Quotes from Heather Dixon

We still have your watch. You can have it back tonight. All you need to do is sneak up after dinner, set the tower, and flee the country. Agreed?

She wanted to give him toast. The sort that had melted butter and a bit of honey spread on top. It was a stupid thought, but there was something comforting about toast.

Inside her chest, a warm, billowing, something swept through her, to the tips of her fingers, the bottoms of her feet, shining like a brilliant beam of light. It wasn't hot, boiling feeling of her temper, nor was it the cold wash of tingles that Swearing on Silver brought. It was deeper. It didn't just pour through her body, but penetrated her soul.

Oh, sir!" Lord Teddie bounced on his feet. "Sir, I read about this sort of thing once, sir! The only way to solve it is to kill both of them. It was in the Bible!" The silence rung. Lord Teddie cowered at the King's look. "Ah, never mind," he said.

Well, Lockwood was an absolute sort of person, wasn't he? He wouldn't fall in love like tripping over a brick. He was the sort to rear back, run, catapult over the side of an airship's railing, and fall, fall, fall into love before smacking into the Ocean of Delirious Wanderings.* *Which would sever his limbs from his body on impact, causing Death by Unmitigated Joy.

You didn't crush flowers, you didn't squeeze birds, and you didn't break your mum.

Down with tyranny!" Bramble cried. "Aristocracy! Autocracy! Monocracy! Other ocracy things! You are outnumbered, sir! Surrender!" Sucking

Wait - Miss Bramble-" "Don't call me that!" said Azalea. Something, perhaps hurt, flickered through Mr. Bradford's soft eyes. "Princess Bramble," he said.

His voice reminded her [Azalea] of rich, thick cream, the sort one could add to any recipe to make it taste better.

I embraced my mother as well, gently, because I'd outgrown her at age twelve and if I squeezed her too tight, she might snap. You didn't crush flowers, you didn't squeeze birds, and you didn't break your mum.

When---when I dance," she said quietly. "When I dance, I---I forget all the---the bad things." "I---I only remember the good things. That is the b-best thing about d-dancing.

The moment we crossed over the threshold, the moment when our veins and cells and organs went blip, I closed my eyes And illusioned. It wasn't like any illusion I'd created before. It flowed from me like a song, an orchestra of interweaving threads and melodies, painting themselves into a picture around us. [Everything] ... disappeared, and only Constantine, Queen Honoria and I stood in the nothing between two worlds.

You'll be back within the hour?" she said. "For the opening dance?" "Really, Azalea," said the King, putting on his stiff hat. "Is everything about dancing to you?" "It was, actually, but Azalea decided now wasn't the best time to point that out.

Once again, Azalea stood in the midst of girls, the familiar chin wobbles and wet cheeks overcoming them. Jessamine curled up on the floor, her lacy pantelettes poking up in black ruffles, and began to wail in a tiny crystalline voice. "I have a watch." Azalea started, remembering Lord Bradford.

Sir,' she called out. 'Lord Bradford.' He turned. His eyes lit up, seeing Azalea. 'Thank you,' said Azalea. Lord Bradford bowed deeply, removing his hat, which re-rumpled his hair. When he straightened, he was smiling, as crooked as his cravat, and Azalea couldn't help but smile back.

The girl inhaled sharply at this last bit, the word 'father'. They leaned into Azalea's nightgown as Mr. Pudding, fumbling with his great ring of keys, locked the ballroom door with a click-click. Seeing the younger girls start to tear up, he gave them his lamp and promised to send biscuits and tea to their room, nearly crying himself. But he did not unlock the ballroom.

She hated feeling helpless. It writhed in her stomach, choking her with thoughts of dancing the rest of her life in the arms of a gentleman who pushed her about and laughed when she stumbled or, worse, didn't even look at her at all. She wondered if she would be able to give the Soul's Curtsy, with all her heart and soul, to anyone, and the thought made her ill.