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The Nonesuch QUOTES

The Nonesuch QUOTES

1 " Do you know, I think that of all your idiosyncrasies that choke you give, when you are determined not to laugh, is the one that most enchants me. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

2 " The Reverend William Trent, whose mind was of a serious order, had several times warned his elder sister that too lively a sense of humour frequently led to laxity of principle. She now perceived how right he was; and wondered, in dismay, whether it was because he invariably made her laugh that instead of regarding the Nonesuch with revulsion she was obliged to struggle against the impulse to cast every scruple to the winds, and to give her life into his keeping. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

3 " I'm really not quite as frippery a fellow as you seem to think! I own that in my grasstime I committed a great many follies and extravagances, but, believe me, I've long since out-grown them! I don't think they were any worse than what nine out of ten youngsters commit, but unfortunately I achieved, through certain circumstances, a notoriety which most young men escape. I was born with a natural aptitude for the sporting pursuits you regard with so much distrust, and I inherited, at far too early an age, a fortune which not only enabled me to indulge my tastes in the most expensive manner imaginable, but which made me an object of such interest that everything I did was noted, and talked of. That's heady stuff for greenhorns, you know! There was a time when I gave the gossips plenty to talk about. But do give me credit for having seen the error of my ways! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

4 " The thought flashed into her mind that she beheld the embodiment of her ideal. It was as instantly banished; "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

5 " It was this impulsive utterance which made Mrs Chartley say, later: ‘My dear John, I marvel at your countenancing this most improper dance! When they went down the room together, with his left hand holding her right one above their heads, his right hand was clasping her waist! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

6 " I didn’t make my face, so why shouldn’t I say it’s beautiful? Everyone else does! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

7 " She decided that her wisest course would be to put him out of her mind. After reaching this conclusion she lay thinking about him until at last she fell asleep. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

8 " You are an atrocious person! Since the day I met you I have become steadily more depraved. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

9 " I wish you did return my regard," he said. "More than I have ever wished anything in my life! Perhaps you may yet learn to do so: I should warn you that I don't easily despair! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

10 " God knows I'm no saint, but I don't think I'm more of a sinner than any other man. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

11 " Let me tell you, my girl, that I'm swallowing no more of your insults! And if I hear another word from you in disparagement of the Corinthian set it will be very much the worse for you! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

12 " As for the fan, she agreed that it was a most amusing trifle: just what she would wish to buy for herself, if it had not been so excessively ugly! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

13 " But not even Mrs Underhill’s evident admiration reconciled him to the prospect of dining in her house. He described her as a vulgar mushroom, and wondered that his cousins should not have kept her at a proper distance. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

14 " He’s bookish,’ explained Sir Ralph, torn between pride in his son’s scholastic attainments and the horrid fear that he had fathered a miscreature. ‘Worst seat in the county! But there! No accounting for tastes, eh? Take my daughter, Lizzie! Never opened a book in her life, but rides with a light hand and an easy bit, and handles the reins in form. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

15 " Their eyes met, both pairs grey, hers very cool and clear, his faintly smiling... "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

16 " She laughed. ‘I hope he will enjoy good sport– though my small experience informs me that catching fish is not necessary for your true angler’s enjoyment.’ ‘Oh, no! But to lose a fish is quite another matter!’ ‘Certainly! One cannot wonder that it should cast even the most cheerful person into gloom, for it is always such an enormous one that escapes!’ ‘I begin to think you are yourself an angler, ma’am: you are so exactly right! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

17 " Miss Trent regarded her thoughtfully. "Well, it's an odd circumstance, but I've frequently observed that whenever you boast of your beauty you seem to lose some of it. I expect it must be the change in your expression."

Startled, Tiffany flew to gaze anxiously into the ornate looking-glass which hung above the fireplace. "Do I?" she asked naively. "Really do I, Ancilla?"

"Yes, decidedly," replied Miss Trent, perjuring her soul without the least hesitation. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

18 " I said, Quiet!"
Tiffany was so much startled by this peremptory reminder that she gasped, and stood staring up at the Nonesuch as though she could not believe that he was speaking not to his cousin, but actually to her. She drew in her breath audibly, and clenched her hands. Miss Trent cast a look of entreaty at sir Waldo, but he ignored it. He strolled up to the infuriated beauty, and pushed up her chin.
"Now, you may listen to me, my child!" he said sternly. "You are becoming a dead bore, and I don't tolerate bores. Neither do I tolerate noisy tantrums. Unless you want to be soundly smacked, enact me no ill-bred scenes!"
There was a moment's astonished silence. Laurence broke it, seizing his cousin's hand, and fervently shaking it.
"I knew you was a right one!" he declared. "A great gun, Waldo! Damme, a Trojan! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

19 " They say -- everyone says I'm beautiful!'

He managed to preserve his countenance, but his lips twitched slightly. 'Yes, of course,' he replied. 'It's well known that all heiresses are beautiful! "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch

20 " Your eyes, ma'am -- as well you know!! -- cried Help me! What could I do but respond to the appeal?'

'Next you will say that it went much against the pluck with you!' said Miss Trent, justly incensed.

'No service I could render you, ma'am, would go against the pluck!'

Her colour mounted, but she said: 'I should have guessed you would have a glib answer ready!'

'You might also have guessed that I meant it. "

― Georgette Heyer , The Nonesuch