Rhys Bowen QUOTES

103 " When the world has gone mad, we must help each other when we can. Most of my neighbours are good and share what little they have. When Benito snared a rabbit, he gave us some of it to make the good broth you are eating. And when I came home this morning, I passed Signora Gucci and she saw the mushrooms I had found. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Tuscan Child

104 " I have a grand piano in my living room, can you imagine the absurdity? I don’t even play. Perhaps they know I might entertain dear Noël.” She spoke of her friend Noël Coward. "

― Rhys Bowen , Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Her Royal Spyness #12)

105 " The war is over. They just signed the armistice. Eleven o'clock this morning, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Victory Garden

106 " Lucky Devon Pixies, said the sign. I’m a lucky Devon pixie, from the legend old and true,
Kiss me once and turn me twice and I’ll bring luck to you. The pixies were silver charms in pretty little boxes with the verse on the lid, "

― Rhys Bowen , The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #6)

107 " The Society of Saint George,” she said. “A devotional society of the men of this town. It is an honour to be invited to join. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Tuscan Child

108 " Bob’s yer uncle, miss," she said. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Last Mrs. Summers (Her Royal Spyness, #14)

109 " Lord Kilhenny’s gaze moved from me to Darcy and back again. “A friend from London, eh?” There was almost the hint of a smile. “Didn’t fool me for a second. You were the thing that was important to him, weren’t you? "

― Rhys Bowen , Crowned and Dangerous (Her Royal Spyness, #10)

110 " Freshen up? Is that some horrible transatlantic slang? If you mean for a rest, a wash, a change of clothes, then please say so. People always said what they meant in my day. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #6)

111 " For anxiety and the uncalm spirit, for a peaceful sleepe without evil dreames. Make an infusion of hoppes, skullcap, vervain, valerian, wild lettuce and passion flower. To these can be added lavender, lemon balm and chamomile to sweeten the potion and to infuse the air with calming sweetness. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Victory Garden

112 " We also ate well in the kitchen, and I found that I had inherited my father's palate and appreciation of good food. Our cuisine at home always been rather basic, even in the days when we had a cook, and I became fascinated with the process of creating such wonderful flavors. "Show me how you made that parsley sauce, those meringues, that oyster stew," I'd say to Mrs Robbins, the cook. And if she had a minute to spare, she would show me. After a while, seeing my willingness as well as my obvious aptitude for cooking, she suggested to Mrs Tilley that her old legs were not up to standing for hours any more and that she needed an assistant cook. And she requested me. Mrs Tilley agreed, but only if she didn't have to pay me more money and I should still be available to do my party piece whenever she entertained.
And so I went to work in the kitchen. Mrs Robbins found me a willing pupil. After lugging coal scuttles up all those stairs, it felt like heaven to be standing at a table preparing food. We had a scullery maid who did all the most menial of jobs, like chopping the onions and peeling the potatoes, but I had to do the most basic of tasks- mashing the potatoes with lots of butter and cream until there wasn't a single lump, basting the roast so that the fat was evenly crisp. I didn't mind. I loved being amongst the rich aromas. I loved the look of a well-baked pie. The satisfaction when Mrs Robbins nodded with approval at something I had prepared. And of course I loved the taste of what I had created.
Now when I went home to Daddy and Louisa, I could say, "I roasted that pheasant. I made that apple tart." And it gave me a great rush of satisfaction to say the words.
"You've a good feel of it, I'll say that for you," Mrs Robbins told me, and after a while she even sought my opinion. "Does this casserole need a touch more salt, do you think? Or maybe some thyme?"
The part I loved the best was the baking. She showed me how to make pastry, meringues that were light as air, all sorts of delicate biscuits and rich cakes. "

― Rhys Bowen , Above the Bay of Angels

113 " He was the sort of languid and elegant young man one would expect to find at a country house party, playing croquet with Bertie Wooster. Frightfully good fun, but not too many brains. "

― Rhys Bowen , In Farleigh Field

114 " You can’t go around killing people who insult you or disagree with you or society would be a highly dangerous place. "

― Rhys Bowen , City of Darkness and Light (Molly Murphy, #13)

115 " Nobody made the sign of the cross, indicating that this was entirely a Protestant gathering. Nobody cried or wailed, indicating that it was entirely non-Irish. "

― Rhys Bowen , In Like Flynn (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #4)

116 " Next thing we know you’ll be teaching Podge to say ‘mirror’ instead of ‘looking glass’ and ‘serviette’ instead of ‘napkin. "

― Rhys Bowen , Her Royal Spyness (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #1)

117 " Come on, old duck,” he coaxed. "

― Rhys Bowen , What Child Is This

118 " The scent of new-mown grass wafted on the warm breeze, mingled with the smoke of leaves burning on a distant bonfire. The scents and sounds of an English summer Sunday, unchanged for centuries, Ben thought. Polite "

― Rhys Bowen , In Farleigh Field

119 " At the end of the week, she received a letter with a London postmark, but written in a strange hand. Dear Madam, I am not sure of your last name, as you only sign yourself as Emily. I am the matron of the Royal London Hospital, and I am sorry to inform you that Nurse Clarissa Hamilton succumbed to complications of influenza two weeks ago and passed away. She was a brave young woman who worked tirelessly in the worst conditions of the East End and gave her life for others. I am enclosing her family’s address in case you would like to write a letter of condolence. "

― Rhys Bowen , The Victory Garden

120 " You are a married couple, I take it?” And she gave us a hard stare, trying to see a wedding ring through my gloves, I suspected. “Of course,” Darcy said briskly. “Mr. and Mrs. Chomondley-Fanshaw. That’s spelled ‘Featherstonehaugh,’ by the way. "

― Rhys Bowen , Crowned and Dangerous (Her Royal Spyness, #10)