Viola’s mouth curled irresistibly into a smile. “And cleave I shall, though, of course, I will never marry.” Lady Marleigh did not smile back. “Never have friends. Never marry. Is that really the life you want, Viola?” “It is the life I must have. And still more to my liking than the one I was intended to live.” “You see the world too starkly, my dear.” “The world sees all things starkly,” returned Viola, a little sharply. “That is rather the problem.”
