Cross Stitch (Outlander, #1)

by Diana Gabaldon

‘I prayed all the way up that hill yesterday,’ he said softly. ‘Not for you to stay; I didna think that would be right. I prayed I’d be strong enough to send ye away.’ He shook his head, still gazing up the hill, a faraway look in his eyes. ‘I said, “Lord, if I’ve never had courage in my life before, let me have it now. Let me be brave enough not to fall on my knees and beg her to stay.”’ He pulled his eyes away from the cot-house and smiled briefly at me. ‘Hardest thing I ever did, Sassenach.’

One never stops to think what underlies romance. Tragedy and terror, transmuted by time. Add a little art in the telling, and voilà! a stirring romance, to make the blood run fast and maidens sigh.

‘Sometimes our best actions result in things that are most regrettable.