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61 " For his tears were entirely genuine, born out of a grief that surpassed not only words but the years of upbringing that had taught him to keep a stiff upper lip. "
― Charles Finch , The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #2)
62 " myself would have made a point of seeing which other people left the room, if I knew that this sort of insulting suspicion were going to be directed at me. "
― Charles Finch , A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #1)
63 " Give him open rein at a dinner party and there was no level of tediousness he might not achieve. "
64 " That’s correct, Mr. Lenox, you’re correct. You see, in the first place, I wouldn’t want to go to the police. But in the second place, I think the police would have laughed. I know you won’t laugh. "
65 " Ludo Starling was Frederick Clarke’s father. This page intentionally left blank. "
― Charles Finch , A Stranger in Mayfair (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #4)
66 " No Starling was ever too dismal a failure or too great a success, and the little parcel of family money never dipped or rose too high in value. The cousins were all looked after. They were a comfortable, pointless clan. "
67 " It hangs together, I suppose,” said Jenkins, “but most importantly, Lenox, I don’t understand what Barnard’s motive for all this mayhem might have been. "
― Charles Finch , The Fleet Street Murders (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #3)
68 " There hadn’t been any uncle’s inheritance. What kind of London housemaid had an uncle rich enough to see her retire upon his death? She had bought her pub with Starling money, and raised Clarke with Starling money, too. It all made so much sense. "
69 " Dallington laughed again. “You must understand—for years I’ve been poaching out of my parents’ accounts. Since I was thirteen or so. I know all the most corrupt men at the bank. "
70 " Beyond all that, it was a tremendous thing to have him in the house. It meant that Lenox was a serious participant in the grand game of London politics, someone on the move. Disraeli wasn’t any longer a very sociable fellow; his visit here would be on people’s lips the next morning. "
71 " It was quick thinking. I have all the admiration in the world for the lad, I have to say. We know as well that he specifically sent down to the scout before he left, asking that his room remain undisturbed! "
72 " So for the walking boots and the walking stick to have been so heavily used was out of the ordinary, and for him to put them on the armchair was doubly out of the ordinary. After all, why not just leave them by the door for the scout to clean? "
73 " He refused to say. All night long his refrain seemed to be ‘I wish I could tell you that, young Mr. Payson, but I cannot. For your own sake and mine.’ He must have said just those words six or seven times. "
74 " He perceived that it would be dangerous to offer his nephew any sort of aid or comfort that might interfere with his progress on the ship, however kindly intended it might be. "
― Charles Finch , A Burial at Sea (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #5)
75 " The idea of Barnard living outside of London was laughable— it was his home and his solace, the center of his spiderweb, and he despised the northern life he had sloughed off when he came to the metropolis to make a success of himself. "
76 " It’s only that the slightest breath of scandal or infelicity can shake this sort of thing. It’s all so fragile, you know. "
77 " On shore they would have had six weeks to do the job. The ship is in effect a closed room. Impossible to flee, should you be discovered. It’s peculiar, I’ll say that. Did you take many new men on board for this voyage? Someone who might be violent? "
78 " Dallington had cause to feel more strongly than any of them, because for a brief while they had been engaged. The end of the engagement, some years before, had been the talk of London, and in truth it was he who had jilted her. Quite unreasonably he hated her for it, in particular because she tried to be friends with him, putting a brave face on things. "
79 " There you take me into deeper waters. It’s difficult to gauge whether the cat was merely used to conceal a message, or whether it was in itself a message—to "
80 " After I had the child I thought perhaps he would wish to speak to me, but he never did, and in my pride—in my foolishness—I decided I hated him. Though I love him still, God curse me for it! "