" He’d thought her unattractive in this mode, head turned down, voice so quiet. Not any longer. Some women blazed with light and energy. Miss Pursling reminded him of the pearlescent hint of dawn that crept under the door after a long, long night. There was a quiet grace to her, like a tiger pacing in its cage. There was a majesty in claws unused, in muscles poised for action that never came. There was a somber beauty to a caged beast. He wanted to see her break free of that melancholy. He wanted her to turn those knowing eyes on him and tell him that he wasn’t his father, that he wouldn’t be him. What stood between them had become infinitely simple and entirely too complicated all at once. Not at all like his father. He wanted her to say that again, and he wanted her to mean it. "
― Courtney Milan , The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister, #1)