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“A well-read woman is a dangerous creature.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“This is how we court girls in America. We grab them and kiss them. And if they don't like it, we do it again, harder and longer, until they surrender. It saves us hours of witty repartee.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“Some things are better when it’s raining. Like reading. Or sleeping. Or this.â€�
“Lying in bed with me?”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“I want to know what your five-dollar wish was for.â€�
“Is that all?� He smiled beneath her exploring fingertips. “I wished you would find someone who wanted you as much as I did. But I knew it wouldn’t come true.�
The candlelight slid over Daisy’s delicate features as she raised her head to look at him. “Why not?�
“Because I knew no one could ever want you as much as I do.�
Daisy levered herself farther over him until her hair tumbled in a dark curtain around them both.
“What was your wish?� Matthew asked, combing his fingers through the fall of shimmering hair.
“That I could find the right man to marry.â€� Her tender smile stopped his heart. “And then you appeared.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“All husbands are unfaithful in one way or another.â€�
Lillian and Daisy glanced at each other with raised brows.
“Father isn’t,� Lillian replied smartly.
Mercedes responded with a laugh that sounded like crackling leaves being crushed underfoot. “Isn’t he, dear? Perhaps he has stayed true to me physically—one can never be certain about these things. But his work has proved a more jealous and demanding mistress than a flesh-and-blood woman could ever be. All his dreams are invested in that collection of buildings and employees and legalities that absorb him to the exclusion of all else. If my competition had been a mortal woman, I could have borne it easily, knowing that passion fades and beauty lasts but an instant. But his company will never fade or sicken—it will outlast us all. If you have a year of your husband’s interest and affection, it will be more than I have ever had.”
― Lisa Kleypas, It Happened One Autumn

“I don’t have any mottoes. If I did I would forever be contradicting them.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“No,â€� Lillian said frankly. “But much as I hate to admit it, that puts us in a minority. Swift is liked by everyone in the northern hemisphere, including Westcliff and his friends, my friends, the servants, the neighbors—â€�
“You are exaggerating—�
“—children, animals and the higher order of plants,� Lillian finished sardonically. “If root vegetables could talk, I’ve no doubt they would say they like him, too.�
Daisy, who was sitting by the window with a book, looked up with a sudden grin. “His charm doesn’t extend to poultry,â€� she said. “He has a problem with geese.â€� Her smile turned quizzical. “Thank you for being so accommodating, Lillian. I expected you to make a fuss about the betrothal.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Matthew. I’m here. I’m yours. I want to do everything you’ve ever imagined doing with me.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Books are expensive. So are nice houses with gardens. Has it occurred to you that someone has to pay for your peaceful life?”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“She glanced at Evie, who flashed her a smile, and Annabelle, whose face was reassuringly calm. They would help each other through all the challenges and joys and fears of their lives, Daisy thought, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with love for all of them.
“I will never live away from you,� she said. “I want the four of us to be together always. I could never bear to lose any of you.�
She felt Annabelle’s slippered toe nudge her leg affectionately. “Daisy…you can never lose a true friend.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“It takes as much time to build walls sturdy enough for wallflowers like you and me to lean against as it does for us to bloom.”
― Ayokunle Falomo, thread, this wordweaver must!

“When I was done reading the poem, everyone was quiet. A very sad quiet. But the amazing thing was that it wasn't a bad sad at all. It was just something that made everyone look around at each other and know that they were there.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Is it really ten ladies dancing?" Lillian asked him, and Swift grinned.
"My lady, I've never been able to remember any part of that song."
"You know," Annabelle said contemplatively, "I've always understood why the swans are swimming and the geese are a-laying. But why in heaven's name are the lords a-leaping?"
"They're chasing after the ladies," Swift said reasonably.
"Actually I believe the song was referring to Morris dancers, who used to entertain between courses at long medieval feasts," Daisy informed them.
"And it was a leaping sort of dance?" Lillian asked, intrigued.
"Yes, with longswords, after the manner of primitive fertility rites."
"A well-read woman is a dangerous creature," Swift commented with a grin, leaning down to press his lips against Daisy's dark hair.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“After a day filled with talking, laughing, reminiscing and making future plans, Evie had returned to Eversby Priory in high spirits. She was full of news to share with her husband... including the fact that the protagonist of Daisy's current novel in progress had been partly inspired by him.
"I had the idea when the subject of your husband came up at a dinner party a few months ago, Evie," Daisy had explained, dabbing at a tiny stain left by a strawberry that had fallen onto her bodice. "Someone remarked that Kingston was still the handsomest man in England, and how unfair it was that he never ages. And Lillian said he must be a vampire, and everyone laughed. It started me thinking about that old novel The Vampyre, published about fifty years ago. I decided to write something similar, only a romantic version."
Lillian had shaken her head at the notion. "I told Daisy no one would want to read about a vampire lover. Blood... teeth..." She grimaced and shivered.
"He enslaves women with his charismatic power," Daisy protested. "He's also a rich, handsome duke- just like Evie's husband."
Annabelle spoke then, her blue eyes twinkling. "In light of all that, one could forgive a bad habit or two."
Lillian gave her a skeptical glance. "Annabelle, could you really overlook a husband who went around sucking the life out of people?"
After pondering the question, Annabelle asked Daisy, "How rich is he?" She ducked with a smothered laugh as Lillian pelted her with a biscuit.
Laughing at her friends' antics, Evie had asked Daisy, "What's the title?"
"The Duke's Deadly Embrace."
"I suggested The Duke Was a Pain in the Neck," Lillian had said, "but Daisy thought it lacked romance.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil's Daughter

“Evie was writhing on the blanket, while Daisy stood over her with arms akimbo.
Hurrying to the pair, Annabelle asked Daisy in consternation, "What is it?"
"The embarrassment was too much for her to endure," Daisy said. "It sent her into fits."
Evie rolled on the blanket, a napkin concealing her face, while one exposed ear had turned the color of pickled beets. The more she tried to control her giggles, the worse they became, until she gasped frantically for air in between yelps. Somehow she managed to squeak out a few words. "What a s-s-smashing introduction to lawn sports!" And then she was snorting with more spasms of helpless laughter, while the other three stood over her.
Daisy threw Annabelle a significant glance. "Those," she informed her, "are conniptions.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Secrets of a Summer Night

“In the past few years it had become a rare luxury for all of them to be together at once, especially since Daisy stayed in America with her husband, Matthew, for long periods of time. The trips were necessary for both of them: Matthew was a successful business entrepreneur, and Daisy was a successful novelist with a publisher in New York as well as London.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil's Daughter

“We became a different kind of wallflower—not shrinking violets but judgmental pansies.”
― Jeremy Atherton Lin, Gay Bar: Why We Went Out

“Between the sisters' joined hands, the pressure of their pulses mingled in steady throbs. Daisy was not certain if she was giving comfort to her sister or receiving it. Lillian's time was here, and Daisy was afraid for her, of the pain and possible complications, and the fact that life would never be the same afterward.
She glanced at Evie, who flashed her a smile, and Annabelle, whose face was reassuringly calm. They would help each other through all the challenges and joys and fears of their lives, Daisy thought, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with love for all of them. "I will never live away from you," she said. "I want the four of us to be together always. I could never bear to lose any of you."
She felt Annabelle's slippered toe nudge her leg affectionately. "Daisy... you can never lose a true friend.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“In this regard, Daisy reflected, her marriage to Matthew would not be unlike Lillian's with Westcliff. As two strong-willed people with very different sensibilities, Lillian and Westcliff often argued and negotiated... and yet this didn't seem to weaken their marriage. Quite the opposite, in fact- their union seemed all the better for it.
She considered her friends' marriages... Annabelle and Mr. Hunt as a harmony of similar dispositions... Evie and Lord St. Vincent with their opposite natures, as necessary to each other's existence as day and night. It was impossible to say that any of these pairings was superior to the others.
Perhaps, in spite of all she had heard about the ideal of a perfect marriage, there was no such thing. Perhaps every marriage was a unique creation.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“Evie, Duchess of Kingston, had spent a perfectly wonderful afternoon with her three closest friends at Lord Westcliff's estate. Long ago, she had met Annabelle, Lillian, and Daisy during her first London Season, when they had been a group of wallflowers sitting in chairs at the side of the ballroom. While becoming acquainted, it had occurred to them that instead of competing for gentlemen's attentions, they would do better to help each other, and so a lifelong friendship had blossomed.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil's Daughter

“As she pondered how to reply, she thought of a conversation she'd once had with her father, the most sensible man who'd ever existed. They'd been talking about various problems she'd faced after taking the reins at Sterling Enterprises, and she'd asked how he knew whether a risk was worth taking.
Her father had said, "Before taking a risk, begin by asking yourself what's important to you."
Time, Merritt thought. Life is full of wasted time.
She hadn't realized it until now, but her awareness of squandered time had been growing during the past year, eroding her usual patience. So many rules had been invented to keep people apart and wall off every natural instinct. She was tired of them. She had started to resent all the invisible barriers between herself and what she wanted.
It occurred to her this must be how her mother often felt. As a strong-willed young heiress, Mama had come to England with her younger sister, Aunt Daisy, when no gentlemen in New York had been willing to offer for either of them. Wallflowers, both of them, chafing at the limitations of polite behavior. Even now, Mama spoke and acted a little too freely at times, but Papa seemed to enjoy it.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Disguise

“In her ladylike way, Merritt is a sledgehammer."
Wryly, Westcliff commented, "All three of my daughters are hellbent on making decisions for themselves. They always have been."
"Mine as well," Sebastian said. "Much to my dismay." Noticing the way Lillian and Evie glanced at each other and smiled, as if at some shared reminiscence, he asked, "What is it?"
"I was remembering the conversations we used to have with Annabelle and Daisy," Evie told him, "about the things we wanted to teach our daughters."
Lillian grinned. "The first point we all agreed upon was, 'Never let a man do your thinking for you.'"
"That explains a great deal," Sebastian said. "Evie, my sweet, don't you think you should have asked me before filling the girls' heads with subversive wallflower philosophy?"
Evie came to him, slid her arms around him, and tucked her head beneath his chin. He could hear a smile in her voice as she said, "Wallflowers never ask permission.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Disguise

“When Evie awakened alone in the large bed, the first thing she beheld was a scattering of pale pink splashes over the snowy white linens, as if someone had spilled blush-colored wine in bed. Blinking sleepily, she propped herself up on one elbow and touched one of the pink dabs with a single fingertip. It was a creamy pink rose petal, pulled free of a blossom and gently dropped to the sheet. Gazing around her, she discovered that rose petals had been sprinkled over her in a light rain. A smile curved her lips, and she lay back into the fragrant bed.
The night of heady sensuality seemed to have been part of some prolonged erotic dream. She could hardly believe the things she had allowed Sebastian to do, the intimacies that she had never imagined were possible. And in the drowsy aftermath of their passion, he had cradled her against his chest and they had talked for what seemed to be hours. She had even told him the story of the night when she and Annabelle and the Bowman sisters had become friends, sitting in a row of chairs at a ball. "We made up a list of potential suitors and wrote it on our empty dance cards," Evie had told him. "Lord Westcliff was at the top of the list, of course. But you were at the bottom, because you were obviously not the marrying kind."
Sebastian had laughed huskily, tangling his bare legs intimately with hers. "I was waiting for you to ask me."
"You never spared me a glance," Evie had replied wryly. "You weren't the sort of man to dance with wallflowers."
Sebastian had smoothed her hair, and was silent for a moment. "No, I wasn't," he had admitted. "I was a fool not to have noticed you. If I had bothered to spend just five minutes in your company, you'd never have escaped me." He had proceeded to seduce her as if she were still a virginal wallflower, coaxing her to let him make love to her by slow degrees, until he was finally sheathed in her trembling body.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Winter

“It was a popular belief in Victorian society that women, with their mercurial natures and lesser brains, could not have the same quality of friendship that men did. Only men could have truly honest and high-minded relationships.
Daisy thought that was rubbish. She and the other wallflowers... well, former wallflowers... shared a bond of deep, caring trust. They helped each other, encouraged each other with no hint of competition or jealousy. Daisy loved Annabelle and Evie nearly as much as she did Lillian. She could easily envision them all in their later years, prattling about their grandchildren over tea and biscuits, traveling together as a silver-hair horde of tart-tongued old ladies.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“They took Daisy to the orangery, where warm autumn light glittered through the windows, and the scents of citrus and bay hung thick in the air. Removing Daisy's heavy orange-blossom wreath and veil, Lillian set them aside on a chair.
There was a silver tray on a nearby table, laden with a bottle of chilled champagne and four tall crystal glasses.
"This is a special toast for you, dear," Lillian said, while Annabelle poured the sparkling liquid and handed the glasses out. "To your happy ending. Since you've had to wait for it longer than the rest of us, I'd say you deserve the entire bottle." She grinned. "But we're going to share it with you anyway."
Daisy curved her fingers around the crystal stem. "It should be a toast for all of us," she said. "After all, three years ago we had the worst marriage prospects imaginable. We couldn't even get an invitation to dance. And look how well things turned out."
"All it t-took was some devious behavior and a few scandals here and there," Evie said with a smile.
"And friendship," Annabelle added.
"To friendship," Lillian said, her voice suddenly husky.
And their four glasses clicked in one perfect moment.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Scandal in Spring

“She shook her head with a grin, watching as Evie solemnly held up her own arms for Lillian to cut holes beneath her sleeves. This was one of the things she most adored about Evie, who was shy and proper, but often willing to join in some wildly impractical plan or adventure.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“Hannah took an unsteady breath, looking at the four of them. They were a peculiar group, all so bright and pretty, but... different. And she had the feeling that these women encouraged each other's eccentricities, and relished their differences. Anything could be said or done among them, and no matter what it was, they would accept and forgive. Sometimes, in some rare and wonderful friendships, the bond of sisterly love was much stronger than any blood tie.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“I'm very good at arranging hair," the maid said firmly. "And Lady Westcliff told me to use her very own pearl hairpins for you. Now, if you'll sit at the dressing table, miss...?"
Touched by Lillian's generosity in sending her own maid, Hannah complied. It took an eternity to curl her hair with hot tongs, and arrange it in pinned-up curls, with gleaming white pearls scattered amid the dark locks of her hair. The maid helped her into the white ballgown, and gave her a pair of silver-embroidered silk stockings from Evie. After fastening a pearl necklace from Annabelle Hunt around Hannah's neck, the maid helped her to tug on a pair of long white satin gloves from Daisy Swift. The wallflowers, Hannah thought with a grateful smile, were her own group of fairy godmothers.”
― Lisa Kleypas, A Wallflower Christmas

“Evie and Lillian hurried to each other and embraced warmly. The two of them, along with Lillian's sister Daisy Swift, and the vivacious Annabelle Hunt, had begun a lifelong friendship more than three decades ago. They had all been downtrodden wallflowers, consigned to sitting in a row at the side of a ballroom while everyone else danced. But instead of competing for male attention, they had made a compact to help each other. And throughout the years, they had championed and saved each other, time and again.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Devil in Disguise

“St. Vincent took in the curious tableau before him . . . the clusters of bewildered onlookers, the affronted ‌innkeeper . . . and the Earl of Westcliff, who stared at him with avid bloodlust.

The entire inn fell silent during that chilling moment, so that Westcliff’s quiet snarl was clearly audible. “By God, I’m going to butcher you.”
― It Happened One Autumn: The Wallflowers by Lisa Kleypas