of nature. Getting it “right” was not a matter of opinion or tastes: ballet was a hard science with demonstrable physical facts. It was also, and just as appealingly, full of emotions and the feelings that come with music and movement...If the coordination and musicality, muscular impulse and timing were exactly right, the body would take over. I could let go. For all its rules and limits, [ballet is] an escape from the self. Being free.”
― Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
― Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
“my world is collapsing, my world is rebuilding itself; wait and see how you (meaning me) survive it all. I'm not lamenting the falling apart, it was already in a state of collapse, what I'm lamenting is the rebuilding, I lament my waning strength, I lament being born, I lament the light of the sun.”
― Letters to Milena
― Letters to Milena
“He picked up a violin which lay on the table and drew the bow once or twice across the strings. Tuppence ground her teeth, and even the explorer blenched. The performer laid the instrument down again.
‘A few chords from Mosgovskensky,’ he murmured.
As the visitor left the office, Tuppence grabbed the violin, and putting it in the cupboard turned the key in the lock.
‘If you must be Sherlock Holmes,’ she observed, ‘I’ll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labelled cocaine, but for God’s sake leave that violin alone.”
― Partners in Crime
‘A few chords from Mosgovskensky,’ he murmured.
As the visitor left the office, Tuppence grabbed the violin, and putting it in the cupboard turned the key in the lock.
‘If you must be Sherlock Holmes,’ she observed, ‘I’ll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labelled cocaine, but for God’s sake leave that violin alone.”
― Partners in Crime
“I want you to press into me until you drive me wild with desire. It won't be difficult. I'm so ready to feel you.”
― The Temptation of Eden
― The Temptation of Eden
“Rhys cleared his throat and tugged on his cravat. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes?” St. Clare livened up immediately as he took a sip of whisky.
“Do you treat your wife like your mistress?”
St. Clare raised a brow. Any other man would be sputtering his drink out of his mouth in surprise at the question. Not St. Clare. “No, I treat my wife a lot better than I have ever treated any of my mistresses.”
“That’s not exactly what I mean….” Rhys cleared his throat again.
“Then what do you mean?”
Rhys scratched his temple. “I mean in bed.”
“Oh…” Gabriel scowled. “I do not think I follow.”
“Well, I mean… All the depraved things you did with your mistresses, do you do them to your wife?”
Gabriel raised his brow. “If by depraved, you mean whether I pleasure my wife in every way I have learned how then yes. And she does the same for me.”
“You let her—”
“I let her do anything she wants to do to me and then teach her to do even more,” he added with a wink.
Rhys tugged on his cravat again in agitation. “What I mean is… I’ve heard time and time again that ladies are delicate creatures who cannot withstand arduous pursuits… There are things that are indecent—”
“Let me stop you right there, my dear, virtuous friend. What you think is indecent, I do to my wife every morning before breakfast. And what you call degrading or embarrassing, I call Tuesday.” He finished his drink and slammed the glass onto the desk. “There is no such thing as indecent between a husband and a wife. The only thing indecent is a cold marriage bed. Take it from a former rake.”
― An Offer from the Marquess
“Yes?” St. Clare livened up immediately as he took a sip of whisky.
“Do you treat your wife like your mistress?”
St. Clare raised a brow. Any other man would be sputtering his drink out of his mouth in surprise at the question. Not St. Clare. “No, I treat my wife a lot better than I have ever treated any of my mistresses.”
“That’s not exactly what I mean….” Rhys cleared his throat again.
“Then what do you mean?”
Rhys scratched his temple. “I mean in bed.”
“Oh…” Gabriel scowled. “I do not think I follow.”
“Well, I mean… All the depraved things you did with your mistresses, do you do them to your wife?”
Gabriel raised his brow. “If by depraved, you mean whether I pleasure my wife in every way I have learned how then yes. And she does the same for me.”
“You let her—”
“I let her do anything she wants to do to me and then teach her to do even more,” he added with a wink.
Rhys tugged on his cravat again in agitation. “What I mean is… I’ve heard time and time again that ladies are delicate creatures who cannot withstand arduous pursuits… There are things that are indecent—”
“Let me stop you right there, my dear, virtuous friend. What you think is indecent, I do to my wife every morning before breakfast. And what you call degrading or embarrassing, I call Tuesday.” He finished his drink and slammed the glass onto the desk. “There is no such thing as indecent between a husband and a wife. The only thing indecent is a cold marriage bed. Take it from a former rake.”
― An Offer from the Marquess
Em’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Em’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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