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“For the first time, Rose understood the danger before her. The difference between a man and a boy was as subtle as that of a wolf and a hound.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“My dearest Violet,


A belated birthday gift along with my regrets for not celebrating as we should have.

All my love,
C

Tears filled her eyes as she touched her chest where the locket rested beneath her clothing. She wore it still because she couldn't forget the morning he had given it to her, nor how she had felt, dumbstruck and silly with her love for him. A terrible but true way to describe the sheer bliss that had surrounded them. Blinking away the tears, she unwrapped the package revealing four books: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Gray, and The Tenant of Windfell Hall. A quick examination revealed them to be all first editions.
Dropping into the chair, she read his note again two more times. Her finger traced the C. As much as she despised what he had done, she couldn't stop herself from missing him.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“I don't care a whit for Society. I think people should only marry someone who can offer them some bit of affection. I am not so naive that I believe in the sort of romantic love and devotion that Miss Austen touts." Though what August had found with the duke seemed very close to that sort of love, and if she was honest, she actually wouldn't mind very much if she found that for herself. But that was far too complicated a subject to discuss with Lord Leigh, a man she should not be talking to at all, much less going on and on like she was. "But there should be some sort of mutual respect and consideration."
"Affection is important to you." His gaze dropped down to her mouth.
She licked her lips and then pressed them together to stifle the nervous tick. "Affection is important to everyone. People are much happier when they are in family units where they are supported and valued. It has been proven to be true."
He grinned, an attractive dimple forming in his left cheek. "You are a bluestocking like your sister."
"I read for information as well as entertainment if that's what you mean." She was aware of the way her shoulders stiffened and her voice hardened, but seemed to be able to do nothing to control her reaction to him. Bluestocking held all sorts of negative connotations. She knew she wasn't worldly enough to have someone like him return the depth of her attraction, but she wouldn't have him believing her interest in knowledge to be a mark against her.
His grin stayed in place. "That is exactly what I mean, Miss Crenshaw. It is a trait I admire in anyone, especially a woman who courts scandal by the very admission.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“If she let the risk of a little scandal dictate her future, then how would she ever manage the ramifications of her novel? Its content, with its scandals and slightly biographical characters, wasn't precisely of the Austen variety.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“Upon occasion the simplest way forward was the right path, even if it was littered with temptations.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“Her lush mouth tipped up in a smile, and her brown eyes held a soft golden tint as she observed him. Her pale and flawless complexion glowed with health. She was as fresh and pure as a daisy in a field of manure. That meant he was the manure. No, worse. He was the loutish farmer who would crush her beneath his boot. She deserved better. Guilt dared to raise its unwelcomed head.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“I'm not sure I can ever repay you, considering I am leaving town for the foreseeable future, but if you have ever need of me, I assure you I will be happy to assist you in any way."
The coil of desire that seemed to always possess him in her presence made itself known, tightening deep in his gut. A vision of her on her knees in the carriage repaying him ran through his mind. She was entirely too naive to have meant those words the way his body had taken them. A quick glance at her innocent face assured him that he was every bit the lecher in this scenario.
He would not seduce her innocence away from her, not until they were married. That flicker of guilt returned, putting a fine edge of pain on his desire for her. The gossips would have told her that he was not some bastion of virtue. She must know that men like him were to be avoided. He had even heard Lady Helena warn her away. She should have run from him, or at least made him chase her down the pavement, forced to prove his good intentions. But no, she had put her small hand in his and allowed him to help her into his carriage. The wolf leading the innocent astray.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“Had he read about Lord Lucifer? Did he know the man was him? Had he read the sinful thoughts Miss Hamilton had about him? Violet had written them too honestly and explicitly for publication. She had intended to go back and edit out some of the more wicked lines. They had been little more than girlish fantasies she had set to paper. Those lines came out to torment her now.
He was depravity and his name was Lord Lucifer, the dark angel himself come to earth to tempt innocents. Rose had never so wanted to be debauched as when he gazed upon her.
And this one: She stared at his mouth, the sensual lips and pink tongue licking at the drop of honey, and she longed to feel him licking at her.
Oh, dear God! Neither of those were ever meant to see the light of day. She had written the last one in a heated moment after coming home from a ball where he had eaten a honey-drenched fig.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“I think we might strike up a proper friendship if given the chance." She smiled, looking both shy and eager for his acceptance.
He had to look away, lest he reveal how much he wanted her. They could be very good friends. He could see that easily. She was charming and intelligent, with a sensible logic that belied her years. To be fair, she was not at all how he expected she would be. His interest before had been almost purely physical and mercenary- even then something else about her had appealed- but now... at some point during the past couple of days a fondness for her had taken root.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“The sunshine in her smile seeped into him, warming him as it had for days. She wore a simple cotton dress borrowed from a girl in the village for the trip to the accident site. It was white with bits of lace at the cuffs and neckline, making her seem young, innocent, and full of life. And he had nearly robbed her of that life.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“Do you like it?"
"Very much so." His joy at those words was diminished with her next. "I suppose an extra few hundred thousand dollars allows for some extravagance.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress

“She stared at him, unable to believe that Christian had sold the one thing that had mean the most to him, the one thing that had started all of this. Without his love for Blythkirk, and the fire that had nearly destroyed it, he wouldn't have attempted to run away with her. "Blink if he sold Blythkirk."
He blinked.”
― Harper St. George, The Devil and the Heiress