Julia Quinn

Quotes by Julia Quinn

• For a moment he could do nothing but close his eyes. Was this a taste of the rest of his life as Billie Bridgerton's husband? Was he destined to live in terror, wondering what sort of danger she'd thrown herself into that day? Was it worth it?"George?" she whispered. She sounded uneasy. Had she seen something in his expression? A sign of doubt? He touched her cheek, and he looked into her eyes. He saw his whole world there."I love you," he said. Someone gasped. It might have been his mother. "I cannot live without you," he said, —and in fact, I refuse to do so. So no, you will not be going on some ill-advised mission to the coast to hand off a potentially dangerous package to people you don't know. Because if anything happened to you— His voice broke, but he didn't care. "If anything happened to you, it would kill me. And I'd like to think you love me too much to let that happen." Billie stared at him in wonder, her softly parted lips trembling as she blinked back tears. "You love me?" she whispered. He nearly rolled his eyes. "Of course I do." "You never said." "I must have done." "You didn't. I would have remembered." "I would remember, too," he said softly, —if you'd ever said it to me.— "I love you," she said immediately. "I do. I love you so much. I " — "Thank God," Lady Manston exclaimed. George and Billie both turned.

  Read quote

• It's the curse of motherhood. You're required to love us even when we vex you.

  Read quote

• He touched her cheek, and he looked into her eyes. He saw his whole world there

  Read quote

• Would you care to dance?— he blurted. "Now?" She smiled adorably. "Is there music?" There wasn't. It was some testament to how foolish in love he'd become that he did not even feel embarrassed.

  Read quote

• You have asked her to marry you, I hope''''I might have demanded it'', he admitted.''Even better

  Read quote

• Oh, come now, you two,— Lady Manston said, —surely it can be no surprise that I have long hoped for an alliance between the Rokesbys and Bridgertons.— "Alliance?" Billie echoed, and all George could think was that it was a terrible, clinical word, one that could never encompass all that he had come to feel for her.

  Read quote

• This is a wonderful day,— Anthony was muttering to himself. "A wonderful day." He looked up sharply at Gareth. "You don't have sisters, do you?""None," Gareth confirmed."I am in possession of four," Anthony said, tossing back at least a third of the contents of his glass. "Four. And now they're all off my hands. I'm done," he said, looking as if he might break into a jig at any moment. "I'm free.""You've daughters, don't you?" Gareth could not resist reminding him."Just one, and she's only three. I have years before I have to go through this again. If I'm lucky, she'll convert to Catholicism and become a nun.Gareth choked on his drink."It's good, isn't it?— Anthony said, looking at the bottle. "Aged twenty-four years.""I don't believe I've ever ingested anything quite so ancient," Gareth murmured.

  Read quote

• You know all of the young gentlemen better than I do,— Lady Manston continued. "Are there any we should avoid?" All of them, George wanted to say. ''What about Ashbourne's son?''"No." "No?" his mother echoed. "No, as in you don't have an opinion?" "No, as in no. He is not for Billie." Who, George could not help but note, was watching the mother-son exchange with an odd mix of curiosity and alarm. "Any particular reason?" Lady Manston asked. "He gambles," George lied. Well, maybe it wasn't a lie. All gentlemen gambled. He had no idea if the one in question did so to excess. "What about the Billington heir? I think he " — "Also no." His mother regarded him with an impassive expression. "He's too young," George said, hoping it was true. "He is?" She frowned. —I suppose he might be. I can't remember precisely.

  Read quote

• My mother is convinced that yellow is a happy color and that a happy girl would get a husband.-Penelope Featherington

  Read quote

• He shook his head in wonder. You are magnificent.I keep telling everyone that, she said with a nonchalant shrug, But you seem to be the only one to believe me.

  Read quote

• The youngest one,— she interrupted. "The youngest son, I mean. The one who is unmarried.""I know who he is.""Very well, then. What is wrong with him?" At that she cocked her head to the side and waited expectantly.He thought for a moment. "Nothing.""You" wait.— She blinked. "Nothing?"He shook his head, then shifted his weight a little; his good foot was beginning to fall asleep. "Nothing comes immediately to mind." It was true. She could do a good deal worse than Gregory Bridgerton."Really?" she asked suspiciously. "You find nothing at all objectionable about him."Marcus pretended to think about this a bit longer. Clearly he was supposed to be playing a role here, probably that of the villain. Or if not that, then the grumpy old man. "I suppose he's a bit young," he said.

  Read quote

• Most people would have probably lost count around seven. This was, Harry knewfrom his extensive reading on logic and arithmetic, the largest number that most peoplecould visually appreciate. Put seven dots on a page, and most people can take a quickglance and declare, "Seven." Switch to eight, and the majority of humanity was lost.

  Read quote

• But there she was, standing next to his mother, so beautiful, so radiant that he could not see anyone else. Suddenly the rest of the world seemed like such a chore. He didn't want to be here at this dance, with people he didn't want to talk to and messages he didn't particularly wish to deliver. He didn't want to dance with young ladies he didn't know, and he didn't want to make polite conversation with people he did. He just wanted Billie, and he wanted her all to himself. He forgot about Tallywhite. He forgot about pease, porridge, and pudding, and he stalked across the room with such single-minded purpose that the crowds seemed to melt from his path. And somehow, amazingly, the rest of the world had not yet noticed her. She was so beautiful, so uncommonly alive and real in this room full of waxen dolls. She would not go undiscovered for long. But not yet. Soon he would have to fight the throngs of eager young gentlemen, but for now, she was still his alone.

  Read quote

• It's only through sheer force and luck that she's yet to take over the world.

  Read quote

• This is why I didn't get married last year,— she said to him. "I wouldn't be here to nurse you." She thought about that for a moment. —Of course, one could make the argument that you wouldn't be in this situation if not for me. But we're not going to dwell upon that.

  Read quote

• I'm not certain you'd know the right sort of man for you if he arrived on our doorstep riding an elephant.——I would think the elephant would be a fairly good indication that I ought to look elsewhere.

  Read quote

• Oakley won't, the duke said.She turned and blinked. I beg your pardon.Lord Oakley. He won't forget to find us rooms. I've known him for years. The only thing that is making this bearable is that he must be dying inside over all this.You don't like him?On the contrary. I've long considered him a friend. It's why I enjoy his misery so much.

  Read quote

• I can imagine no greater bliss than to lie about, reading novels all day.

  Read quote

• No one knows as well as I how much nonsense is printed in books.

  Read quote

• She'd ceased spying upon him, that was true, but the damage was done. Every time he sat at his desk, he could feel her eyes upon him, even though he knew very well she'd shut her curtains tight. But clearly, reality had very little to do with the matter, because all he had to do, it seemed, was glance at her window, and he lost an entire hour's work.It happened thus: He looked at the window, because it was there, and he couldn't very well never happen to glance upon it unless he also shut his curtains tight, which he was not willing to do, given the amount of time he spent in his office. So he saw the window, and he thought of her, because, really, what else would he think of upon seeing her bedroom window? At that point, annoyance set in, because A) she wasn't worth the energy, B) she wasn't even there, and C) he wasn't getting any work done because of her.C always led into a bout of even deeper irritation, this time directed at himself, because D) he really ought to have better powers of concentration, E) it was just a stupid window, and F) if he was going to get agitated about a female, it ought to be one he at least liked.F was where he generally let out a loud growl and forced himself to get back to his translation. It usually worked for a minute or two, and then he'd look back up, and happen to see the window, and the whole bloody nonsense cycled back to the beginning.

  Read quote