Quotes from Mary Balogh

He has one of those smiles that have the strange effect of turning the beholder's knees weak.

They knew only how to see what was wrong in their lives and in the world and never what was right. And that was precisely what she was doing now when thinking of them, Gwen realized with a mental shake of the head. Negativity could be frighteningly contagious.

There was a sweet, seductive feeling of comfort and closeness, with no unease at all.

Nem sempre podemos esconder-nos da vida. (…) É melhor nem sequer tentar e encarar simplesmente o que precisa de ser encarado.

When people live in denial of the truth—sometimes large groups of them all together—they lose their . . . I am not sure of the right word. They lose something precious, something good and right and true. Their integrity, perhaps? You forced everyone to confront the truth—even those who did not know it before

But she would not allow her thoughts to show on her face. She kept her lips tightly pressed together and her expression impassive.

I cannot bring you a whole heart, sir, and I fear that the future will always be clouded by the experiences of the past.

What was the point of waiting for a more pleasant post? There was no such thing as pleasure in life for her anymore.

But good-byes are hard to say . . . when a friendship is a very close one.

I fell in love with you when I saw you that summer, he said. I adored you for years afterward. You were so lovely, so pure, so totally unattainable.

I survived by learning to embrace that black emptiness, and I discovered that actually it was an infinity of light and possibility. I learned that my real self is inner and infinite and indestructible and quite independent of circumstances or labels.

Los ojos suelen ser el punto débil de cualquier disfraz, ¿sabe usted? Porque el portador del mismo debe ver el mundo y debe dejarlos expuestos por muy bien que oculte el resto de su persona. Sin embargo, sus ojos son su disfraz... o al menos son la parte más importante. Me es imposible vislumbrar siquiera un trocito de su alma por mucho que los mire.

Curiosity demands satisfaction.

Si pudiéramos mantener siempre el vínculo con la tierra — dijo—, nos evitaríamos muchos problemas. ¿No te parece? —A veces nos dejamos embriagar tanto por la extraña idea de que somos los amos de todo lo que vemos que se nos olvida nuestra condición de simples criaturas de la naturaleza — contestó él.

But it felt so good, so good to let someone else carry her burdens for just a little while.

What if love was the one thing that always survived and could carry one through to the other side of suffering?

Sometimes . . . life seems hardly worth living, does it, sir? If it were not for billiards, Sir Barry said, I might consider shooting myself, m'boy.

A great deal of good had happened. The past had been explained and forgiven. The bitterness of years had been purged. There could be some peace now for two people because he had come home.

Henry had never wanted a man, had never wanted caresses or tenderness. She had certainly never wanted the dependency of love. Her fall was, therefore, all the harder. She had no defense against the pain of an emotion that she had never experienced before and that she did not understand.

Into what had she allowed herself to be goaded?

You must not look for a grand romance, you know, however much you always enjoy it between the pages of a book.

You have a great deal of energy . . . restless energy. You have always been in search of something . . . and have still not found it. Don't settle for anything less than that something even if you still do not know what it is.

And at least then she would be certain. If rejection was to be her fate again, she could at least then begin the dreary task of piecing together a meaningless life. Anything was better than this endless waiting.

She really did not care. Not anymore. It was safer not to care.